Pastel has a way of getting everywhere and it can be very drying to the skin….
Pastels can actually draw out the oils from the skin and in the winter I have been known to have very cracked and bleeding hands. Some pastel artists are so good at using gloves, but I hate them and the rubber fingertip covers you can get since they make my hands sweat and I would rather feel the texture of the pastel. I have to admit I am bad at wearing a mask too. If I am working on a large area, I will put one on, but I tend to plow ahead and just dive in. I figure there are other things that will kill me first.
I do however, concede to a barrier cream. This is my favorite. You can get it at a Pharmacy (not sure why) and nurses use it to protect their hands. It acts like a lotion, but puts on a barrier so the natural oils in the skin don’t get washed off. It works very well since it takes at least 6 washings to wash it off. I tend to wash my hands a lot during the day while painting so it has helped tremendously.
A few other things that have saved my hands are argon and sweet almond oils as a carrier added to lavender and lemon essential oils. Lemon and lavender oils are great for cracks and healing and I also add myrrh and frankincense oils as well. I don’t buy over the counter creams anymore. They never really worked and I have tried everything over the years. Now I try to heal my hands and not just cover up the damage. My cuticles have never looked so good! If you have questions or want a recipe, let me know.
happy painting!
I’d love your recipe for hand moisturizing oils.
Thanks so much!
Hi. Thanks for asking! and for finding my blog!
The best place to start is to put Lavender and Frankincense oils right on the wounds. Neat. Even if you can just get those it will help a lot. I strongly recommend Young Living oils since they are the purest form and highly concentrated. You don’t have to be member to get these, but you will pay a bit more for them. Check Amazon or I can order them for you.
Here is what I use all the time in a glass dropper. You can get 1 oz glass droppers on Amazon as well. Very cheap. You want to make sure these oils are in a glass container, not plastic, or else they will eat through the petroleum in the plastic and you will get that into your skin. no good.
Use Almond oil or high lineolic sunflower oil in a 2 oz glass container. You can also add argon oil to those. Into this mix:
5 drops frankincense, 4 drops myrrh. 6 drops lavender, 1 drop rosemary. 10 drops lemon. You can add vitamin E oil too. You don’t have to get all of these, but this is my main recipe. The Lavender would be the place to start if you want to order only one oil to try it. Lavender this pure will knock you out for better sleep too! I am never without it now….
Put the oils into the dropper first, mix around and then add the almond oil or sunflower oil and Vitamin E to get an even mixture.
So good. Hope this helps! Let me know how it goes or if you need help!
-Christine
sure!
I’ve been using “Gloves in a Bottle” for quite a while now. We used a barrier cream at the Hospital where I worked. So I had been familiar with it. I was delighted to find it in the local CVS. What a Godsend. But I love it and it smoothes my dry elbows too. LOL I am going to try the oils mixed with the essential oils. Thanks for the tips.
great! be sure to use good oils. Most stuff in supermarkets is crap! Cut with alcohol or cheap fillers.
Thank you for sharing this info! I would love the ‘recipe’ for healing hands.
Hi. Thanks for asking! and for finding my blog!
The best place to start is to put Lavender and Frankincense oils right on the wounds. Neat. Even if you can just get those it will help a lot. I strongly recommend Young Living oils since they are the purest form and highly concentrated. You don’t have to be member to get these, but you will pay a bit more for them. Check Amazon or I can order them for you.
Here is what I use all the time in a glass dropper. You can get 1 oz glass droppers on Amazon as well. Very cheap. You want to make sure these oils are in a glass container, not plastic, or else they will eat through the petroleum in the plastic and you will get that into your skin. no good.
Use Almond oil or high lineolic sunflower oil in a 2 oz glass container. You can also add argon oil to those. Into this mix:
5 drops frankincense, 4 drops myrrh. 6 drops lavender, 1 drop rosemary. 10 drops lemon. You can add vitamin E oil too. You don’t have to get all of these, but this is my main recipe. The Lavender would be the place to start if you want to order only one oil to try it. Lavender this pure will knock you out for better sleep too! I am never without it now….
Put the oils into the dropper first, mix around and then add the almond oil or sunflower oil and Vitamin E to get an even mixture.
So good. Hope this helps! Let me know how it goes or if you need help!
-Christine
Christine, will you please share your recipe for cuticle cream? I’ve found pure Shea butter very helpful. Thank you!
hi, yes Shea butter is great and I have a recipe I use for body lotion that calls for equal parts of Shea butter and coconut oil. melted at low temperature in a pan. Add a dash of olive oil. Then I add lavender and Rosemary. maybe 20 drops of each? You can add other oils too. At Christmas I made lotions for everyone also adding cinnamon, orange and pine, but the lavender and Rosemary will help to stop winter itchy skin. It’s been the best I have ever used. The recipe for my hands is listed below under other responses. hope it helps!
Thanks Christine! Can’t wait to try this:)
🙂