Since my feet also suffer, especially in summer when I don't wear shoes unless I must, I decided to try one of the recipes I found for homemade lotions--and to treat my hands and feet with it. And it worked.
(I've been pinning onto Pinterest boards for over a year now and have collected lots of ideas for health and beauty along with lots of inspiration for sewing, quilting, gardening, cooking and decorating. Try it you'll like it!)
Basically, you beat baby lotion (love the scent), Vaseline, and Vitamin E cream together with your hand mixer. Or you can use solid-form coconut oil in place of the Vaseline.
Here are links to the two blog entries I found about making your own lotion; my recipe, below, is a variation on them, and works very well.
Here's What I Did
To keep the costs down, I opted for the Vaseline instead of coconut oil. I purchased a 3.53-ounce jar (coconut-scented) at the Dollar Tree for $1.00, along with their largest bottle of baby lotion for $1.00. I used two 4-ounce jars of Vitamin E cream from Wal-Mart (2 in a pack for about $3.70). Then as the directions in both posts direct, I mixed them in a bowl to creamy pink froth with my hand mixer and scooped them into the empty containers and a plastic tub. For under $6.00, I have a healthy supply of lotion. The other recipes call for more Vaseline or Coconut oil, but the small jar of Vaseline was enough--I think more would make it greasier than I would like.
Note: What a great, inexpensive Christmas gift this would make for your gal pals, sewers or otherwise!
And oh, do I LOVE it! It's rich and creamy and as I said before, I love the scent. It's silky and not greasy and sinks into the skin pretty quickly. I love the way my hands feel and the dryness is gone. Be sure to work it into your cuticles, too. I usually put it on my heels and the soles of my feet, put on a pair of socks, and my walking shoes and head out the door. There's usually enough left on my hands to work it in and sometimes up my arms. While I'm walking the fluff sinks into and nourishes my feet and hands, which were badly cracked and calloused when I started this regime. WHAT a DIFFERENCE. The dryness is gone, the cracks have disappeared, my callouses are shrinking, and my feet and hands are baby soft! This will part of my daily health and beauty routine for the rest of my life! I've never been one for using lots of lotions as I don't like the "slimy" feel they usually leave behind. Now I have the answer. When I'm sewing a lot, I use the lotion on my hands often during the day.
Biotin--It Works!
The other Pinterest-generated beauty tip that has worked for me is to take Biotin for your nails (and hair and skin). Although, my nails are still not as hard as I would like after taking it for a year, they are stronger and the peeling and cracking has all but stopped, unless I abuse my hands by not wearing gardening gloves--I just love to get my hands in the dirt! I take two 1,000 mcg tablets every day with my other vitamins (Biotin is one of the B vitamins). I think it also makes my hair more manageble and shinier (nhot sure if it has made much difference in my skin).
So here's two thumbs up to Pinterest, for providing a way to collect, categorize, and use information from the WEB! Some things I've tried haven't given the desired results, but these two are winners, for sure.
Until next time, keep smiling and sewing!
Barbara
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