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What hand cleanser?


z7

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I use Solopol following a machine engineer friend of mine recommendation who spends all week up to his elbows in oil and grime - seems to work well with fine pieces of pumice in the solution and not overly chemicalled so reasonably kind on the skin - I've never had any adverse skin irritation reaction

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Ahem!  Somewhat late to this thread.

I used to work for Deb, who make Swarfega.  The grit used to be made from tiny little plastic beads, but that hasn't been the case for a couple of decades, when they were changed for ground down nut shells, so are bio-degradable.

When I worked there the active ingredient used to be D-limonene, and I assume its still the same, though I haven't looked at an ingredients list for some years.  It's an extract from the peel of citrus fruits, so also bio-degradable, and often found in all sorts of modern cleaning chemicals.

There are more aggressive products around, which are fine for the occasional use, but the active ingredients were very aggressive, and aren't recommended for regular everyday use, so we really tried to educate people away from using them, as in those days there were growing claims against employers over industrial dermatitis.  Which is why you'll seldom find blokes working in garages who don't wear gloves.

Solopol used to be one of our German competitors (who we eventually bought out) who made a very aggressive product.  We avoided making a me-too version because we thought it too aggressive.  Because of demand from loyal customers we did eventually make something equally aggressive, but continued to try to recommend that users avoided it, for skincare reasons.  The very fact that we were then making the product and still telling people not to use it added to our credibility that we cared about the effect on the skin, rather than just making a fast buck.

Comma was one of our low cost competitors, cheap and...  Perlite is not biodegradable, and in quantity can block drains, so from an environmental perspective, should be avoided.

Caveat:  The above is from what I recall at least ten or fifteen years ago, if my memory is correct.  If anything, the products certainly won't be any worse than they were then, and at Deb we used to pride ourselves on being one of the leading hand and surface cleaning companies.

 

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As I also used to be responsible for the medical side of the business, i covered the antibacterial side too.  Using alcohol as frequently as medical staff were SUPPOSED to use it, when the concern was MRSA sweeping through hospitals, is not good for the hands.  The Hibiscrub, which was supposed to be used in theatres (but was often overused around the hospitals in an attempt to make up for poor hand hygiene procedures) was even more aggressive.

We always recommended using a moisturiser frequently during the day, otherwise the the skin takes a real hammering, despite the glycerine gels that are put into hand sanitisers.  The same applies to using the more aggressive, non sanitising hand cleaners I referred to above.

In tasks which incur heavy soiling, we also recommended the use of a barrier cream before getting your hands dirty, as it does make it easier to remove the dirt afterwards.  All the barrier cream does is to block the pores with a benign cream to make it harder for the dirt to get ingrained, thus easier to get off afterwards. 

So for heavy soiling it should be a three stage process, barrier cream before working, a hand cleanser after working, followed immediately by a moisturiser.

 

Never thought I'd be rabbiting about this stuff anymore, and certainly not here!

*frown*

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I think its useful information - we've all been focused on our health and wellbeing the last 18 months and probably a situation all of us who work on our cars have to deal with!

I use Bodyshop Hemp hand cream when needed - smells manly and not too slimy! My hands generally need more attention in the winter.

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Skincare problems get worse in winter as the damp softens the skin and makes abrasion more common.  Just washing hands removes the natural protective oils.  Industrial dermatitis is usually far more prevalent in winter months.  Using more moisturiser helps.

I used to be in the military, out in the fields for days in all weathers.  Just constantly handling equipment, ropes, immersion, in wet weather made the fingers sore.  I always tried to make sure I had moisuriser with me in the field and used it regularly.  It sounds anomalous, but for a big roughie toughie commando using moisturiser was a boon.

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