You're already paying for your hands every month. The only question is whether it's working.

If you've been taping the splits or gluing the cracks shut just to finish the shift, you've been paying for this the hard way for years — you just never added it up. Cracked working hands aren't a one-off cost. They run a bill every single month whether you like it or not: the creams, the tape and plasters, the odd trip to the doctor, and the shift you can't grip through.

That bill's already running. The problem isn't that you spend on your hands — it's what you spend it on. Money on cream that softens for an hour and washes off, or on a steroid script you refill forever, is money spent managing the crack, not closing it. So the cracks never stop — and neither does the spending.

Measured against the parts of that bill that actually hurt — a lost day's work, a private GP, a dermatologist — a £29.95 jar isn't the dear option. It's the cheap first move, and the only one aimed at sealing the split instead of babysitting it. Here's the whole bill laid out.

Costs below are indicative UK figures (private GP & NHS prescription charges, private dermatologist consult ranges, and typical self-employed day rates) — they vary by provider and trade. HARD REPAIR is a cosmetic repair balm, not a medical treatment; it doesn't replace advice or care from your GP or dermatologist.

The bill — what the usual routes actually cost you

And that's before the everyday drip — the tubes, tape and plasters you top up all winter. Here's the catch: all of it manages the crack. None of it closes it. So the spending never ends.

What actually closes the crack — and what just manages it forever

Here's the whole bill, rung by rung — what each part of it costs you, and what it actually does for a cracked, splitting hand. The cheap first move is up top.

The cheap first move — start here

1

HARD REPAIR by Grafthide

£29.95 a jar — the cheap first move, not the dear one

£29.95per jar

★★★★★ 2,841 reviews · 40,000+ hands repaired

Not a medical treatment — a cosmetic repair balm built from scratch for trade hands, and the cheapest move on this whole bill. Waterless, petrolatum-rich base that seals the split instead of just softening the surface, and it's still there after ten hand-washes when an ordinary cream has long gone. Steroid-free and fragrance-free, so there's nothing in it that stings or that you'd worry about using nightly.

It works in four stages: calm the raw skin (nights 1–2), bind moisture into the crack (3–5), repair so it knits shut (6–10), then seal it wash-resistant (weeks 2–3). Absorbs in about 30 seconds, so nothing greases up your tools. Run it heavy while you're repairing, then ease off to upkeep once the cracks have closed.

What you get

• Actually seals the split — doesn't just soften
• Cheaper than one GP visit or a lost shift
• No prescription, no waiting list
• Steroid-free, fragrance-free, no sting
• Stays on through ten hand-washes
• Repair now, upkeep later — not endless damage control
• 100-day money-back guarantee

What it isn't

• Not a diagnosis or a medical treatment
• Won't replace care for a genuine skin condition
• Only sold online (direct)
• Sells out — batches run 6–8 weeks

Bottom line: The cheapest first move on the whole bill, and the only one aimed at closing the crack — not babysitting it. Less than one GP visit or a single lost shift, and the 3-jar kit works out around £20 a jar. If it doesn't work, money back.

Check Availability — From £29.95

2

A lost work day

The cost nobody counts — and the biggest one on the list

£150–250per shift

Here's the one that never makes it onto a receipt, and for a self-employed trade hand it dwarfs everything else. A hand that splits open and won't close is a day you can't grip a tool — a job turned down, a shift not worked, a customer who calls someone else. One missed day costs more than months of looking after your hands properly. And it comes back every bad week you leave the cracks to fend for themselves.

What it costs

• £150–£250+ for a single missed shift
• Jobs you turn down because you can't grip
• It comes back every bad week
• No cream in the drawer fixes a no-show

What fixes it

• Closing the crack before it stops you
• A £29.95 jar vs a £200 day
• Starting tonight, not after it's cost you

Bottom line: This is what cracked hands really cost — and why a jar that actually closes the split is the cheapest insurance on the whole list.

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3

A private GP visit

Costs more than this jar — and you often leave with cream

£40–90per visit

The NHS route is free, but it's time off the tools, a wait, and often a repeat visit. A private GP is quicker at £40–£90 (more in central London). Either way, for hands that simply crack from the work you'll frequently walk out with an emollient or a mild steroid cream — sometimes one you've already tried. Worth it to rule something out; dear if all you needed was to keep the crack sealed.

Pros

• Rules out a genuine condition
• Can prescribe if you need it
• The right call if it's spreading or infected

Cons

• £40–£90 private — more than one jar
• Lost hours off the job
• Often more of the same cream
• May mean a repeat visit

Bottom line: See your GP if your hands need a diagnosis. But if it's the usual working-hands cracking, you're paying for five minutes and a cream — a £29.95 balm you can start tonight is the cheaper first move.

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4

Repeat prescriptions & steroid creams

£9.90 an item — again, and again, and again

£9.90×repeat

For flare-ups the answer is often a steroid cream — hydrocortisone, then something stronger — plus prescription emollients, at £9.90 an item in England, refilled every few weeks. Many people are uneasy about staying on steroids long-term. HARD REPAIR simply has none in it — steroid-free and fragrance-free is a product attribute, not a treatment claim. Follow your doctor's advice for any diagnosed skin condition; for hands that just crack from the graft, a balm you're not re-filling a script for every month is the cheaper place to start.

Pros

• Right for a genuine skin condition, under guidance
• Prescribed and monitored by your doctor

Cons

• £9.90 per item, repeated for years
• Steroids many would rather not keep using
• Doesn't stop the mechanical cracking from the work
• Means going back to the GP each time

Bottom line: Keep to your doctor's advice for any skin condition. For plain cracked working hands, a steroid-free balm is the cheaper, no-appointment place to start.

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5

The private dermatologist

The end of the road — hundreds up front, or months on a list

£150–350consult

If your hands need a specialist — persistent, spreading or not settling — a dermatologist is the right call, and sometimes the necessary one. But an NHS referral can mean months on a waiting list, and a private first consult runs £150–£350, with follow-ups on top. For the crack itself, the advice frequently comes back to the same place: keep it sealed and moisturised, properly, every day.

Pros

• Proper specialist diagnosis
• Essential for genuine skin disease
• Access to prescription treatment

Cons

• £150–£350 first consult, £100–£200 follow-ups
• Months of NHS waiting
• For the crack, often "keep it sealed and moisturised"

Bottom line: Necessary if you need a diagnosis — never something a balm replaces. But if what you actually need is to keep the crack sealed, that's a £29.95 job you can start tonight, not a £250 one.

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Straight answers