How to Make a DIY Hand Cream for Dry Hands

If you are prone to dry, cracked hands, you will love this super moisturizing DIY Hand Cream – with my one secret ingredient!

Hands often become dry and cracked, especially during the winter. This easy DIY hand cream is what I love using for my hard-working hands.

I have tried many commercial hand creams but most of them contain water as their first ingredient. I need something a bit more heavy-duty than that. Other hand creams are just too expensive.

Therefore I set out to create a recipe that my hands and I would love. Of course, it has to be simple and easy to make it on this blog 😉

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Why you’ll love this recipe

With just a few ingredients you will be on your way to making this moisturizing DIY hand cream. There is one ingredient that I find essential for this recipe, and that is lanolin (more about that later).

However, the other ingredients are a bit more flexible. While I really like a thick cream, I will show you how you can easily make it a bit lighter.

The ingredients will make about ¾ cup of hand cream but you can just as well double the recipe so that you will be set for a while. You might even like to make more so you can gift someone who really needs this!

What are the ingredients for this DIY hand cream

Here’s what you need for this basic DIY hand cream:

• lanolin: this is the star in this hand cream. Don’t worry if you have never heard of lanolin. It is the wax (not oil) from the sheep’s wool. In studies it shows to” reduce water lost through the skin by 20 to 30 percent” (source). Growing up in Germany, it is a very popular ingredient in diaper ointments for babies. It is extremely hydrating and just perfect for softening dry and hard skin.
• shea butter: this is another powerful ingredient in this DIY hand cream. I love it for its moisturizing properties. While it even works on its own for dry hands (sometimes I use it for my lips, too), I think it’s best in combination with the other ingredients.
• beeswax pellets: beeswax makes this cream both a bit more stable and locks moisture into the skin. I also love the subtle honey scent!
• Vit. E oil: another multi-tasker that softens the skin and acts as a natural preservative.
• essential oil: while completely optional, I love to harness the benefits of essential oils. Lavender is my favorite one because of its nice, calming smell and its skin-healing properties.

Useful tools and equipment

These are my recommendations for this recipe:

• pyrex measuring cup: since we need to melt the oils and lanolin, I prefer using a heat-stable pyrex measuring cup. I simply place that in a pot of water on the stove. It also makes pouring it very easy! However, you can absolutely use a
• double boiler: if you already own one, you might like to use it. The reason, I prefer the pyrex measuring cup is that it’s smaller, easier to manage, and most of all, easiest to get the liquid hand cream out of.
• metal tin: I love using these for my handmade moisturizing cream. There is always one on my nightstand. But if you’re traveling a lot or looking for something a bit more sturdy you might like to use
• 4 oz mason jars: these are such classic containers. They have tighter-fitting lids than the metal tins and are see-through so you know exactly what’s in it.

How to make the DIY hand cream

1. Gather all your ingredients
2. Measure ½ cup of lanolin, ¼ cup of shea butter, 2 teaspoons of beeswax pellets, and 1 tablespoon of Vitamin E oil and add them to your pyrex measuring cup or double-boiler.
3. Over low heat, heat this mixture up until everything is melted and liquid. Note: the beewax will take longest to melt.
4. Place about 2 teaspoons of this mixture on a small dish and let it cool. If you like your DIY hand cream to be a bit softer you can add 1-2 tablespoons of your favorite oil to thin it down a bit.
5. Add up to 20 drops of lavender essential oil. Of course, you can use our favorite essential oil or essential oils blend.
6. Fill this hand cream into your preferred container and let it solidify at room temperature, in the refrigerator, or in the freezer.

DIY hand cream substitutions and variations

While I think that this recipe is just perfect, you can make some substitutions:

• lanolin: if you really MUST or if you are allergic to lanolin, you can use something else here. You can make it all shea butter. Otherwise, you can use cacao butter.
• shea butter: see above
• beeswax pellets: you can easily just omit them but note that it will your hand cream a bit softer.
• Vit. E oil: this is not a critical ingredient but is a natural preservative. Instead, you could use a few drops of rosemary essential oil.
• lavender essential oil: again, this is very flexible. You can absolutely use any other of your favorite essential oil(s) or essential oil blend here.

Other skincare recipes you might like

DIY Body wash

DIY Anti-Aging Serum

How to use Healing Clays

Calendula Oil for Healing

DIY Calendula Salve

Whipped Tallow Balm

Shop this post:

Lanolin

Shea Butter

Beeswax pellets

Vit. E oil

Lavender essential oil

Pyrex measuring cup

Metal tin

Mason jar

Let me know if you have any questions or comments!

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