Originally Posted by bobby c
A cheaper alternative to some of the high priced stuff is Udderly Smooth. Inexpensive and commonly available at many places. I generally don't need a cream until it gets hot & humid, then it is much appreciated.
I've tried this. It works ... for a little while. I have chafing problems when biking or hiking (or walking a lot). When I tried Udderly Smooth, I had to reapply every 60-90 minutes. Same for most hand lotions. And the same for cocoa butter products, which as usually sold, have water as their #1 ingredient.
The best "cheap" lotion I've tried is Vaseline's Advanced Healing lotion. You can buy a big 24 ounce bottle of it for around $4.50. Water is still #1, but petrolatum is #2, with gycerin and mineral oil very high. And no fragance. So it is kind of a smoother, gentler (& less effective) vaseline.
Even the expensive Chamois BUTT'r has water as #1. Very common.
The best are BodyGlide, plain old Vaseline, and Aquaphor (petrolatum with mineral oil & lanolin and small amounts of other stuff, but no water). Or anything else that is primarily vaseline. But all of these leave messy residuals on your hands, so they aren't as nice to use. All of the nice stuff that quickly absorbs into your hands so that they aren't a mess to use, will also quickly absorb whenever you apply it.