# My hands are literally cracking and bleeding...HELP!



## ashk36 (Feb 7, 2009)

I work in my mom's dog grooming shop and I wash and hand dry at least 12 dogs a day. Every winter my hands are WRECKED! I couldn't even finish every dog today because they hurt so bad. Getting shampoo in the cracks doesn't feel so great. What is the absolute BEST moisturizer/lotion/whatever for such dry skin? I've tried Aquafor. I slather my hands in it and sleep in rubber gloves, and it does help a bit, but they're still dry once all the Aquafor is wiped or washed off. Is there anything that can help me? And please, don't start naming off crazy expensive department store shit. I just told you I wash dogs for a living.


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## TISH1124 (Feb 7, 2009)

I used to have that problem when I worked with chemicals in the lab and the only thing that gave me relief was Johnson's Baby Oil Gel...I would rub it in my hands 2-3 times a day...

You should always wear gloves though at work to help protect your hands


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## ashk36 (Feb 7, 2009)

Can't wear gloves. I've tried. Water/shampoo still gets in them. I can't feel the dog's fur, so I can't tell if I've rinsed all the shampoo out, can't tell if I missed a spot while drying. I even duct taped the damn gloves to my arms and water STILL got in them. So I just suck it up and go bare handed. I feel like I can't do my job right if I can't feel what I'm doing!


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## jmj2k (Feb 7, 2009)

Have you tried Avon's Silicone glove? It should help with the dryness.  But you're going to have to find a way to wear gloves at least until your hands heal.


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## NutMeg (Feb 7, 2009)

Olive oil. Many times a day. If you have deep cracks that won't close, crazy glue them together. Put the olive oil on your hands before you start shampooing, the oil will keep the water away from your skin for a while before it gets washed off. Put it on at night with gloves, like you were doing before.

And damn it, wear gloves while you're washing the dogs. I know water still gets inside, but it's going to help. Do it!


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## ashk36 (Feb 7, 2009)

Thanks for the responses. I'll try the olive oil tonight. I have the day off tomorrow, my hands usually don't take that long to heal so hopefully by Monday they'll be a little better. I thought about maybe cutting the finger tips off the gloves and that way I can feel what I'm doing, but still have my cuts covered up. I suppose if I have something greasy on my hands, the gloves will stick to it and it should do the trick. People just don't realize what we put ourselves through to make their dogs pretty!!


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## ginger9 (Feb 7, 2009)

If you can try to wear gloves until the cracks heal. But I understand how cumbersome they may be for you to do your job. 

I have a suggestion that won't cost too much money. Try 100% Pure Shea Butter. I live in Canada I bought a 125ml jar of it at our local Wallmart for around 10 dollars. I got a Canadian brand but they should have them in the US Wallmart or just a local beauty store. On the label of my jar it says "It helps in healing...extreme dryness..., cracks, boils, wounds, cuts, ...". Remember do not get the lotion version you want the 100% pure shea butter, so make sure you check the label that there's no other additional ingredient, not even fragrance. It is in a wax like consistency and it melts on contact with your hands. It will smell kind of nutty as well. One application won't last through the whole day since you will be washing your hands so often so you will have to reapply but it moisturizes as well as heals. 

In addition you can also purchase vitamin E in topical form and combine the two. Vitamin E also has healing effects as well. Your hand will be very greasy though but that's okay. This sure help the cracks from hurting and help them heal faster. HTH


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## Blueeyesangel18 (Feb 7, 2009)

I would try an emollient cream like silcocks base or E45 cream, you would find it in a pharmacy and also you may use some sort of protection for your hands at least until the cracks heal the shampoo will make it worse as the cracks in your skin will absorb more of the products you use which will dry them out more. If you can like one of the above posters suggested try a liquid glove


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## shootout (Feb 7, 2009)

Gold Bond Ultimate Healing with Aloe.
I have the same problem and this is a lifesaver =]


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## AlliSwan (Feb 7, 2009)

I swear by Aveeno intensive hand relief something something...it stays on through my washing my hands at work (though they aren't in water as much as yours). But the other suggestions are good, too! Good luck, cracking skin on your hands SUCKKKS!


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## xxsgtigressxx (Feb 8, 2009)

Elizabeth Arden 8 hour ointment. best shizz ever


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## autumnschild (Feb 9, 2009)

eucerin is the best lotion i've ever used for really dry skin. the one in the jar. it's kind of thick and odd feeling but it works pretty good. also, coastalscents.com sells unrefined shea butter for like, $9 per pound.


