The Dry Winter Air Made My Knuckles Crack and Bleed—Until I Discovered This Soothing Cream

There’s a running joke among film aficionados that wives in movies and television shows are always depicted applying hand cream before bed. After moving to Utah this winter and shivering through cold, dry temperatures, I have become that fictional wife, loyal to my nightly application of my Selfmade Corrective Experience Comfort Cream to the backs of my hands before falling asleep.

When my knuckles first started bleeding, I tapped into my profession as a shopping writer and sent out a Hail Mary for brands to let me evaluate their most heavy duty moisturizers and creams. To my skin’s relief, I was able to try a few before landing on Selfmade Corrective Experience Comfort Cream as my saving grace. Lauded for its “slugging” capability—a beauty trend in which one slathers their face or body with petroleum jelly to lock in moisture overnight—I figured the same concept would apply to my hands. Since hydration was my main concern, the quality seemed promising.

To buy: $30; beselfmade.co.

The Selfmade Corrective Experience Comfort Cream is a skin softening and moisture barrier protection cream that claims to relieve stressed, reactive skin (of which my skin is both). I suffer from rosacea and am used to significantly higher humidity levels than in the climate I’m currently experiencing, and my skin has absolutely freaked out over it. The brand noted that the cream’s also excellent in locking in moisture after a shower, which I confirmed in my own use.

Selfmade’s superstar ingredient is Helichrysum italicum extract. In layman’s terms, it’s an active clinically proven to reduce cortisol levels (that’s physiological stress, by the way) and reinforce the skin’s barrier. 

Admittedly, the brand makes sweeping mind-body connections between the way your skin feels and your attachment style, claiming that the cream can help alleviate unmanaged stress that flares up in your body. While the explanation has confused me a bit on the finer details— you can learn more about its proposed relationship via the Securely Attached Collection which includes a copy of self-help bestseller Attached—the physical benefits are definitely worth the buy alone.

To buy: $46; beselfmade.co.

The Selfmade Corrective Experience Comfort Cream comes in an attractive blue and mint green container, small enough to take up minimal space on my bedside table. Better yet, it feels soothing and cooling on the skin at first touch. The brand says it’s like “a burst of cool water.” The cream itself is a clear, whitish color with a clean, fresh scent that feels rejuvenative. 

Upon application, it feels like it sinks immediately into my skin, offering a pleasant short-term hydration sensation. In the long term, using it consistently has kept my hands and knuckles from being dry, cracked, and painful.

Whether you’re also suffering from rough winter skin or simply looking for a gentle go-to moisturizer for your face and body, the Selfmade Corrective Experience Comfort Cream is a comforting buy that’s an all-around winner.