Dry hand cream?

My recipe is a little complicated but I loves it so. I'm prone to eczema and work in a medical setting so my hands are a mess. I buy the Skin Actives Dream Cream online and add pomegranate seed oil and rose hip seed oil to it. If you're feeling super spicy you can also add some sea kelp and white licorice extact. All of the things can be purchased directly from Skin Actives and I've been very impressed with their quality. The Dream Cream is hands down the best that I've found.

I should mention that I hand make most all of my skin care.

Hands down the best hand cream/moisturizer I've ever used:
http://www.thebodyshop-usa.com/body-products/hand-care-products/vitamin-e-hand-nail-treatment.aspx

I hate putting lotion on my hands because they feel yucky afterwards. I will only use this product. It soaks in quickly and leaves my hands soft.

My hands always get super dry and cracked in the winter once the heater is on, and a humdifier in my room at night helps A LOT.

This year, however, my hands are already cracked in dry and the heater's not even on yet. In working at the zoo, I have to wash thoroughly before I handle the snakes, then again before I handle the lizards, and again before and after each individual amphibian. Not to mention whenever I get poop on me. So I'm constantly washing my hands (with dish soap) and cannot put lotion on (amphibians especially absorb stuff through their skin/environment...I wear latex or nitrile gloves when I handle amphibians directly but not when I touch their enclosures).

I have yet to find a lotion I REALLY like. I used to like Nivea in the blue tin but lately it's not been that effective.

I used to LOVE The Body Shops stuff and then I found out they were being super shady and weren't cruelty free or as fair trade as they claimed. It made me so sad because I loved to many of their things. If you're going to not be cruelty free that's cool, just be honest about it! Their hemp hand cream was my favorite.

Mia, my whole hands don't get swollen...just where the eczema is, like near the joints mostly. I don't even get it as badly anymore...not on the other parts of my hands. But when those cracks happen, it hurts. And there isn't really a very large rash or anything...not red particularly unless I scratch it. It's just so itchy, then painful.

Lots of good ideas there to try. But what happens a lot of times, one thing works for one person, but not another. I have no idea why. The same thing happens with prescription stuff.

Bag balm is good, healing stuff, but since it's got lots of lanolin in it, some people are irritated by that. But anything is worth a try. I've even used olive oil but it's so messy that I haven't used it much so I can't say if it works or not.

I think stress is my biggest trigger that makes it flare up. Another thing that could really help is a narrow band uv light....very expensive. My son has psoriasis and it's all over him. He gets little red spots and they get kind of dry but he doesn't have the plaque kind...not the white, scaly stuff. I bought him a 6' tall, narrow band uv light...was about $2,500 and you must have a prescription for it and be under a dr's supervision. But it really has helped him a lot. I notice in summer when I'm out in the sun more, the eczema is very mild or non-existent. I also have it worse like some of you in winter. It could be a combination of being dryer in the air and the sun rays....a little bit of radiation. lol.

A tanning bed might help, but actually, the rays of the sun that do any good are the narrow band uv so the tanning bed has a lot of light rays that don't help too much, but might a little. And then there's the danger of skin cancer with that. So, geeze! You can hardly win. I guess if you have it severely, I'd go see a dermatologist and try a Rx cortisone ointment because when it's real, full blown eczema, most hand lotions won't do a thing it seems or at least that's been my experience. Dry hands, yes. Eczema, not much.

I have a lot of love for this St. Ives lotion:
http://www.stives.com/Hand-(and)-Bo...lgent-Advanced-Body-Moisturizer/#BVRRWidgetID

I wash my hands like a trillion times a day, so in the winter especially they get really dry and itchy. As long as I remember to put on this lotion though (which sometimes I don't!), my hands stay moisturized. It absorbs pretty quickly, I don't think it's greasy at all... I use it as a body lotion too, not just for my hands, so I'll put some on when I get out of the shower or before I go to bed, and don't have an issue with it feeling greasy.

Also. I absolutely love the way it smells. Light and not overpowering, but just... awesome. And it's super nice that I can get it at Target, and it's not expensive at all. I don't have sensitive skin, but it claims to be good for that...

My hands are already dry and cracking. I tried several different lotions, but just went back to Neutragena(sp?) Hand Cream. I have put it on the last 2-3 nights (I only put it on before bed because I can't stand lotion on my hands either) and it has already made a big difference.

I am also going to try http://www.vitacost.com/kiss-my-face-ultra-moisturizer-olive-and-aloe-fragrance-free I have it ordered. My SIL uses it for her daughter who is allergic to everything and has bad excema and regular break outs from allergic reactions. So hopefully it will help.

Also, in a pinch if your hands are cracking and it's painful to apply anything then you can always slather them in Aquaphor and sleep with those dry hand mittens on. That's what I do when my hands get really really painful and cracked.

Burt's Bees Almond Milk hand cream. Freaking love that stuff. My hands get so horribly dry all year round. You don't have to use much either so the little jar goes a long way.

I'll keep an eye out for all of these, thanks!

If there's a Sally Beauty Supply near you that's a good place to look for products -- and it's often way less expensive than buying in the store, even someplace like Walmart or Target.