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Cracked Skin And Broken Fingernails


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Like many folks in pottery, my hands were chapped and cracked while my fingernails were constantly tearing.

I talked to my dermatologist about this. He made two very effective recommendations that I want to pass on.

 

1. Curel hand cream.. This stuff is unlike anything else I have tried. When you put it on it has the same oily feel of most hand creams. After a few minutes it is absorbed into your skin with no sense of oiliness left. I put a small dab on before I go into  studio then again when I wash up. It has made a huge difference in my skin. You can get the stuff for about $12.00 for 16 oz  at Walmart or Walgreens

 

2. Daily dose of Biotin. I take 1000mg. It takes about 4 month to see the difference,... for your fingernails to grow out. At that point, the difference is dramatic. No more torn or broken fingernails. You can get this stuff cheap on Amazon or eBay.

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There was a teacher that taught some ceramics classes in my building years ago. Every time he turned around, he would be washing his hands with the dispenser hand soap and water. All the time. His hands were in terrible shape, always cracked to the point of bleeding. One day when he was complaining of it, I told him to only wash his hands with water unless going to lunch or leaving the room for the day, only to wash rinse with water thoroughly. One month later his hands had cleared up and things were much better for him.  Sometimes we carry the cleanliness next to __ __ ___ liness a little too far. :wacko:

 

Biotin is great for nails.

 

best,

pres

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I pour some  vinegar on my hands when I am finished working for the today, I got this tip from a 1960's CM magazine.  I usually use vasoline but will use hot wax  if they are really dry.  My hot waxer broke so I think I'll get a bottle of Curel as a backup treatment.    Denice

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I use Cornhuskers lotion. http://www.amazon.com/Corn-Huskers-Oil-Free-Hand-Lotion/dp/B000RO3EMA

 

When I use to finish concrete back in my young man days I would have the worst callus and dry hands because of working with cement. I found this stuff was amazing, however it has an odor to it, but I dont mind the odor for the work it does. It absorbs into your skin in about 5 minutes and only the smell remains. It will heal hard hands to soft in a matter of weeks if you use it constantly.

 

It's pretty awesome and extremely cheap. 

 

As far as hand washing, I never wash my hands until I leave the studio. Even when I am glazing I just have 5 gallon buckets full of water that I dip my hands in to wash off. 

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I've tried every cream and lotion on the market because I have very sensitive, dry, itchy skin all over. Some of them worked and some made me feel worse. I've had the best results with Lubriderm lotion and Costco sells huge bottles of it and don't even look at the price. When I apply it to my hands at bedtime I wear cotton gloves to sleep.

 

Paul

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I first started using Curel 25 years ago when it was recommended by my tattooist to keep new tattoos moist and speed the healing. I've been using it ever since. The best trick, however, is to not let the clay dry on your hands. I keep a bucket of water next to my wheel so I can immediately rinse off every time I stop throwing to answer the phone, help a customer, etc.

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I always used a calendula greasy ointment that my grandma made for years from fresh calendula.

This was only matched by St.Johns Wort oil ,

a classic herbal remedy for dry skin. I put it on my hands in the evening and the next day the dryness is gone. This oil can usually be bought ready for use but I prefer the organic ones.

 

All the best, claude

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Every year my hands crack and bleed around the cuticles. I think it must be from

the lack of humidity in the air combined with the constant drying out from clay

and water. I have to use band aids coated with some type of hand cream or Bag Balm. The best band aids are Dollar Generals 3 1/4 inch flex type. The extra 1/4 inch allows the band aid to wrap around fingers much better.

Not all of the same fingers crack and bleed from year to year, so on some

I have to wait and see, then respond.

Last year I tried something out of desperation, and I think it worked some.

I poured a cap full of baby oil in my water bucket. I posted it but the second

hand computer didn't type "oil". Old lady caught the computers mistake, you should proof read entrys just to check behind the computer, before hitting " post"!.

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Alabama,

 

get a nail brush.  When your finished working with clay brush your nails with soap and water.  Small clay particles can be hiding in the small crevices around the nail and cuticle and cause the drying, cracking and tearing of cuticles that you describe. Once I started doing this my nails felt much better.

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I also used to have terribly cracked fingers.  At the greenhouse I worked in they had a lotion for gardeners that I tried and it worked!  Like Doc's it goes on oily but in minutes is totally absorbed...and no longer any cracked fingertips or dry hands. The product which I purchase online from www.CamilleBeckman.com is   'Restore' hand therapy and it works so well I have not used anything else.  Once a day, a squirt about 1.5" , work it in, and my hands stay nice.  There used to have another product called 'Shield' for  use before your clay/gardening work but that is discontinued.   It is more expensive than Curel but for me it works.

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