What works best to treat dry and cracked skin?

Every winter I have the same problem - the cold hits my hands and freeze-dries my fingers. Right now my fingers look like they%26#039;ve gone through a shredder! Does anyone have an idea about the best way to treat them? Would olive oil or milk work? What about beeswax or an oatmeal bath? I%26#039;ve tried hand cream and moisturizer, but that stuff stings like hell and makes my hands slippery. Help!|||What products have you tried? What I recommend to my patients is a product called %26#039;udder cream%26#039; (no joke) or Vaseline. I recommend using it every time you wash your hands and definitely at bedtime. Vaseline will make your hands feel slippery and sticky. But it works well. Udder cream (it comes in a white jar with black patches on its label - looks like a jersey cow motif), it usually hangs out on the lower shelves in the moisturizer/cream isle in a pharmacy. Vaseline will be in the same isle or in the baby isle.


People have tried the udder cream and swear by it. Another thing that I recommend is Eucerin cream not lotion. You want to get the one in the jar, it is really good for body application and dryness of the skin due to outside cold or due to long showers.


Olive oil or milk? I do not know - I would think the milk would soothe the cracks and help decrease the painful sensation. Olive oil would probably moisturize but not act as a good skin protectant from losing moisture. Beeswax - do not know. Oatmeal bath soothes the skin and takes away the itch. It is not known to really moisturize the skin.


Do not use any hand creams or moisturizers with fragrance or scent in them. That is what is causing the stinging sensation. You do not want to aggravate what you already have and fragrance will aggravate it.


I hope this helps, good luck.|||Dry skin types have to be extremely careful to protect their skin. Yogurt-honey combination helps dry skin. Make an egg pack with a yolk, a teaspoon of honey, a tablespoon of milk powder. This is beneficial to dry skin types. There are many helpful tips to cure dry skin at http://useinfo-dryskin.blogspot.com/