My hands have become dry, rough, and cracked, thanks to the harsh winter weather. My wife’s moisturizer leaves my hands feeling greasy, so I turned to O’Keeffe’s.
O’Keeffe’s Working Hands hand cream is very well reviewed over at Amazon, so I gave it a try. I actually bought a small tub of this stuff a while back but misplaced it before I ever got a chance to use it. This time around I made sure not to lose it.
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There are a couple of things to know about Working Hands hand cream.
It’s odorless. I couldn’t detect any noticeable fragrances. This is of course a plus.
It does relieves dryness. I have only used it a few times and once overnight, but I can definitely tell that it’s working.
O’Keeffe’s recommends that the hand cream be used up to several times a day, such as after washing your hands or bathing. They especially recommend it be used overnight.
It makes your hands feel slightly waxy. It doesn’t leave my hands feeling greasy, but there is a very slight lingering waxiness feeling. I applied a sparing amount on my hands as directed, but even a little coverage leaves a detectable waxy film. I suppose this is how the hand cream helps your skin retain moisture.
O’Keeffe’s says those with severely dry hands might feel a stinging sensation, but I didn’t feel anything like that.
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Overall, I do like the hand cream, and absolutely recommend it. I would rather not have to use it, but my hands are in bad shape. The very slight waxy feeling is not unpleasant, and I intent to experiment with applying even smaller amounts to see if it goes away.
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Price: $7 for a 3.4 oz jar
The product reviewed here was purchased at its full retail price from Amazon.
Steven Bone
Stuart – I also started using it this year after seeing a few things online about it. Previously, I used an Avon product that worked ok, but took a long time to make the hands feel better. O’Keeffe’s Working Hands is FAR superior.
After using sub-par gloves in cold weather while shoveling snow one morning, my hands killed me for the rest of the day and most of the following day. Like you, I misplaced my tub before using it even once, so I was using the Avon product with the above results.
During that week, I found the tub in the garage and stashed it in the nightstand. The next week I repeated the experiment, this time using O’Keeffe’s. I still have not located the box of good gloves. Unlike your experience, I did get the burning sensation, which went away shortly. The result – a few hours later my hands felt the equivalent of a day and a half of Avon. As I didn’t cart the tub around that day, the next application was prior to bed – the burn was minimal – and the next morning I’d never have known how bad I killed my hands the day before.
Amazing product. I picked mine up as a filler at Harbor Freight (also $7) along with a bunch of other disposable items when they had the 20% off everything in an order of $100 or more.
Kenneth Ruud
This product is perfect for plumbers that use acid copper pipe flux, i had like 7 layers with skinn that wouldent heal, but then i found this on ebay and it fixed my hands in a few days 🙂
Norway.
Joe 'the Pro' Sainz
This stuff is the best for truly messed up hands – cracked, wind burnt etc.
Pro tip: don’t put it on before the airport – if you get swabbed, you’ll fail. It’s mostly glycerin I think.
Anthony
ive been using this for a few years and i can attest that it heals cracked finger tips(you know the really painful ones that hurt like hell when you bump them) it takes a few days but it does work..my wifes lotion never really healed ,it just moistened the skin
Heather
It does work really well on cracked finger tips but holy cow does it ever sting for awhile first on the really deep ones! Yowza!
But its me!
I have been using this for a year or so, also finding it to be the best for dry hands. While my day job involves nothing heavy, I do have to wear nitrile gloves all day at the lab bench, with frequent changes and washing hands. For the weekend when I over do it renovating our house, this stuff helps keep cracked skin under control. Not perfect, but worlds better than everything else tried thusfar. I keep a tub at home and work, and found that a very small amount is best, just lightly swiping my fingertips across the surface. Helps minimize the waxy feel.
Larson
I use it mainly on my knuckles since they crack in the winter.
To get past the waxy feeling I just dip one finger in and put a small glob on my knuckles. I then rub my knuckles/backs of my hands together to get it worked into my knuckles. Sounds weird but it works great and avoids any waxy feeling on my hands.
Robert
This stuff may work just fine, but it’s a lot of marketing BS in my opinion. What makes this any better for “working hands” than any high quality hand cream? I mean, come on, Jergens, Purel, etc, are every bit as suited to “working hands” as something like this.
