Severely dry cracked skin

[NancyT]

My husband's 23 year old grandson has severely dry hands that are actually cracking, and I'd love to be able to make something to help them. Does anyone have a recipe that might be good for this? I'm not even sure which oils and butters might work best. I would appreciate any and all advise anyone can give. Thanks

Nancy

[ah-soy]

no need to make anything. Just order in some unrefined shea butter. It's wonderful for cracked skin and everything else.

[NancyT]

Thanks, I'll give that a try.

[sam123]

Hi,

It helps to exfoliate skin 1st, there are many helpful oils ~ emu, olive, soy, glycerin ect you could do a search on internet. Once he exfoliates put the oil/lotion on his hands then you could warm some soy or paraffin wax & have him dip his hands in & out several times. Cover his hands in plastic bag then wrap with towel to keep heat in. Leave on for 15 - 30 min. Then just peal the wax off. His skin will also beneffit from the natural oils in the wax.

Doing this will open up the pores in the skin. Be careful to not get the wax too hot but it should be as warm as possable. You may want to do the oil wax process daily for a couple weeks.

In addition at bed time he can also put the oil/lotion on & put a pair of rubber gloves or socks over his hands.

Sharon

[NancyT]

Thanks Sharon. I will have him try this. I've got a good sugar scrub that he might use to exfoliate with. I appreciate your help.

[Kitn]

I have the same dry cracked hand problem he does, sugar scrub is wonderful to exfoliate them, I am having tremendous success using my hemp oil lotion with allantoin in it , it clears them up very quickly. My DIL would confirm this, it has worked for her hands too.

Shea can irritate some skin problems.

[CBE]

Emu Oil. Works wonders.

[Scent Cellar]

I am another emu oil lover.

[Andee]

I've used the Tina's Lanolin Butter recipe on hands for the last several years and I love it. My hands used to be so cracked and would bleed every time I flexed my hands.

Here is the blog post I wrote about it.

http://blog.thesage.com/2009/12/14/tinas-lanolin-butter/

Here is the recipe.

http://www.thesage.com/recipes/recipes.php?.State=Display&id=165

You don't have to scent this, but I like to scent it. If he will wash his hands at night and then apply a small amount to the knuckles, his knuckles will look better after a week of applying it nightly.

Hope this helps!

[CareBear]

I say use a sugar scrub with caution (NOT a salt scrub!!!) then lotion, THEN a butter. Many lotions sting like crazy, though.

[Kitn]

You are so right about some lotions stinging Carol, that is exactly why I started making my own lotion.

[NancyT]

Thanks everyone, I'm sure with all these wonderful suggestions, we'll find something that works for him. He's 23 (I think) and they just look so bad........I'm sure I wouldn't want to hold hands like that. LOL I appreciate all the help. Thanks again

[CandleMama6]

I wonder if this would work for feet too?? My son's feet get really bad and it is so hard on him when they crack and bleed.

[Kitn]

It sure does, even better if he can lotion his feet after bathing , then put socks on overnight.

[CareBear]

I wonder if this would work for feet too?? My son's feet get really bad and it is so hard on him when they crack and bleed.

OK, I know this sounds odd, but the BEST thing I found when my feet used to crack is ChapStick. The store shit. Really. Smear it on. Thick. I didn't make lip balms back in those days so cannot tell if my own works as well - but this stuff was the ONLY thing that helped my cracked feet. Heels, toes, wherever.

[Phyra02]

I just want to second the straight shea. I use it daily on my son's skin and it has helped him tremendously.

[Country Magic]

I'm with the others on emu oil. As far as I'm concerned nothing works better for dry cracked skin on hands or feet.

[TexasBrat]

Dry cracked skin on my hands is one of the main reasons I started making soap and lotions but I never did find a perfect lotion for my hands until I bought Aveeno. Aveeno works for me, I put it on once a day and I'm good. The only other thing that worked for me was a lotion I made from coffee butter. I think everyone is different so a combination of things might work for him and you need to find the recipe for him. Don't overlook a medical issue either, some illnesses cause dry skin too. I'm not saying he's sick but keep that in mind if you can't relieve the dry skin. Also, try to have him use homemade soap rather than store bought bars.