Learn how to quickly repair severely dry and cracked hands and feet with this simple, affordable product.
I have been blessed with pretty good skin – on my face. But like many others, I struggle with maintaining healthy, hydrated skin on my hands and feet. Due to the nature of my work, I wash my hands an extraordinary number of times a day – and with extremely strong soaps. Although I wear gloves (as all estheticians should) during every service I perform, I still must wash my hands before setting up for every service, before working on any client, after completing any service, after cleaning up post-service, and all the other times that one must wash hands during any given day. Over time, and without special attention given to them, my hands literally crack at every little line. It is terribly painful and even lotions and creams that normally work beautifully will burn my skin when they are that dry. Fortunately, I don’t have to wash my feet so frequently! But, even so, I struggle with dry feet, and if I fail to keep up with them – especially in the winter – I am subject to painful cracks at worst, and rough funky feeling skin at best. Naturally, I have tried every lotion, potion, cream, and balm known to mankind with much disappointment along the way.
I have used tons of cheap over the counter products from plain Vaseline to Eucerin. I’ve invested in extremely expensive and luxury brands as well. Some smell great. Some feel great. Some even seem a bit promising, but generally don’t repair my dry, chapped skin the way I, as a skin therapist, expect in order to consider a product worthy of investing in or promoting.
One very cold winter day last year, I left my studio with my hands feeling like they were on fire due to tiny cracks all along the insides of my palms and fingers – and with a painful crack in my heel to boot! After getting home, I applied multiple lotions to my hands only to be in absolute discomfort as the lotions penetrated the micro-cracks in my hands and caused immense, firey, burning. Of course, these lotions did nothing for my heel either. While digging through a drawer in my vanity, I happened across a tube of Desitin. Yes, Desitin. Diaper cream. I don’t know how it got there, when I bought it, or even why, but I am glad I discovered it as this event ended my long search for the final answer as to what on this green earth would ever help my poor hands and feet when they get so dry!
Diaper creams are typically very high in zinc. Zinc plays a critical role in our bodies in so many ways that I don’t even have time to touch the surface of just how important it is to the human body. But to give a little glimpse, just know that it is of critical importance to the health of skin tissues, our ability to heal, and our immune function. It is anti-inflammatory as well as antioxidant in nature, and also has antiviral and antibacterial properties. 20% of your body’s zinc is stored in your skin, so it makes sense that topically applied zinc would be beneficial and healing. Combine the healing and repairative effects of zinc with the conditioning and protective qualities of the other primary ingredients in diaper cream (I prefer Desitin brand due to its high zinc content), and you have a winning product for helping dry, cracked hands and feet. Oh, and then there’s the price point. GREAT skin care products usually are not cheap. In this case, however, there is not a single high dollar hand or foot cream I would even consider suggesting to anyone, as I am not convinced a better product for this particular problem exists than zinc-rich diaper cream.
How I Use it:
For Feet – Hydrate feet by gently rinsing in warm (not hot) water for a few minutes. Pat dry. Apply a good layer of Desitin and work it in well. Pay particular attention to areas of extreme dryness or cracks. Throw on a pair of thick socks and head to bed. Your feet will feel entirely different by morning. Repeat this as often as needed, but once you get your feet back in a decent state of softness, you’ll likely only need to do this for maintenance. Just remember, it’s best to not let them get to the point of cracking before begining to treat them!
For Hands – The only downside to using diaper cream for hands and feet is that it is especially thick. This makes it not so functional for application on hands during the day when you have to touch things all day long. Desitin covered fingers do not lend to nice looking smartphone screens, window, door knobs, etc. I find that I get a good amount of the product worked into my hands when applying to my feet. I will then use warm water to wash away the excess (plenty will remain), then blot with a towel to absorb any surface moisture. If I am in need of a serious hand-repair treatment, I will apply a thick layer of the cream, throw on loose disposable glove, allow the cream to penetrate 15 to 20 minutes and then rinse and blot as outlined above.
So, there you have it! An affordable hand and foot repair cream option that is readily available and really works! I hope this discovery will help you end the torture of painful hands and feet due to severe skin dryness and would love to hear your feedback once you’ve tried it!
What a great idea! I have used Desitin on my face to get rid of blemishes and redness in a hurry, and can say that it works. Never once thought of using it on my hands – which really age me! So dry and cracked. I’m trying this now overnight. Thanks for the tip!
