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Fantastic Hand Cream

Since I started making my own hand cream, I still use some Bath & Body Works products but I almost always have a batch of the homemade stuff around.  With the moves and everything leading up to them, I ran out of the homemade stuff.  With the cold weather, the baking and not having a dishwasher and having my hands in the water so much, my fingers have started cracking so I made another batch of the homemade stuff yesterday.

This is the original post where I shared the recipe I was given but it’s simply 16 oz. baby lotion (any brand, any “flavor”), 8 oz. Vitamin E cream, and 8 oz. Vaseline (I like the Vaseline with cocoa butter and please don’t tell me that I should not be using Vaseline, a petroleum based product.  I’ve heard it before and I still use it and if you don’t want to use it . . find something else that works!).  Because I was not about to go to Wal-Mart this time of year, I went to Family Dollar and their baby lotion was 11 oz. so I got two and used only part of the second bottle.  Their Vitamin E cream was 16 oz. so I only used half of that.  I’ll save the rest for the next batch.  Vaseline seems to no longer come in an 8 oz. size so just use whatever you find.

If you have a hard time finding the Vitamin E cream, check Family Dollar or Dollar General stores.  They seem to almost always have it.  I’ve also noticed folks using the CVS brand so CVS Stores must have it too.

Dump it all in the mixer and mix it up and then fill your containers.  If you’re keeping it all for yourself, which I mostly do, you can put it in any small jar or container with a lid.  I’ll give some of this, along with the recipe, to my new friends around here.  I found these little containers at Family Dollar:

I don’t even know if they were really $1 or if they were more but they are perfect for giving a small amount of this cream to someone else.  I also can’t tell you how much the ingredients cost.  The 11 oz. baby lotion containers were $3 each.  I saw the price on those.  The Family Dollar store is right next to Kroger and I needed a few things that Brookshire’s didn’t have (jasmine rice for one thing!) so I ran next door and started shopping while Vince paid for the stuff at Family Dollar.

This cream really is the best for my hands and feet and I use it on my face as a night cream too.

 

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Comments

  1. My family has been using this lotion for years. I use the Dollar General brand baby lotion and vitamin E cream ($1.00 each).

  2. I get all my ingredients at Dollar General and use their brands. All of the ingredients to make a batch are under $7 total. I wouldn’t be without this and have given away more than I can count. With only one exception, everyone loved it and began making it themselves (one person felt it was too “greasy”). I use it all over my body and it has made a world of difference for dry (aging) skin. I also quit using the mixer. I just use my hands and it is quick and easy and less to clean up. It’s great if you have a second person available to hold some containers for you since your hands are full of cream. Great Christmas gift!

  3. I have been using this since the first time you blogged about it. I am a runner and this works great on my feet. My family keeps stealing it from me so I have to make big batches. I changed the vaseline and used bag balm in its place because I already had a bunch on hand.

  5. I also have used this since you first blogged about it…..best cream ever.I keep containers all around the house and thank you for sharing the recipe.

  7. I love this cream, also! I’ve been using it since your original post. One of the original comments said they didn’t even use a mixer to mix it up, so I have just been mixing it with a spatula in the bowl. Feels like silk and I love it. Thanks again for the idea!

  8. Well this is a first for me, and I’m definitely going to make this! Everything about me is DRY, I can’t even wear the best contact lens on the market, so no way could it be too greasy for me. I have used plain vaseline for years on my heels (with a sock on at night) and it’s better than any store bought stuff.
    Thanks for the recipe!

    • JoAnn,
      I have always been dry and had the same problems with contacts. Until I was pregnant and drinking 60 oz of water a day, my contacts were never more comfortable. Drink water. Lots of it. It’ll help your dry eyes and probably everything else…

  9. Thank you for the recipe, I’ll get the stuff today to make up a batch. Living in the desert is murder on skin.
    If you want a fabulous body scrub, mix 2 cups of sugar and one cup of Canola oil. Exfoliates and leaves the skin nice and soft.

    • Sharon, can you keep this mixture on hand or will the sugar eventually dissolve? Sounds like a great scrub?

      • It will last forever. A little of the oil migrates to the top but that’s ok.

        • Thanks, Sharon. I plan to make some. I made up this hand cream several months ago and really like it. I put it in 2 large containers and just refill smaller jars when needed. I fill a zip loc sandwich baggie with the stuff, snip off a corner and squeeze it into very small containers for travel.

  10. I missed your original post on this so thanks for posting the recipe again. I will give a try – do you like this better for face cream than the expensive stuff that is made for the face? Or mainly as a body/hand cream.
    Karen

  11. I need relief from my finger tips and heels cracking every winter. I’m going to try this recipe!

  12. I use the plastic ketchup/mustard squeeze bottles that you can buy from the dollar stores. Of course, if it were a gift I’d use something fancier, but for me it’s perfect. This recipe fills two bottles so one stays home and one goes to work.

