My Favorite Lotions for my Winter (and Yarn Crafting) Eczema

For most of my adult life I’ve had occasional eczema that is particularly acute on my hands in the winter. I have it more under control these days, but the one place I can’t get rid of it is on my right index finger, i.e., the finger that yarn slides across when I’m knitting. It’s not related to fiber content at all, it’s simply that the friction created by the yarn moving over my finger irritates the skin, and it gets much worse in the winter when my skin is just drier in general.

I suspect I’m not the only one who suffers from this problem, so I thought I’d share a few product recommendations for the things that actually work to both calm my skin when it’s at its most irritated and to keep it moisturized so it doesn’t get so bad in the first place. There are no affiliate links in this post and I am not sponsored in any way, these are legitimately products I use regularly.

Aveeno Eczema Therapy Lotion – I don’t have a photo of this, but you can find it at almost every drugstore and big box retailer in the US. It really does work and it generally lasts through at least a few rounds of handwashing. This is my go to when I attend conferences and I’m going to be washing my hands with super drying hotel soap frequently. (Plus it’s generally easy to find at a nearby drugstore if I forgot to pack it.) This is also a good product if you’re super sensitive to fragrances as it has basically no smell.

Lolo Body Solid Lotion Bar – I was actually put on to this brand by a knitter at a Vogue Knitting Live years ago, after I sat next to her in a class and she saw me putting lotion on my hands. They happened to have a booth at VKL that year, so I tried and was instantly hooked. Since it’s solid it’s also great for travel because you don’t have to relocate it to your TSA-approved liquids bag. It comes in teeny tiny travel sizes as well, which is actually what’s pictured above (you often get one as a sampler with your order). For the full size bar, you can order refill bars without having to buy a new storage tin — I didn’t take a photo of my full size tin because I’ve had it so long it has their old branding on it!

The lotion bar comes in a wide variety of light fragrances (my go to is Blackberry Sage), but their Plain Jane variety has no added scent. I tend to put this on my hands either right before I start knitting or any time my skin is starting to feel a little dry, but I’ve recently started using it as a “top coat” after putting other lotion on to help seal additional moisture in when the irritation is really bad.

I also want to throw in a recommendation for their lip balm which is the literal best and longest lasting I’ve ever used, and smells amazing (Vanilla Icing and Blackberry Pomengranate are my personal favorites).

Sallye Ander Heavy Duty Hand Therapy Cream – I’ve been a devotee of Sallye Ander’s soaps for years (they both smell amazing and make my skin feel great), and when I went to reorder recently I discovered this new product. I will say this one does have a pretty strong scent – it has a lot of essential oils in it – and it also has aloe vera, so if you’re allergic to that as my mother is, it won’t work for you. (I will say as someone who does have occasional bad reactions to “perfumy” and strong floral scents, this does not bother me at all.) I’ve been using it any time my skin gets so dry and irritated it actively hurts and it does a great job quickly soothing the irritation. You also don’t need much, so it should last me quite a while!

Caudalie Hand and Nail Cream – I’m linking to this at Sephora because that’s where I usually buy it. I usually wait until they have the gift set with three different small tubes in different scents because it’s a really good deal and I like being able to stash them in different places in the house or in my purse. This is really nice traditional lotion that I use as kind of a daily moisturizer for my hands – I just put it on once or twice daily in the winter even if my hands don’t feel that dry. It’s not as effective when my eczema is really flaring up but it does help keep it from spreading (left untreated my eczema will eventually spread all over my fingers and palms).

The rose variety (the pink tube pictured) has a little more of a noticeable scent than the others, but has never irritated me and I usually don’t respond well to floral scents. The other two varieties have very faint, lightly fruity scents but they are barely noticeable especially after the lotion absorbs. If you don’t have eczema and are just looking for some nice lotion for dry winter skin, this is a really nice product.

If you suffer from dry winter skin or knitting/crochet related irritation or eczema, I hope one of these recommendations is useful! If you’ve tried something else that works well for your skin, let me know in the comments!