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## VIC MAC (Feb 9, 2009)

Hi there..... go to Coastal Scents: - they sell unrefined sheabutter, which should help you. Read more about it on their site.

And I'm not from CS


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## ohnna-lee (Feb 9, 2009)

I agree with the Olive Oil, I have used it before when my hands were dry and scaling, and were starting to crack and bleed. You open yourself to infection when you have open wounds like that. 

They have something that you can use over broken skin to close the wound til it can heal, I would go to your pharmacist and ask.


Look into Buy Casabella Premium Water Stop Gloves, Medium Online at drugstore.com some of these gloves, they are heavy duty and water isn't going to get into them as much. 

There are also these Ladies Long Pink Gloves Temptress 18": Amazon.co.uk: Toys & Games

Sometimes it is good to let your hands breathe, so keeping them in the gloves hinders that.


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## ashk36 (Feb 9, 2009)

thanks a bunch people! i had a nice day of rest and spent a good 10-12 hours in gloves filled with aquafor yet again, and it helped. i'm definitely gonna have to look into a bunch of this stuff though. and yeah, i wanted to use olive oil but i used the last of it for dinner instead. but it was GOOOOOD!


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## ohnna-lee (Feb 9, 2009)

Quote:

   Originally Posted by *ashk36* 

 
_thanks a bunch people! i had a nice day of rest and spent a good 10-12 hours in gloves filled with aquafor yet again, and it helped. i'm definitely gonna have to look into a bunch of this stuff though. and yeah, i wanted to use olive oil but i used the last of it for dinner instead. but it was GOOOOOD!_

 
Internal application, guess it could work. Better than nothing


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## laguayaca (Feb 9, 2009)

corn huskers lotion my husband had the same problem this stuff is awesome its like 3.99 at cvs look up revies for it people love it and it doesnt leave hat oily feeling lotions do thats what my hub love about it too!


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## laguayaca (Feb 9, 2009)

haha this might sound off the wall too but my mother in law wears crisco--yes the shortening-- on her feet with socks over night and she says it makes her feet so soft i dont see why it wouldnt work just the same on hands with gloves!


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## MissResha (Feb 9, 2009)

whatever you do, definitely slather something, hell even vaseline onto your hands and wear plastic gloves at night to speed up the healing process.


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## ashk36 (Feb 10, 2009)

Quote:

   Originally Posted by *laguayaca* 

 
_haha this might sound off the wall too but my mother in law wears crisco--yes the shortening-- on her feet with socks over night and she says it makes her feet so soft i dont see why it wouldnt work just the same on hands with gloves!_

 
i've heard of that before! i totally forgot until you posted this! my hands aren't bleeding anymore, but damn are they itchy as all hell! maybe i'll dig into my crisco before bed. i know it so turns my boyfriend on when he hears me snap those rubber gloves on. as long as i don't tell him to bend over, or turn to the left and cough.


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## PrettyKitty (Feb 11, 2009)

Crisco is soybean and cottonseed oils, so I don't see why it wouldn't work. But if you can get your hands (lol) on unrefined shea butter, this is much better.


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## caffn8me (Feb 11, 2009)

There are two ways to tackle this.  Prevention or cure.  Prevention is by far the better way.  You don't need to wear gloves to stop your hands getting damaged.  You should try something called a "barrier cream" which is designed to protect the skin against a wide range of irritants including detergents.

One such example is Theraseal.  You will probably need to apply it frequently throughout the day while you're washing dogs but it should help reduce the problem in the first place.


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## user79 (Feb 11, 2009)

I'd really recommend trying out different gloves. Can you use a different shampoo on the dogs that is lesh harsh? Seems like your hands are just overworked with the detergents and water, try latex gloves, like the surgical kind, they fit on tighter...

I'd also try a very light cortisone cream on the cracks, if it's that bad they need some medicinal help to heal faster...just don't use it all the time but cortisone cream works wonders on cracked and raw skin to speed up the healing process.


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## xsavagex (Feb 11, 2009)

I have no suggestions but i just wanted to say, that sounds so so painful!!! hope you found something to help


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## Hikaru-chan (Feb 17, 2009)

I have the same problem as you, in the winter my hands get so cracked and sore and the only thing that works for me is Neutrogena hand cream.
I swear it heals your hands completely after a couple of nights and it's cheap.


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## user47 (Feb 17, 2009)

Aloe vera gel or lotion! Every single night. Make sure it's pure.

Aloe Life sells one called *Skin Gel* *Ultimate Skin Treatment*; it's 99% Certified Organic Whole Leaf Aloe Vera with Vitamins A, C, E, & Herbs.

I found mine at Henry's Farmer's Market, but I'm sure you can find it elsewhere.

