Ease and soothe dry, cracked hands with this easy, five-ingredient DIY Healing Hand Salve.

Cracked hands in the winter can be painful on top of frustrating. Thankfully, there’s a lot you can use naturally to help them heal! This DIY Healing Hand Salve contains only five ingredients and is great to help nourish and heal working hands.

Cracked hands in the warmer months are frustrating, but cracked hands in the winter months are painful. Between daily tasks and the elements, it’s tricky to get them to heal.

And while cracked skin is definitely worse than dry, many of the protocols are the same:

• Guzzle up water
• Exfoliate (very gently) to remove dead skin
• Nourish, nourish, nourish

I’ve found that soaking them frequently can also help them heal. I use this DIY Foot Soak on my hands when they’re badly calloused, and it works well.

Why Use Hand Salve?

This DIY Healing Hand Salve is made from minimal ingredients, but it’s effective. Almond oil helps rehydrate and protect the skin against drying out which tends to make the cracks less painful (the drier they are, the more they crack).

Shea butter is the base of many body butters (like this vanilla lotion) for the reason that it helps soothe the skin. It gives it the nourishment it needs, and it has healing properties. Because of its high fatty acid profile, it tends to help keep your skin very soft – exactly what you need for cracked hands.

Beeswax is a binder as well as a protector. While it helps hold the ingredients together, beeswax also helps develop a barrier of protection from the elements.

The ingredients are simple, but very healing.

The Herbs

For this DIY recipe, I used the actual herbs in place of essential oils. Whenever possible, I try to use the real deal.

Calendula has anti-fungal and anti-bacterial properties, but it’s also healing. I personally use it to help soothe irritations and keep skin calm.

Lavender is a go-to solution for many (myself included). It works on bug bites, random red bumps, and inflammation.

While this DIY hand salve uses the actual herbs, you can easily use essential oils in their place. Instead of steeping them into the mixture, simply add them afterward and whisk to combine.

For the herbs, you want to make sure they infuse into the mixture as much as possible. You’ll put them in while everything is melting and let them sit in there another 30 minutes before straining. They should be fragrant.

Ingredients in DIY Healing Hand Salve

• shea butter
• almond oil
• beeswax pellets
• dried calendula
• dried lavender

Protect and nourish your hands with this easy DIY Healing Hand Salve. This salve is healing and works great for dry, cracked, and calloused hands. Soak the hands when possible beforehand and apply this salve afterward, taking the time to rub it in.