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Does cold weather do a number on your hands? Winter is far from over. How are your hands holding up? Are you suffering with uncomfortable dry skin? We have some recommendations from past years that are still good. And we are offering a 20% sale on our 2 oz. The People’s Pharmacy Urea Skin Relief Intensive Skin Therapy.
Soothing the Nasty Dry Skin on Your Hands:
Q. I live in the Midwest and this has been a brutal winter. Being outside has been terrible for my skin. My hands and knuckles are dry, cracked and look like elephant skin.
The fingertips are so sore I can barely stand to type at my computer. My legs are so dry and itchy that I often make the skin bleed from scratching.
My lips are also dry, tight and cracked. I sometimes cannot resist biting off the dry loose skin but that only makes my lips more tender. No sooner do I apply lip balm than I have to do it again with a few minutes.
I have stopped washing my hands except when I go to the bathroom, but that hasn’t helped much. The lotions and creams that I’ve tried now cause a rash. I’m at my wit’s end. Winters in the Midwest are long and cold enough as it is without having to deal with winter skin too. Please suggest some remedies that will work.
Remedies for Cracked, Split Fingertips:
A. You are not the only one wishing this winter would end. The folks in New England have also been hammered. Let’s start with those fingertips. Many visitors to this website have offered suggestions. Carolyn reinforces the success that many report using products like new-skin Liquid Bandage:
“I get split skin on my fingertips, too, and as suggested by one of the readers, I use liquid bandage. It works.
“I also coat my hands with castor oil some nights before I go to sleep and then put the hands into socks to keep the oil from getting on the bedding. This is supposed to help with osteoarthritis pain, but it could also be helping to reduce the likelihood of split fingertips.”
We too have used Liquid Bandage, but the solvent smell is a bit overpowering for us and it takes awhile to dry. Cindi, a visitor to this site, recommended Locktite brand Super Glue. We tried it and found that it seals fingertip cracks quickly and takes away the pain. Resist the urge to peel the dry glue off, though, as that will only makes things worse.
Super Dry Winter Skin:
When it comes to super dry skin, we have lots of suggestions from visitors. We are constantly amazed at the variety of passionate recommendations we get. Some people love old-fashioned petrolatum (petroleum jelly or Vaseline). Others hate the idea of putting a petroleum product on their skin.
Readers Recommend Their Favorite Moisturizing Treatments:
Kathy says,
“I used to use prescription-strength Lac Hydrin (12%) lotion for my sandpaper hands and have not looked back. I now use AmLactin which is OTC. It’s great on my hands, feet and elbows. An amount the size of a quarter covers all. I put it on my hands twice a day and the other areas once a day.”
This reader also had good luck with AmLactin:
Q. I suffered with cracked and bleeding fingertips for years. Then the doctor gave me a prescription for ammonium lactate lotion 12 percent. I used it and it kept my fingers from cracking and bleeding all winter.
A. The formula that you describe can be found in a number of over-the-counter products, including AmLactin Daily 12% Lactic Acid Nourish Lotion. The key ingredient is often recommended by dermatologists for dry, scaly skin. Like another highly recommended ingredient, urea, ammonium lactate improves the barrier function of the skin (Archives of Dermatological Research, June 1996).
Randy offers:
“Years ago, while working as an industrial electronics technician, I often got cracked knuckles in the winter time. This was painful and affected my work.
“I usually carried a ChapStick for my lips and soon found that if I rubbed a little across my knuckles it helped to keep them from cracking. Also, I found that if any knuckle cracked, I could rub ChapStick right on the crack and would get instant relief from the pain and faster healing.”
Holly says:
“When my hands are cracked open and bleeding, I rub Vicks VapoRub into the area before going to bed. It really helps. There are times they heal overnight. Some take a couple nights but it works wonders. You would think the Vicks would sting, but it doesn’t. Give it a try.”
MJW is adamant about her solution:
“Shea butter (100%) is the best I’ve found for cracked skin. I use it regularly.”
MC suggests:
“I have been using Udderly Smooth Extra Care 20 Cream with urea for six months. This is the first winter I have not had cracks in the skin or around my thumbnails.
“Winter is not over yet, but I am so glad to be free of cracks. This cream also works as a face cream. It performs as well as my expensive creams (better in some cases) and does not interfere with my rosacea treatments.”