Hi Lori! It’s crazy how sometimes the simple things are the best things, isn’t!? Hope you find this tip as useful as I do!
I did this tonight..I am in agony with my cracked raw heels for years now. I am trying this solution because I believe it will do the trick. I was googling to see if Desitin could be a possible solution and I got your page, so thanks.
I hope it helped you out!
Nice article its very helpfull thanks for sharing
Thank you, Alina!!!
Excellent article. I got many information about repairing my cracked heels
Thank you for your feedback and best of luck on caring for those heels. I know it can be a challenge, but hopefully these tips will assist!
Desitin works for me. A friend recommended zinc oxide, but I could only find it in diaper rash ointment.
It does a great job. And yes, typically the easiest and cheapest route for getting zinc oxide in a skin formula will be a diaper cream!
My friend told me about desitin today. Of course
I had to research before I do it. I can berrely walk on my right hill today. Going to put it on right now.
Hi Natasha, zinc-based creams can definitely help painful heels! Best of luck, give it a try!
I have peeling fingers and splits then my dry heels cracked but the podiatrist gave me lactic acid was supposed to put on feet for month after 3 days burned so much I stopped but it made the skin in between the cracks dead and gray which stiil won’t go back to normal.my feet are like hard concrete and splits worse. I have tried every cream and even eucrida on hands which keeps it at Bay but had to stop after 6 months as shooting pains from the cream.
I’m at my wit’s end the Dr wants to do a biopsy now creams gloves and socks still no better.
I’ll try the desitin all supposed to get due to stress as caregiver to husband.
Hope it works I’m ashamed of my feet I live in a hot country so sandals and it’s all so painful
Frances, I’m so sorry to hear about all the trouble you’re having. I am sure that is painful (and I can’t imagine how bad the lactic acid burned)! Hopefully you’ll find the zinc cream more soothing, but definitely followup with your doctor if you see no improvement.
Right now my right hand is so cracked because we are in winter and I wash the dishes constantly. So, I was in the bathroom and then I see the big jar of super strong 40% zinc oxide Desitin for my son. Then, an epiphany came to me and I told to myself: If this thing had repair the most frightening rashes of my son why not my hand?
Five minutes later, I am here reading your article confirming my theory.
Just an advise: You can totally disappear Desitin from the skin with a single baby wipe while it is still wet. After it dries, do it with normal soap.
Thank you, Cherry! I sure hope the diaper cream worked! Sometimes it’s the simplest of things that can help the most. 🙂
Dear Casey,
I had been battling asthma for a long time now and at the same time always had eczema flare ups which I eventually learned comes hand in hand as an asthma sufferer.
Then this year I turned 50 and my body went through so many changes… I was officially in menopause which was great for I was no longer suffering from endometriosis pain, but I was constantly having hot flashes and my body began getting acid reflux too! I now have to stay away from so many types of foods like night shades and dairy or else I start to get these (grey/pink-purple when wet) very itchy blaring flare ups on my body especially my hands and feet that would then peel, flake and I would get deep cuts. Oh the agony.
After doing more research and seeing a doctor or two and getting blood tests done, etc. I had now been told that these grey scaly patches aren’t just intense dry skin or eczema BUT psoriasis! I now have an auto immune disorder that is apparently incurable.
So like my prescribed, natural and over the counter eczema lotions, potions and balms I needed to try to find one that can help sooth psoriasis (I am always very itchy in the bottoms of my feet, hands and Around the base of my feet and my ankles (slowly spreading and rising). Psoriasis is very painful to have and it is a very embarrassing condition to have because I am constantly scratching without thinking.
I had used diaper cream before on some of my eczema spots and it helped. I am glad to read your story as I will give your brand a try and hope that it can help me out.
By the way, I am no doctor but wonder if Frances has psoriasis as well.
Thanks for your recommendation.
Thank you, Roshaeal, for your post! I hate to hear you’ve had so many struggles. I do not profess to know, but I swear there is a link between a lot of respiratory and skin issues. What the exact root is, I can’t be certain, but there is definitely some sort of immune + inflammatory pathway there that is a bugger to get under control. In addition to the zinc, you may want to do some research on Urea. It can do some great things for problematic skin conditions.