The hands of a ranger...

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Okapi42
Okapi42 Posts: 495 Member
in Fitness and Exercise
Not sure this is the right place to post this, but what do you active people do to keep your hands intact?

I love my ranger job, it's very active and outdoors. But between that, the horse, and my reenactment stuff, my hands are starting to suffer.

I don't mean they're no longer perfectly manicured - they were never that in the first place. Don't think I've ever filed or painted my nails. But now my fingernails and cuticles are constantly torn, there are chunks of skin missing from my knuckles, the backs and palms are covered in scrapes and cuts, and I have calluses that are cracking and catching dirt. Yuk.

So can anyone recommend a way to get them looking more, er, socially acceptable? Any lotions and potions that will get them healing up faster? I do wear gloves a good chunk of the time (I feel like I'm always wearing gloves and a helmet of some sort!) but that alone doesn't seem to help much.

Replies

  • Jennisin1
    Jennisin1 Posts: 574 Member
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    vasaline and gloves at night?
  • AlsDonkBoxSquat
    AlsDonkBoxSquat Posts: 6,128 Member
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    My nails and cuticles do much better when I eat bone based soups, O'Keefe's working hands seems to be working pretty well too . . . for everything else I just say screw it . . . I earned it and my calluses, bruises, cuts, etc are my badges of honor.
  • nadz6012
    nadz6012 Posts: 126 Member
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    I like Gold bond ultimate for a hand cream. It's a godsend in the winter when my hands crack and bleed. As for the cuts and scrapes I guess you just really need to be a little more careful and slow down.
  • stumblinthrulife
    stumblinthrulife Posts: 2,558 Member
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    Aquaphor + gloves for a couple of hours every night (or all night, if that works for you).

    I get horribly dry and cracked skin in the winters, and aquaphor is magic stuff.
  • kar328
    kar328 Posts: 4,156 Member
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    I'll vote for the Aquaphor too. I'm a nurse and wash my hands constantly so it helps
  • rikkeeroos
    rikkeeroos Posts: 28
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    Cornhusker's Lotion works really well, for me. I use kettlebells, and it is the only thing that I have found that keeps my hands from becoming one giant, dried out callous.
  • HotAshMess
    HotAshMess Posts: 382 Member
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    We deal with this at our house a lot! I used to love Mary Kay's Satin Hands, but I would advise doing a little exfoliating when you wash your hands, then cover them in Eucerine (the kind in the tub, comes in generic) or Aquafor and some gloves for a few hours or all night. I usually glove up and somehow manage to tear them off by morning. Really helps.

    For the callouses on your hands...the people that make Kersal (for your feet) make these little pads for callouses, you rub them on and the callous just kind of rubs away. Obviously you don't want to rub them away, but just so that the edges aren't sharp.

    Maybe a layer of Eucerine or Gold Bond Ultimate Healing before you leave the house and carry something to smear on after you wash your hands.
  • 20ever
    20ever Posts: 125 Member
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    Wax Wool Creme is the best thing I have ever found to treat chapped and cracked hands. Found it in Amish Country. Great stuff and my wife agrees.

    http://www.trimpines.com/stockandprices/woolwaxdetails.htm
  • _chiaroscuro
    _chiaroscuro Posts: 1,340 Member
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    Unker's Medicated Salve can pretty much solve all the world's problems from what I've heard. :)
  • crzyone
    crzyone Posts: 872 Member
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    My hands have been a mess so lately I've been slathering them with Vaseline at night and putting socks on them to sleep in. Sometimes I warm olive oil and put on my hands and then put sugar in it and scrub. It sloughs all the dead skin off but if youh ave sores on your hands you might not want to do that. After that I massage in Vaseline for a long time then put a good solid coat over them before putting old socks on them to sleep in. One hint though: make sure you use socks/gloves that you never want to use again because the Vaseline won't come out and make sure you don't lay them on anything important. I now have greasy stains on my bed that don't look too much like coming out.
  • Okapi42
    Okapi42 Posts: 495 Member
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    Thanks - I'll see whether I can get any of those here.
  • monjacq1964
    monjacq1964 Posts: 291 Member
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    bag balm, its what they use for cows udders, to keep them conditioned. You can buy it from a farmer supply store, or a farmer.

    Wear gloves when you can, as much as you can. Keeping your nails short will help too, they'll just break and look awful if you try to keep them long.

    Protein.
    People say biotin helps with hair growth, it probably helps strengthen nails as well.
  • singer201
    singer201 Posts: 560 Member
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    I have the same problem with my hands and nails from horses, gardening, etc. I've been taking biotin for at least the last year, and am finally noticing a positive difference in the quality of my fingernails. Interesting to note, reducing stomach acid via GERD medication interferes with biotin uptake--no wonder I had crummy nails while I was on it!

    It's cold enough here (moved in November) that I've been wearing gloves religiously when out with the horses, and that has helped keep my nails and hands less damaged (of course, I break a nail touching a chair the wrong way at home!). I use the beeswax-based Bee Bar Lotion by Honey House Naturals at night and anytime my hands are dry.

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