Winter Skin Survival
About two years ago, we launched our People’s Pharmacy Urea Skin Relief Intensive Skin Therapy to hydrate and restore dry cracked winter skin. It has 20% urea for people with really dry skin. Urea is well established by dermatologists as a valuable compound to restore the protective barrier of the skin. If you want to learn why we believe urea is so important for clinical-strength skin creams, here is a video we made to explain our product.
We are offering 20% off our 2 oz. handy tube for pocket or pocketbook. The sale will last until Jan. 31, 2026. The original cost is $12.30, but your cost during this sale when you check out will be $9.80. For the larger 6-ounce tube, the price is down to $16.45 from $20.60.
Take control over dry skin and cracked fingertips with our People’s Pharmacy Urea Skin Relief Intensive Skin Therapy.
Karen
I have trouble with dryness in my nostrils. This year has been worse than usual. I’ve read it’s not safe to use petroleum products in the nose and the Ayr saline gel doesn’t help. Any suggestions?
Daniel
Zinc ointment on the split with a bandage overnight for 4 nights fixes it.
Sandra B
I live on Buffalo, New York where we are having a very cold, snowy, windy, and dry winter, as usual. This is the first winter when I have not had a severe dryness problem. I have my humidifier on all day long. What a difference! I also use Chapstick for my lips and Dove sensitive skin Body Wash in the shower.
Carol
No one has mentioned Bag Balm which is used on cow udders in the winter. One of the nurses with whom I worked mentioned it to me during my breast CA radiation for the burning and it cleared that up fast and now also on my hands with a pair of gloves overnight. I also use liquid bandage and super glue with a brush on my cracked finger tips (with the brush is difficult to find in the stores but available on Amazon.com).
Virginia S
Every day or two I generously rub Aquaphor on my hands and cover them with disposable gloves for an hour or two as I watch TV. The gloves allow me to function normally during this period and hands are soft and healed after a couple of treatments.
Becky
I have used antibiotic ointment and band-aids when I lived in Alaska. This year (now I in NC) I used lip balm and Gold Bond Healing Hand Cream. I’m inside 99% of thr time. My hands must be connected to the weather forecaster – fingers crack when cold weather is forecast, not being in the cold! ????
Marsha
Milwaukee WI
My husband and I have lived in the Milwaukee, WI area all our lives. To avoid and to heal our winter dried skin we rely on Nivea Creme. We put it on our faces and hands before going out to shovel or blow the snow. I use it as a night cream in winter, and my husband used it as a whole- body moisturizer after each shower. Our hands and feet, elbows and knees are soft and flexible. It contains several well-known moisturizers: mineral oil, petrolatum, and lanolin. We both recommend it highly.
Kathy
Holly Springs, NC
Dry winter skin has been a problem for me for several years. Nothing seemed to help. Last year I read on your website about taking flaxseed oil for dry skin. What a difference this has made! I take one (large!) gelcap every day, and my hands and feet have not had the awful roughness that made it hard to even get dressed without my skin catching on my clothes. I know different things work for different people, but this has worked for me.
Sunny
California
For me vitamin E oil works best for dry and cracked hands and feet. I put it on as I am watching TV in the evening before bed. I also wear gloves in the kitchen to avoid getting my hands in water too much while cooking. I buy the softgels at the drug store and cut the end off. Just keep rubbing it in, and in a few minutes my hands are soft and not sticky.
Corle
Oak Ridge
My doctor discovered that I have a Vitamin D deficiency. Now that I have been on a supplement, I don’t have cracked fingertips and itchy dry skin on my lower legs during the winter. I also take an iodine supplement which has greatly improved the strength of my fingernails. Perhaps the combination of these two supplements is the cause of the improvement.
Sharon
Arizona
I’ve had excellent results using Gold Bond Diabetics Moisturizing Formula. It’s the only thing that works… One application moisturizes my husband’s and my dry skin thru out the day… We have recently moved to the Sonoran Desert of Arizona, the land of low humidity. Adequate water intake helps, but doesn’t completely eliminate the issue. Before we retired, we lived in the Northeast, the land of brutal winters. The Gold Bond does the trick for us in both locations.
