Barrier Cream

Does anyone apply barrier cream on their hands?

Does it help with cleaning up or stopping cracking, chaffing or both?

Cheers

Jim

Edited By Blue Heeler on 16/07/2019 00:46:38

Jim,

My hands are in oil & grease, etc every day and I have to wash often which leaves my hands dry and cracked therefore use barrier creams and moisturisers. Our chemists in Oz sell a great moisturiser called "Tough Hands" and is advertised as used by brick layers and concrete workers. It is very thick, dries quickly and is not greasy. One of the best barrier creams which I have used is sold by Repco automotive and called "Gloves in a Bottle". Not cheap but you only need a few drops. Advertising blurb says you can even put your hand in acid after applying. Have not tried this, but great for everything else.

Paul

Thanks Paul, I have just sent my wife a SMS to bring me home some 'Tough Hands' this afternoon.

Much appreciate mate

Let me know what you think of the product

I have never bothered with anything like that until I recently changed to using neat cutting oil. Suddenly cuts seemed to become infected and my skin was irritable.

I went for Rozalex Dri Guard and also bought disposable gloves and after a short time getting used to using them I have noticed a big difference.

I may try Tough Hands next as having only used one product I have nothing to compare to.

It was certainly a worthwhile change to make.

Regards.

David.

Will do Paul, I have it now. It dried really fast and doesn't feel at all greasy. I'll put it on tomorrow before working in my shed.

Looked up "Gloves in a Bottle" can't see a seller for them in Oz. It looks like great stuff from what I read.

I started to suffer from dermatitis, the Doctor said it was an accumulative thing, many years of working with oily things had just caught up with m. Using aggressive hand cleaners also added to the problem.

I tried various barrier creams, these made no difference. Having said that it was 20 years ago so time will have, no doubt, improved these products.

I then tried latex gloves, end of the problem. A useful "by product" of wearing gloves was that my hands stayed relatively clean, a wash with a mild soap is all that is needed even after a long oily session in the workshop.

There was a period of getting used to them but worth the effort!

John

I don’t use barrier cream but do use gloves now and then, don’t like them but ! For washing I use washing up liquid actually Fairy liquid, works great and seems to be none aggressive on the skin—like the advert !

John

I have had my hands in oil,grease,fluids of various types involved in engineering for over 50 years, rarely used barrier creams never liked gloves and must have been lucky as limbs are still intact, I am not decrying use of said items just not done it, Agree with John fairy liquid is all I use I even wash my hair with it 😲😁

Mick 🇬🇧

Started my engineering career in the Air Force where during training we were bombarded with “ use Rosalez Barrier Cream before any work”. Once out of training used it only once in a while but it is certainly good at preventing problems and cleaning hands after work was easy. Now some 50 years on I have contact dermatitis on my hands but not from oils and greases which you would expect but from domestic chemicals, the worst to cause a flare up is Fairy Liquid, if I get any exposure to it my hands get raw and swollen. There are other chemicals which also cause problems but I now know which to avoid. My advice would be take care with exposure to aggressive and irritant substances and to those using Fairy Liquid for cleaning their hands - Don’t. I now use a barrier cream when appropriate or nitrile rubber gloves, not keen on the gloves because they make my hands sweat so much. Surprisingly I can still work with oils and greases and they don’t cause any problems with my dermatitis, by all means use a barrier cream it can only be beneficial but use a good quality one, if you get sore hands it is an indicator of the need for some kind of barrier.

Dave W

I use barrier cream if using anything oily/greasy. When I started my traineeship there was a lecturer who had bad dermatitis. He told us to always use it as once dermatitis has set in it is too late, barrier cream is prevention not cure. I also find that it is a lot easier to get your hands clean after using barrier cream.

Jim,

Bought Gloves in a Bottle from Repco, (the car spare parts supplier). Should be one near you somewhere.

Paul.

