Here's part 1: Basecoats , part 2: Cuticle Care and part 3: Top coats if you missed these.
This post is a few weeks late, sorry about that! I got behind with computer issues, and then the sponsored reviews, and then finally not feeling well.
This last week we're talking about creams and balms. Up until about a year ago, my hands were very dry, irritated and I permanently looked as though I were wearing red gloves. My hands were so dry in some places they would at times crack enough to bleed! I tried product after product and finally figured out it was just the hand soap I was using that was causing the problem. Fortunately this means I have quite a few products to share with you :)
The first option I'm starting with is one which I believe worked the best for my condition. It's also the pricest, I believe. That would be Lubriderm Intense Skin Repair ointment. It's 1.75 ounces and costs just under $5 at Walmart. It's specially formulated for dry, chapped or cracked skin which mine most definitely was.. this seemed to help the most and at times my hands seemed almost normal again for awhile, but then it would flare again and this wouldn't do much to help. The main ingredient is Glycerin, which as you can see is the third option here so let me jump to it for a minute.
Glycerin is a cool product to have on hand for many uses: my boyfriend bought it to make fake blood. According to my bottle, it can also be used for skin soak, aromatherapy bath, and preserving leaves and flowers. I've just used it for skin protection, though. I don't know where my boyfriend bought this or even how much it costs; probably Walmart but I'm not certain. It did seem to work well but I thought it left my skin too greasy, so it may not be for everyone. You're supposed to dilute it with water, which I didn't know at first so that did help :b It can also be used on lips, so I should probably try that out as well!
The next product is petroleum jelly.... and I already know writing this, certain individuals I know but shall not name (L followed by ena and Happi followed by ness) are going to see this and their minds are going to be in the gutter :b As you can see, I have Family Dollar brand and again I don't remember the exact price.. I think it was about $2 but I'm not positive. It's another good skin protectant and helps with not only chapped skin but burns, cuts, scrapes. I know I've heard some people say you should not use it on your skin; I don't really know why or why not. I've used it for my chapped skin and it did help. I think it's the cheapest option I had, but it was also the messiest, and greasiest.
I've also collected many, many different lotions over the years and I tried out some of those.. too many to add here, I believe. None of them helped my skin, anyway.
That brings us to my one and only official nails and cuticles hand creme which I own. Influenster.com provided me with Sally Hansen Nails and Cuticles Hand Creme for review as part of the Summer Voxbox. It's supposed to provide 24 hour moisture, and its made with Shea Butter. I really like this product: I noticed after the first use my cuticles were much softer. It has a light lemony smell which I really don't mind. This is a little pricey for me: it runs about $6-7 online, from what I've seen. I might buy it sometime if I can find it on sale, and once I've run out of my other items.
I still have a few other samples to try, and other products as well. Since I live in the land of Winter aka Wisconsin, I'm sure I'll be using them up before much longer. Almost Winter here!
I also snuck in my panda creme in the last picture because I'm still in love with this little creme... the container is adorable :) You can read more about this one here.
I also recently reviewed Julep's Pedicreme.
I have just a couple more home remedy ideas for you: I know a lot of people recommend using coconut oil in place of lotion. I haven't tried this because it is expensive. I have used it a little bit for chapped lips. In fact, if you look at Julep's pedicreme, Coconut Oil is the fourth ingredient (sorry, Julep!)
My best secret, however is something you may not think of using on your hands or feet: you typically think of using it on your hair! I read about using hair conditioner to soften your feet, when I was a teenager. I tried it and it worked wonderfully. You don't have to use expensive conditioner, either: just cheap old $1 conditioner should work fine. I used to just pile a lot of it on my feet before bed, rub it in and let it do it's magic.
I think that just about sums it up. I really enjoyed this challenge, and I hope it's helped. As always, feel free to ask me any questions or let me know if you have any suggestions. Thanks!
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