Alice
WI
I make my own balm which means inexpensive, chemical free, fragrance free and I can lavish it on as much as needed. Equal parts shea butter, coconut oil, beeswax. Melt – I put a small oven proof dish over a pan of heating water. Pour into a container, larger for home, small for purse. I use it all day on lips, cuticle, hands, feet. No cracking skin at all.
joyce
United States
Please try petroleum jelly. I’ve had terribly dry skin, but when I was 35 my doc told me to try vase line. I’m 75 now and there’s not a single wrinkle on my face!! Plus I can wear makeup and lipstick. It changed my life!
Karen
Illinois
I’ve always had dry skin, and recently, extremely dry skin. I started taking flax seed oil to help with dry, irritated eyes, and found that my skin has improved dramatically. Moisturizer can
help the symptom, but the cure is internal.
mariellen gilpin
central illinois
The dryness due to the unusual cold makes me itchitchITCH! A friend recommended Mane n’ Tail cream. I ordinarily hold off about any product until I can research it, but this itch resulted in desperation. Friends assure me Mane n’ Tail is a natural product. All I know is that the cream doesn’t leave an oily residue on my skin, and greatly relieves the itch. I’ve used Zinc Oxide, which helps keep me comfortable but the residue is actually visible as well as gooey. Thanks for the list of helpful Stuff to try another time, in less desperate circumstances.
John
Texas
Stiefel Laboratories used to make a prescription lotion called Mimyx, for dermatitis. It’s now made by Artesa, and is still a prescription product. The key ingredient is something Stiefel called Palmitamide MEA, which, according to my dermatologist, is intended to augment a key layer of protection in the skin that is largely missing in persons with skin allergies. However, I found it to be a terrific hand cream, extremely soothing in cold, dry weather. It was also really expensive. I eventually discovered that Stiefel sells a cream overseas called Physiogel AI Cream that has the same active ingredient, but is sold over-the-counter as a lotion for dry skin. The “AI” is important; the Physiogel products without the designation “AI” (that second letter being the ninth letter in the alphabet, not the 12th) do not have the Palmitamide MEA. The Physiogel AI cream seems every bit as effective as Mimyx, at least in treating dry skin. I buy the product on eBay, from overseas vendors. The product I’ve seen is made in Ireland and in Poland.
Jackie
Raleigh, NC
Winter dryness makes me itch all over, so I use Udderly Smooth Extra Care 20 as a body cream. It works extremely well , especially when I apply it right after taking a shower. For my hands, though, I use Gold Bond Ultimate Healing Hand Cream, whose ingredients include urea (the second-listed ingredient, after water), dimethicone, and petrolatum. It is truly non-greasy, has a barely detectable scent, and lasts for a long time. I apply it throughout the day (I even keep a tube in my purse) and before I go to bed at night. It has really made a difference: this is the first winter in many years that my fingertips have not cracked and bled. It’s a great product.
Nell Morgan
UT
My best cure is using Aloe based hand sanitizer frequently during the day. I especially try to work it under my fingernails when I apply it.
Renee Clay
MI
Once the first snow arrives in Grand Rapids, Michigan, I place baby Vaseline on my entire body. You can purchase baby Vaseline from Dollar General. This project has paraben and phthalate removed from it. I have oily skin and I do not feel greasy when using this.
Claudia
Baltimore
I have eczema which can pop up any time. When it gets out of control & skin splits on fingers, I have found that bandaids for blisters heals them better than anything else I have tried.
Donna
Hendersonville, NC
When my lips get cracked, I dab a bit of anti-biotic ointment for healing. Those cracks are actually small cuts. After using lotion on my body, I rub on Desitin, a diaper rash ointment. It helps the healing process and creates a barrier due to the zinc oxide in it.
Margie
Florida
I was born with eczema and dry skin, so in my 70’s now I sure have learned a lot. Moisturize after showering with a lightweight ‘cleanser’. Then right on top of then a lotion, and finally a heavier cream. I use Eucerine which comes ion a ‘tub’. Then just walk around the house for 10 minutes semi-nude, or in bathing suit while it sinks in enough to put clothes on.
John
Croydon, PA
In door relative humidity is lower in winter because the heating system raises the air temperature, and warm air holds more moisture. Part of the solution might be to lower the thermostat. I keep the house cooler, and just put on more clothes. I think it is better for my respiratory system, and it should help a little with dry skin.
