My Hands' Heroes

After my post yesterday, reddit user stephaniebee asked how I pamper my hands.  I'll write a more in-depth hand and cuticle care post someday, but I'd been wanting to do a 'shout-out' to my two favorite hand products for a while now and this was a great excuse!  I buy The Body Shop's Hemp Hand Protector directly from the company and I get Burt's Bees Lemon Butter Cuticle Cream at CVS, now that Wegmans doesn't carry it anymore.  I've used both off-and-on for over a decade.  I'll try other things sometimes, but nothing else comes close for me.  Rather than just take photos of the products themselves, I decided to do my nails in honor of their signature ingredients.

Hemp Hand Protector's hemp seed oil inspired me to use a stamping image I didn't think I'd ever need...

Zoya Yara stamped with KleanColor Military Green (BM-007)

I worked at The Body Shop waaaaaay back in my late teens/early 20's ('00-ish) and Hemp Hand Protector was a best seller and old standby even then.  It was the one tester we were all reaching for a few times per shift.  It was a skin-saver for us after all of that cashiering, cardboard, and hand washing.  I'll admit, its heavy feel and earthy patchouli scent aren't perfect for everyone, but I've never found a better bedtime hand cream.  That's not the only time I use it, but that's when I absolutely reach for it.  My nightstand always has a tube, and my desk has some too, in an old Lemon Butter Cuticle Cream tin.  How's this for timing...it's actually 50% off on their site right now!  Today only!  I'm tempted, but I'm holding out to see if they do their 4/$20 Hemp sale again this 4/20.  I bought four tubes last year and this stuff lasts so long (you don't need much each time) that I still have the full one I took a photo with...but that's my last one!  Eek!


Lemon Butter Cuticle Cream smells amazing because of lemon peel oil and I did sunny, citrusy stamping to match.

OPI I Just Can't Cope-a-cabana stamped with Sally Hansen Butterscotch (BM-004)

I have a slightly longer history with this stuff than with Hemp Hand Protector.  I may still have been in school when my mom and I first saw Burt's Bees products at a HUGE (sadly closed) Amish Country craft and gift store.  We loved the testers and I wound up getting a trial size set of their bestsellers.  I liked most of the stuff in the set, but I was blown away by the scent and staying power of Lemon Butter Cuticle Cream.  It's very waxy, so it's protective and seals in the moisture it provides.  I always have a tin in my pocket, and I dip in several times a day.  It's also what I use when I push my cuticles.  I'm one of those weirdos who likes to be able to feel product on their hands (and lips), so I don't mind the waxy feel at all.  It's not sticky or slippery, and doesn't even make my skin shiny if I apply it before I take nail photos.  I feel like I'm harping on the scent, but...THE SCENT!!  It's not perfume, it's all from the lemon peel oil, so it smells just like lemons.  The Beard says it makes him hungry, it smells that good.


I love both products for my super dry hands.  They used to crack, flake, and even bleed before these two came riding back to the rescue.  I don't know why I ever stopped using them in the first place!


So what else have I tried when I've strayed from these two?  I've dabbled with The Body Shop Wild Rose Nourishing Hand Butter and while I like it, it doesn't last as long (in either sense of the phrase) or moisturize as well as Hemp Hand Protector...though it does smell better.  OPI's AvoJuice lotions smell great and have a good feel to them, but aren't anywhere near enough for my skin.  I've tried a bunch of other lotions from Avalon Organics, Alba Botanical, Burt's Bees, and others, but nothing has been as right for me as Hemp Hand Protector.  On the cuticle side of things, I heard so many good things about Badger Cuticle Care that I gave it a shot recently.  (I've used several of their products in the past, but my favorites have been discontinued.)  It smells nice, but it's too greasy and doesn't protect like Lemon Butter Cuticle Cream does.  I've tried Lush Lemony Flutter too, but I hate how it smells!  It's a shame, because it's good stuff, but between the price and the hippie diaper cream scent...nope.


So if your hands are super dry and you don't mind products that you can feel long after you apply them, I couldn't recommend anything more highly than Lemon Butter Cuticle Cream and Hemp Hand Protector.