Hardworking Hands

Just about everyone has experienced dry skin, blisters, calluses, hangnails, and red chapped skin on their hands. That is why there are so many lotions, creams and salves especially designed to soften hands at your local drug store. If you were to stop for a moment and think about how much your hands do for you each day , you will appreciate the value of time and nurturing of these hardworking parts.

Whether you are a Mason working with stone and abrasive brick all day or a gardener using shovels ,rakes, and your bare hand preparing potting soil, or even an office worker shuffling papers all day long. Your hands are likely to be in need of cream or a salve.

Which lotions are creams the best? The choice is yours. You may want to use a hand emollient that dries quickly and has no fragrance. At home you may opt for a thicker cream formula that you can wear all night with cotton cloves. If your hands are severely chapped or cracking you need some good heavy-duty Salve to sooth the cracked skin. As you grow older, you will want to use gentle, skin moisturizing lotions and creams every day to slow down the effects of aging.

Here is a recipe for aging hands http://hubpages.com/hub/Lemonade-Hands and http://hubpages.com/hub/Special-wash-and-Oatmeal-Scrub-for-Chapped-Hands

 Hand slaves and creams have probably been around since bear grease was discovered.  Many n19thcentury hand products form the agricultural communities came with names like absorbine, Veterinary, Liniment, bag Balm, Corn Huskers Lotion and White Cloverine Salve.  Farmers began to try these products on the theory that " if it's good for the horse it's good for it's owner. "

There are numerous beneficial herbs for hand creams and ointments recipes includeing, Aloe,Candulam weed, Comfrey, Viola or Garden Pansy, Plantain, Red Clover, St. John;s Wort and Yarrow.

You can find these beneficial nutrients in upcoming Hubs "Making Natural Hand creams and Salves"

 http://hubpages.com/hub/How-To-Make-Natural-Milk-Soap