Terry
Burlingame, California
I get dry fingertips with splits in the skin. They really hurt. I found using masking tape right on the split gave instint relief and was very healing. It’s the best thing ever.
Ellen
OH
I use a humidifier to help with the lack of humidity. I have one in my bedroom which also keeps my face and lips plump and not dried out.
Fran
Buffalo, NY
I’ve tried many products for my arms, legs and feet. O’Keefe’s creams, one for hands and one for feet, have worked the best for me.
Mary Lou
TX
Two words: coconut oil. It not only moisturizes, but it also heals. It can be used on any part of the body (it was even recommended by a GYN nurse practitioner for vaginal dryness). And you can cook with it, too!
alexis jones
nc
it seems to me that the research for relief to dry skin is not getting to the cause, rather treating the problem after it surfaces. I have problems believing the problem is caused by cold weather, rather it creates the environment for the problem to surface. For example, what groups of people on Earth do not have dry skin? what is their diet? what is the makeup of their skin oil? If it were only cold weather, folks could not live in many, many areas on Earth. I want, until now quite unsuccessfully, someone to investigate the underlying physiological causes below the level of skin surface, so that treatment will be minimized and more successful.
Essi
All these suggestions are wonderful and because we’re all different, we may need to shop around to get the perfect moisturizer. There is a near-universal remedy, though, that I would add–essential oil of lavender. This wonderful healing oil can be added easily to any of your lotions (though I haven’t tried to mix it into petroleum jelly because I’m one of those who don’t use it). Lavender EO is also something to keep handy in the kitchen where you can put a drop on a burn for instant relief and very likely a blister will never form.
Mary
Maryland
My first recommendation is to install a humidifier in your central heating. My second is to get a room humidifier (preferably an ultrasonic one because they’re silent) for the room you spend the most time in, i.e. the living room or the bedroom. It makes a world of difference to winter-dry skin.
PP
Florida
In northern winters I also used Corn Huskers lotion. Fragrance free, and almost pure glycerine.
Anne
The best thing I did for my dry skin was to stop eating gluten. Before I eliminated gluten, my hands and feet would be so dry the skin would crack and bleed in the winter. I have not had this problem for 12 years. What little dryness I do have, I use a coconut oil based lotion and that works great.
Laurie M.
Waseca, MN
I recommend Installing a Water Softener!! It makes one heck of a difference!! I still use hand Lotion on my hands and feet, but dry skin really responds to soft water. Softened water also helps prevent dry skin!!
Liz
UK
Nothing works better than unperfumed Neutrogena hand cream. Especially when applied last thing at night! Recommended for Norwegian fishermen! Try it and see. Hope this helps!
Cee
SC
Plenty of water, bathe with goat milk soap, and lather on goat milk lotion.
lou g
San Antonio
I had these problems here in San Antonio for years in Winter. I also tried everything to no avail, so I bought Udderly Smooth from People’s Pharmacy. My late wife that passed away 03/2013 really liked it as she had tried more creams than I can imagine. I happened to mention cracked skin to my dermatologist lasy year in January, and he prescribed Vanicream. I’ve had not one single instance of cracks this Winter. Not to take away from Udderly Smooth, but I had, at times, had to also use liquid skin for some cracks.
fbl
Las Vegas, NV
For good skin one must start from the inside and then work on the visible skin. I used to have serious cracks in my heels and finger tips no matter what I used. When I was in the military they gave me a prescription salve that improved it some but not enough. It had urea in it. My own Dr. has prescribed it for me as well. No, it did NOT solve the problem.
Late in ’99 I read about coconut oil. I started using it in a hot chocolate drink daily and several things happened-all wonderful! Well the black tarry stools to start didn’t seem wonderful at the time but it meant it was cleaning out my liver and that was good.
My skin is amazing and at age 69 I often get complements. No I don’t wear makeup and haven’t done for about 30 years because of sensitivities (yes even to supposedly hypoallergenic products). No cracked skin anywhere-even my feet. I do the spa every afternoon so I’m in hot water every day. I don’t take very good care of my feet either because of hip problems. Can’t comfortably reach them. Other than the spa I don’t bathe. I do not use soap-just rinse in the spa.