Edited By Paul Lousick on 16/07/2019 10:34:25

I just use gloves ,i already have eczema but not on my hands. I got sick of trying to get grime out of my hands.

Tried several brands which kept ripping (especially as i play guitar and nails on right hand a bit long) and were a bit too tight to be comfortable. Then recently bought a box of 100 Black Mamber nitrile gloves. Really great ,very tear resistant .

**LINK**

Too hot & bothered for serious work so I just checked how far it is to my nearest Repco. It's at 53-55 Balmoral Road, Karratha, just off the roundabout, next door to the Fitness Club, and it has a big car-park. Unfortunately I'm in South West England, nearly 14000km away as the crow flies.

Internet plus armchair is a great combination for us serious time-wasters. I really ought to get off my bottom and do something useful.

Dave

PS More usefully, 'Gloves in a Bottle' is available in the UK, Pharmacies mostly by the look of it.

Working as a recovery driver, I found that my fingertips split early in the autumn, and stayed that way until spring. This was mainly from ratchet straps, which get dirty very quickly and stay wet. Gloves weren't the answer, as latex tore quickly, and both cloth and leather get just as wet and dirty as the straps. I did wear gloves for dirty jobs, but a busy 12 hour shift didn't get much opportunity for hand washing.

I tried various barrier creams, including Swarfegas which the company supplied.

But the best one, which actually prevented the problem was DERMASHIELD. One application to clean hands in the morning was enough to last the day and it isn't greasy or smelly.It looks expensive, but a £20 can lasted me nearly a year, as I was impressed enough to use it all year round. I still use it when doing dirty jobs at home

Edited By Nicholas Wheeler 1 on 16/07/2019 12:08:01

I use barrier cream especially when I'm working with CI; plus I use nitrile gloves as extra protection. & when cleaning up. I have used most of the previous mentioned by other posts, especially Rozalex cream during my apprentice days, certainly help to keep the pores clean. My latest batch is from Machine Mart, is very economical, dries very quickly after application & washes off very easily. I have used that bathroom cleaner JIF on more stubborn grime if I haven't used barrier cream & it doesn't seem to do my 'delicate hands' … any harm...

Usual disclaimer applies to commercial products.

George.

Another vote for Dermashield. It does seem expensive but lasts a long time and does a good job. It is also very useful to calm down the occasional skin irritation with a very soothing effect.

The other one I am using at the moment is David Somersets "HANDGUARD". They mainly make shaving oils but this one does make cleaning your hands easy after a dirty session. Its only downside is using it for something like gardening - it washes off if you get it wet with water but oil and grease don't seem to be a problem. Bob

There is a preservative used in cosmetics, including soaps, shampoos etc called methylisothiazolinone which can cause skin problems.

We've had to stop allowing it in our house as we both started suffering from cracked/dry skin.

A web search will bring up lots of reports but I have only included the Wiki link here as there are links there as well.

Wikipedia here **LINK**

Just ordered some gloves in a bottle from the bay of E so I will report back when it arrives

Mick

I used to wash and disinfect my hands some 30 or 40 times a day between patients or presurgically and did find that the use of one class of antiseptic inevitably cause cracking or sensitivity leading to switching to another and after a few months to years back to the first. Latex gloves often caused trouble to folk reacting to the powdered sort. Nitrile of polythene gloves never fitted as well or gave quite the same degree of 'feel' as latex but it does take practice to do delicate stuff with gloves on but instruments appear to enhance sensation.
I never liked the concept of barrier creams since that strikes me as yet another contaminent and I'm a great believer in the concept of skin being designed for exposure to air when possible.

Sweating in gloves was an issue at times.. solved by taking them off, washing and a new pair. Indeed stdies show that however well you scrub your hands its only a few minutes before they are recontaminated by bugs sweated up and apart from getting 'gross dirt' off your hands there is little benefit to really scrubbing them with antiseptics before putting on sterile gloves.

pgk