So I've mentioned in a few posts that I had dry skin, but I didn't exactly explain the severity of it. In the summer months it isn't as bad but when the summer fades to fall and then to winter my skin freaks out and gets all dry and shriveled up. I moisturize every day to keep my skin looking decent but my hands just seem to need special treatment, ordinary lotions don't provide enough moisture to keep my hands from drying out. I've always hated my hands. They're wrinkly, dry, and dead looking. Everyone I know has nice, smooth hands- and that's just not something I was blessed with. But hey, I have to be grateful that I have hands!
To keep the dryness of my hands at bay, I've done A TON of research to find the best hand creams. Well, the best affordable hand creams. I've found that one of the best ingredients for retaining moisture and giving your hands that smooth feeling is glycerin. Therefor, my 3 top favorite lotions are loaded with glycerin. I've narrowed my favorites down to Glysomed, Neutrogenas Norwegian Formula, and Avon's Moisture Therapy.
 |
| Left to right: Glysomed, Neutrogena Norweigan Formula, Avon Moisture Therapy |
They each have a similar texture, they're very thick and feel close to Vaseline, except smoother. I'm going to explain each one individually and let you know which one's my favorite.
I'll start with Neutrogenas Norweigan Formula hand cream, mostly because it's the most popular. I've seen a lot of people rave about this hand cream, and for good reason! You get 2 fl oz of product for generally 4.49, and little goes a looong way. This seems to be true of all the lotions I'm recommending, which is a huge plus. This used to be my hg lotion, but I was kind of unhappy with the way my hands would feel sometimes after using it. After applying my hands would feel a little sticky, and I'd try to wipe them on my jeans but that just resulted in getting fuzz all over my hands. With all of these lotions, your hands will feel slick and smooth, but this one also makes them the smallest bit sticky. Regardless, this is a great and effective lotion. If you buy it now at Drugstore.com, it's 3.69, and there's also a coupon available to get a dollar off, bringing it down to half it's original price.
Though the Norwegian Formula hand cream could be a bit sticky, I don't think its as bad as Avon's Moisture Therapy hand cream. I expected this product to be better because it had a few great ingredients like jojoba oil and soybean oil. However, I found that it was even worse with making my hands feel tacky. It really has the same texture as the Norwegian Formula but for some reason it's more sticky. Effective, but sticky. On the bright side, this one is more affordable. These mini hand creams are usually 2.00 for 1.5 fl oz on the Avon website, but right now they're only 99 cents so if you'd like to experiment for only a dollar, I'd go for it. There's also a few versions of this lotion, so pick up the one with the blue teardrop on it- for extremely dry skin.
I've saved the best for last, which is Glysomed hand cream. When I first tried this I honestly didn't like it! I was so used to the tacky feeling that my hands just felt gross with this lotion. It makes your hands feel super soft and smooth, and maaaybe a tad greasy. It's not greasy as in oily but it does prevent you from opening doors without using your shirt. After using it more, I started to prefer it. It gave my hands the nice "coated in glycerin" feeling but didn't make my hands sticky. It makes giving people handshakes a more enjoyable experience because I don't have to worry about my hands feeling tacky or dry and uncomfortable. Also, I buy the fragrance-free version because the scented one is supposed to smell a little strong, but they both work equally great. Sadly, you can't find this in your local Walmart or Target, but you can order them off of Drugstore.com for 2.89 per 1.7 fl oz.
None of these lotions will give you brand new hands (as much as I would love them to), but they do make them feel better, and they've done a lot to improve the overall texture of skin. If you're dealing with dry, cracking hands- this will help your skin to repair and heal. Even if your hands aren't cracking, they're great to use after a handwash to retain moisture or just to get your hands feeling amazing.
I'm sorry that I don't have any magical secrets to give you beautiful goddess fingers, but I do hope you find that these lotions make your skin just a bit more bearable.
No comments:
Post a Comment