The other amazing thing that has happened since using coconut oil is my weight. Over a period of years I’ve lost about 100 pounds. My appetite is less and I don’t crave sweets very often.
I do use a coconut oil based cream on my arms and hands. When the skin on my face feels dry I use some coconut oil on it a few hours before bedtime.
Martha
Texas
How do you make the choc coconut drink ? Do you do it every day ?
Carol
Kansas City Mo.
How do you make the choc coconut drink ? can u give us recipe, please. more info. r u still drinking the chocolate drink daily ? Thank you so much. Carol
Valarie
Las Vegas
When I was juicing everyday my skin was better. After juicing 80 days wow 95% of health issues went away including plantar fasaics foot pain. I was a vegan but after the juice feasting I am now consuming animals which I wish there was a better solution but my body craves it. Now my skin is really jacked up. I have organic coconut oil to cook with but I will set it up to using it daily. Thanks for the reminder and the inspiration. Cuz sometimes my hands and feet are so bad I wonder how will I be in ten years! You have given me hope. Thank you! PS a few of us would like the recipe
Donnie
USA
I have Atopic Dermatitis and winter weather makes it worse. I use natural Vitamin E oil, or organic coconut oil, on my excessively dry skin. Even on the rashes. They both are very helpful. I use a little Neosporin + pain reliever on the cracks that bleed, and they heal rapidly without infecting. I avoid products with fragrance or toxic chemicals, because they make my skin problems much more serious.
Liz H
Beef tallow is very healing for the skin. It can be purchased or easily rendered. I don’t live in an area of extreme winters, so haven’t tried it there.
RLKat
VA
My skin and lips are always super dry and cracked too. I’ve found that Aquafor liberally applied around the nail bed and sides of finger tips each night in bed stops the cracking. It’s usually absorbed before I turn the lights out. The new Vaseline Lip a therapy with cocoa butter is so rich you don’t need to re-apply every few minute. Also sleeping with a humidifier helps keep lips cracking in the first place. Coat your lips before sleeping, turn on the humidifier (I use a cool air ultrasonic so there’s no danger of mold) and all of your skin will be better off. Check your lotions to make sure that petroleum isn’t in the ingredients. That irritates my skin instantly and makes the symptoms worse. You’d be surprised how many have petroleum as a major ingredient
cpmt
did she tried coconut oil or cream (organic and natural 100%) ? also use soft gel-gloves when you are not doing anything (I got mine in Marshall’s or TJ Max) but they don’t have them all the time. some stores sells them too. you probably need some vitamins and minerals or some essential amino acids ? enzymes? or… something. Also vicks vapor Rub will help to control infection or bacterial invasion on the cracked skin, and the eucalyptus in it will help to heal the skin.
Rosemary
Minnesota
You are NOT drinking enough water. Plain and simple, if you have dry skin, you are not drinking enough water. Pop is especially bad for causing dry skin. Drop the pop, drink water.
alexis jones
United States
Note: this is not a ‘paid’ endorsement. I have found Udderly Smooth Extra Care 20 Cream with 20% urea to provide excellent relief to itching due to dry skin as well regular skin irritations. Did try it w/o the 20% urea with not much success, so recommend the 20%.
Difficult to find in my neighborhood, so ordered three 8 oz containers thru P Pharm link. Honest.
Rob
NZ
Neutrogena’s Norwegian Formula Handcream was originally from something used by fishermen, in cold, wet conditions. My parents found it the only thing which worked for splits in their hands during the lambing season.
Since then I have also found that olive oil is excellent for extra-dry hands; coconut oil is very gentle on the skin; & taking some hempseed oil – a few spoonsful daily – helps the skin a lot.
marie
brooklyn
virgin cold-pressed coconut oil is great – slather it on head to toe and rub it in.
lsm
I’ll share my recipe for home made skin oil.
3/4 cup extra light olive oil. This has a mild scent.
1 ounce by weight cocoa butter. The dollar store stick is the right size.
few drops essential oil if desired for scent
Put the olive oil and the cocoa butter in a small pan. Heat only enough to melt the cocoa butter. DO NOT OVERHEAT. Remove from heat. Add a few drops of essential oil, if desired, for scent. Refrigerate or freeze any product that won’t be used soon.