  13. I made some of this earlier this week and put it into the 3 oz travel bottles I found in the 99 cent section at WalMart. It wasn’t easy getting it into those bottles. 🙂 They have the Vitamin E cream at WalMart too – it comes in a two pack, with each jar being 4 oz. I printed off a picture of a vintage santa and taped it onto the bottles and gave them to quilting friends. This stuff is great! blessings, marlene

  14. WOW! This may be the answer to my husband’s dry cracked hands in the winter time. Thanks for reposting!

    And I love Vaseline. That and corn starch is all I use on my baby girl for any diaper rash/paci rash problems. 😉

  15. Judy, I went to the Dollar Store and got the vitamin E cream plus they had the little round containers, and I had the other 2 ingredients already. Just mixed up a batch and oh my gosh, is it ever wonderful! even has a nice slight scent, I guess from the baby oil, but I suppose you could add a scent if desired. I love how it feels, and now I have 8 little stocking stuffers for my granddaughters and daughters-in-law! Thanks so much for this again, I did see it the first time, but hadn’t made it. Now it is all I will ever use!

  17. I’m going to get the stuff to make this. I, too, missed your first post about it. Can I ask you how long it lasts (not how long it takes you to use it but rather how long it will keep without spoiling…although I guess none of that stuff would spoil) or if it separates at all when you have it in the containers?

  18. Judy, I’ve been making it since you posted a year or so ago. I started making it with equal amts Vit E cream and baby lotion. It makes it a bit creamier. Still use the same amt of Vaseline.
    Love the stuff.

  19. Judy, I made jars of this lotion for my quilting buddies last year and this year they all asked for the recipe so they could make it for their friends and families. Three of my sons work outdoors and they love to use it on their hands, especially in the winter. It’s great for dry cracked skin.

    Loved your post about Vince’s shoulder pain. Had to bring my mom to nursing home today (hopefully it’s temporary) and I got such a belly laugh when I read it. Really cheered me up.

  20. Oh my, this may be the answer to my splitting fingers and cracking heels! I’m going to make some tomorrow, thanks!!

  21. I can’t wait to make this for my daughters and my girlfriends. Thanks for the recipe.

  22. I can’t wait to make some!

    And as far as petroleum products…. As long as you’re not using it on condoms…. LOL! Ok, I’m sorry. My sick nurse humor came out…

    I’m going to try and make some of this tomorrow for a party we’re going to at 4pm…. 🙂

  25. Just saw this. I am a blog lurker and rarely comment.–but I promise I am not a nut or something LOL I got some sweet little containers at Dollar General (3/.75) to make for some work friends. Cant wait to try it. They had everything I needed in the store brands so it was pretty inexpensive.

    I will also include a salt scrub I make for a nice little “spa” gift. for the salt scrub I use plain salt (no iodine) with just a little olive oil –just until it is grainy. add a sm plastic spoon and use it on wet hands just like soap. I use just a drop or too of esential oil to make it smell good. salt is a anti-bacterial all on its own so you dont have to use soap…even better ! I’m gonna try to get this on my blog if you wanna look

  27. I was wondering if there is much aroma to the lotion and does it absorb into the skin…i have a problem with the lotion staying on my skin so I wipe it off right away…I know I am weird! but I have dry skin bad, old age thing…turning into a dried up old lady, I’m afraid….

    • There is just a subtle aroma. Just use a very small amount at first to work into your skin and add more as you need to. I found that a little goes a long way.

      • thanks Sue…and Judy…I think i will make a small batch and try it….Dried up old lady…Watch out!!!

  28. DH and I just came home from Family Dollar with all the stuff to make this. I whipped it up, divided it up for gifts for my girlfriends and have a nice amount left for me. WOW! This is awesome! It smells so good and it feels so good on my hands. Can’t wait to use it on my feet and legs tonight. Thank you so much.

  29. I went into Lubbock this afternoon and bought everything. Just finished making this! It feels wonderful! Thank you so much for the recipe!

  30. I just made a small amount to try it out! two tablespoons of baby lotion, 1 tablespoon ea of the Vasoline and Vit E cream…. didn’t have enough of any of the ingre to make the full batch. I will be making a full batch soon! may try Vasoline CREAM instead of reg Vasoline… at least for my hands. thanks for the ‘recipe’. used a spoon to ‘whip’ it up. worked great!

  31. I made the handcream last year and gave a lot away; now I am ready for more! Went back and got a new supply of ingredients. This is the best cream — hands, body, feet, toes — of any I have ever tried. Thank you!

  32. I love this lotion–except I do use Coconut oil instead of Vaseline–just as moisturizing–if not more so and a little silkier, I think–Coconut oil is wonderful for your skin as well as to cook with!!

    • It’s purely a matter of preference. This year I made a batch with Vaseline with cocoa butter and a batch with coconut oil and no one who has tried it has preferred the coconut oil version. They like it but they like the vaseline/cocoa butter version better.

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