Having suffered from dermatitis and dry skin on my hands for most of my life I think I have tried practically every hand cream out there. Some good, some bad, some made it worse and many had no effect whatsoever.

Up until recently I used E45 cream, though this was not exactly working. Yes, it worked for a while and then I was back to square one, with hands that you could grate carrots on.

Last week I had to go to the doctor's to have my hands examined and saw a different chap to my usual doc and he suggested that I try Aveeno hand cream instead of the E45. He said E45 was OK but that it was waterbased and maybe I needed something slightly more greasy. He said Aveeno was just that and that it also contained oatmeal. It sounded great so I agreed to give it a try.

It's been a week now and I have to say that my hands ARE much softer. I use Aveeno whenever the need arises, especially after washing my hands and it really does put the moisture back and leaves them feeling supple. There is no perfume in the cream and it all seems to be made from natural ingredients, which is a huge plus as far as I am concerned.

I got my cream on prescription, but it is also available to buy over the counter at good chemists. It's not cheap though, at about £7.99 for 100ml tube and if you have very dry skin and use a lot, it won't last long.

I am pleased with it so far though and will continue to use it if it works as well as it has done so far.

If you have dry skin and particularly if you are eligible for free prescriptions, then go and ask your doctor if you can get it on prescription. It does work out slightly cheaper that way.