This is not my hand
I have a terrible habit of picking at my cuticles. It drives my husband crazy “STOP PICKING AT YOUR FUCKING HANDS” he will bellow at me, sometimes snapping me out of a auto-mutilation reverie I didn’t even realise I was in.
A vital tool in my arsenal against cuticle savagery is hand cream. If your cuticles are soft, there’s less to get hold of. And with small children, there is an endless cycle of hand washing, which leads to drying, which leads to dry cuticles, which leads to open warfare.
I had always thought that this Vaseline hand cream was the best, the freshest-smelling, the least greasy and the most effective hand cream I’d found. But for some insane reason, I stopped buying it and started trying others. And, they’re just not as good. Even the Clarins hand cream, while delightful, is just that little bit too strong-smelling, that little tiny bit too greasy to be a really good, hard-working hand cream. It’s not that I’ve been using them and they haven’t been as good, it’s that at the critical moment post-handwash when I consider my various hand cream options I hesitate and then often don’t use one at all.
So I pulled myself together two days ago and bought 3 small tubes of this hand cream and stashed one next to every sink.
It’s already making a difference to my poor picked-at, mistreated hands. Do yours a favour, too.
Haven’t tried that but the very best thing for cuticles is Crabtree and Evelyn’s little blue tube!
With you on this one. I do this too and often the throbbing from sore picked bits keeps me awake at night. I’ve tried lots of creams, I can’t take anything with a strong smell. I like Clarins, agree about the smell. Same with Nivea and Vaseline intensive care also a bit thick and sticky. I haven’t tried this one, but will do! Actually what I find best by far – unbelievably – is Morrison’s own “Protect” Concentrated Hand Cream. It is not greasy and hardly any smell. I’m always looking for something even better though and at the risk of embarrassing myself completely I’ll tell you that I also use Dermol from the doctor and …….gulp……cooking oil. Not the chippy smelling stuff, but the specialty stuff. Almond and also Grapeseed, which is pale green and lighter than Almond. Thing is, stuff that you put inside your body is strictly controlled and regulated, while stuff you put on your skin isn’t. Lots of cosmetic products contain sodium laurel sulphate. Classified by the WHO as a skin irritant. It is even in Simple products. So thinking along these lines, I looked into Rosehip oil, which is very very good, but at around £15 for a teeny oz size bottle a bit pricey. That’s when I started looking at other oils, (non smelling ones) and decided if it is good enough to put inside your body..why not try it ON my skin… .anyhooo.. I buy 2lts of Grapeseed for a quid or so and put it into a dispenser pump bottle in the bathroom…. I’m only sharing because this darn well works. *hangs head and leaves
Vicki thank you for this excellent and instructive tip xxxx
I got an amazing hand cream from Lush (think it was Helping Hands), but it was very greasy so could only be used if I knew I wasn’t going to be touching any phones/laptops until it had dried in more. Amazing for night time – always woke up with lovely soft hands.
This is half price in Superdrug! Just bought two- smells lovely!
Do you think you could ask Giles to yell at my husband to stop clearing his throat every 30 seconds when he is watching the telly? It is driving me DEMENTED.
Coconut oil works great for nails I’ve discovered from the grocery store. Bit greasy but absorbs well.
I love this Vaseline hand cream and the Clarins one. The hand cream I’ve used for a couple of years is Tisserand Lavender blend, I like the not too thick or thin texture, it sinks in quickly and it gives what feels like a therapeutic hit of lavender essential oil.