To make it last longer, you can mix it with your lotion. Shea Butter would be terrific.

Hope you find some relief!


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## vocaltest (Feb 17, 2009)

i work in a hairdressing salon and a lot of the trainees have this problem. they're constantly using water (from shampooing) and their hands are so sore and red. unfortunately there really is no cure unless you stop exposing yourself to water. the only thing i've seen really effective is steroid cream... but of course then you will suffer from skin thinning and discolouration if used over a long period of time. theres things that will help but nothing that will cure it


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## BloopBloop (Feb 24, 2009)

urgh my hands are getting to that point as well. the webbing area between my index and thumb are cracked, feels like sandpaper. i use a shea butter lotion "lay it on thick" from bath n body works, but it gets washed off anyway. i work at starbucks and we're constanly reaching into the sanitzer bucket for a rag to wipe the countertops. the sanitizer solution is so rough on my hands!!


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## kleigh09 (Feb 26, 2009)

I was initially using Aquaphor at night for my dry hands, but I recently switched to Eucerin Dry Skin Therapy Plus Intensive Repair Body Cream.

It has made a world of difference!  So much better than Aquaphor.


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## ashk36 (Feb 27, 2009)

Well...luckily since I'm in South Carolina, winter doesn't last long. Once the weather warms up a bit, my hands don't crack. Right now it's around 70 outside. So for as long as this nice weather lasts, my hands are okay. But once it goes below 60, that's usually when the bleeding starts again. I think I will order some shea butter from Coastal Scents with my next purchase. I read a few reviews on their site, and it sounds pretty nice. One girl was saying how her father had extremely sensitive skin after chemotherapy, every lotion he tried stung, but the shea butter didn't hurt at all.


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## NeonKitty (Mar 23, 2009)

I'm a healthcare provider and as such generally wash my hands at least 100 times a shift with some pretty chemically heavy soaps. I get the cracked bleeding hands too, which is counterproductive because it's an infection risk. 

I slather on a nice thick cream (cocoa butter type thing, intensive  repair vaseline etc) in the morning and at night. At work I carry a travel size lotion that is thin and absorbs quickly, because it's generally only after 2 minutes before I have to wash my hands again. What has also made a big difference is they have changed the soaps in the dispensers at my facility to one that also includes a lotion, so generally speaking my hands need a lot more abuse to become as cracked.


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## kaliraksha (Mar 24, 2009)

You may want to ask your pharmacist if pure glycerine is safe for normal use. Some are made from animal fats, but others are made from plant fats. They are used to make all kinds of lotions and soap. They usually special order it for burn victims to help moisturize their skin. But, it is over the counter and is even used in food sometimes... so I imagine it's safe for normal use.

There is always vaseline.. that is what they advertise its use for... cracked skin. Or if it gets really bad, see a dermatologist or your doctor- there might be some prescription stuff you can use.

I've always been taught that moisture comes from within, so I would stay very hydrated... it may not cure your issue, but it's gotta help.

Good luck finding a solution and let us know what's been working for you!


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## ashk36 (Mar 24, 2009)

What's been working for me is this beautiful weather we're having in South Carolina! I keep wanting to order some shea butter from Coastal Scents, but I'm slack about putting money into my bank account so I haven't had a chance. I think I'll be making an order tomorrow though, so I'll let you all know if that stuff works well for me.


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## Amber*Christine (Apr 26, 2009)

Burts Bees Banana and Beeswax hand creme!!! I swear you won't regret it, I worked at a carwash years ago and it was destroying my hands, I used this stuff and they went back to being soft as buttah. Miracle cream!!


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## Teddy Bear (Feb 12, 2013)

I have been using E45 for many years and it helps a little, but at the moment I am having a really terrible spell.  My hands are so cracked and sore and bleeding both on top of my hands and on the palms.  Also on the knuckles and even at the sides of both my little fingers.  It's agony.  Anything I touch or try and pick up is just impossible, and also to type as I am pressing on open wounds.
  	I just do not know what I can do to help myself.  Hence reading all your comments.  Thank you


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## Shimmery (Feb 20, 2013)

wow Ive heard good things abotu E45! I also hear great things about Keihl's Ultimate Strength Hand Salve.


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## Glowingsunshine55 (Jun 17, 2020)

Bear in mind that moisturizer in your specific case is only a "bandage" to the problem "constant use of shampoo drying out your hands."

As far as moisturizers go, I personally like using ones that contain olive oil as I find it quite soothing on my skin.

With regards to the "problem" is it not possible to simply wear gloves while shampooing the dogs?


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