Put some dermatologist recommended Purel on your “working hands,” and I’ll assure you it’ll handle any of your dry cracked skin issues. This is way overpriced in my opinion for this small container. The other stuff will do the same thing, and a whole bunch cheaper at that.
RogerWilco
Do you mean Purel the hand sanitizer? That’s one of the worst things you can do to dry hands, as it’s alcohol based. Alcohol is a solvent, and simply dries your skin up. I’ve had often severe dry hands (bleeding cracks) that started after a few months of chronic hand sanitizer use when my daughter was an infant during the Swine Fly outbreak. I’ve had 2 doctors tell me that I should never use that stuff again. Few times I have, I regretted it.
John Crocker
You are absolutely cluless! This stuff works 10x better than ANY other lotion I’ve tried…PERIOD!
RogerWilco
I’ve had a history of mild-to-moderate dry skin for as long as I can remember, but it’s been intermittently severe for the past 4 years or so. Almost entirely on my hands – the top knuckles, fingertips an between. It’s been consistently bad for more than a year now; I often have nasty cracks (like deep paper cuts) that are painful and take weeks to fully heal.
I went through a ton of different products, from the common drugstore brands to a few expensive all-natural products. I found some of the latter did work better than the rest, but left my hands super greasy (one was olive oil based!). I finally happened on Working Hands, which was at least as effective as the natural stuff at a fraction of the price and without the slickness. Unfortunately, either I built up a tolerance for it, or my condition worsened as it became less effective as time went on.
I began another search and came across “Neosporin Eczema Essentials” which I have found to be much more effective than working hands (still not 100%, but better than anything else I’ve tried). I think it’s pretty new, and have had to order it from Amazon or Drugstore.com as it’s still not available at the local Walgreens and the like. It’s more of a traditional lotion in it’s consistency, and is based on more natural ingredients than Working Hands, for those of you who care. It isn’t at all greasy once fully worked into skin. There is a very slightly waxy/slippery feeling, but not greasy. Almost like graphite powder, but far less slick, and no worse than Working hands.
At any rate, it’s definitely something I’d encourage anyone to consider for whom Working Hands doesn’t do the trick. One further trick I tried out of desperation (I remember seeing my grandma doing this 30 years ago); before bed, lotion your hands up really well, and put on a pair of light, cotton gloves. Noticeably better in the morning.
Robert
Well Roger Wilco, explain that to your local dermatologist.
Robert
Robert
By the way, Roger, I read more of your post. No, I don’t mean Purel hand sanitizer. I meant Curell lotion.
Robert
Robert
I spelled it wrong yet again. It’s Curel with 1 “L”.
fred connolly
Google “Soy Soft”.
Soybean oil (duh) based hand lotion. Made in USA. No greasy residue.
AMAZING. Softens hands helps repair cold related cracks…a winter lifesaver.
Justin
This and Glysomed hand cream are the only two worth buying….
Steve W
This is an amazing product, especially for the contractors that are working outside in the winter. It is harder to find in Canada, but Canadian Tire stocks it, highly recommend
LORDDiESEL
I like the stuff but can’t use it anymore. Give me night shakes and makes my heart race.
Rob C
I had the same reaction of the heart racing today when I used it the first time. I had to wash it off, and heart stopped racing. I didn’t use a lot, just a light rub. I’m kind of afraid to use it again, afraid it might be worse. ??
Benjamin
I do dishwashing at night as second job my hands have become very dry and cracked this winter I bought working hands for the first time after trying gold bond extra strength for dry skin didn’t work vasalene intensive care work some what but didn’t heal cracks then I tried some. Organic cream my step mom had worked better then the rest but did not heal cracks 100% then I tried working hands after 3 weeks I give working hands 5 stars my hands are dry skin and crack free I would highly recommend working hands I used it 3 times a day now that my hands are healed I will try only using once a day to keep hands in good condition
Nancy
Just tried the hand cream for the first time.
Thick and sticky. Yuck.
Bought it at a garage sale.
Glad i didnt pay full price.
On my way to the bathroom to try to
Scrub it off.
Kim
Dont use but a drop