General Manufacturing

Hand care for manufacturing workers

Wash, glove, solvent, repeat. NIOSH counts skin disease among the most common work illnesses, and production hands feel it by mid-week. We make hand cleaners and lotions that keep your skin working without contaminating the product on the line.

Shop the plant kit Samples for your plant

R&R LOTIONUSA

What a shift does to your hands

Occupational dermatitis starts on the line

Most of what hurts production hands is part of doing the job right. Here’s where it comes from, and what helps.

Problem 01

Wash after wash, glove after glove

Frequent washing and hours in nitrile, latex or vinyl strip the skin’s oils. Over a week that adds up to dry, cracked, painful hands.

Occupational dermatitis →

Problem 02

Lotion that contaminates the product

Lotions from home often carry silicones, lanolin, glycerin or mineral oils that end up on parts, coatings and finished goods. Use a lotion made for the plant.

Cosmetic contamination on the line →

Problem 03

Harsh cleaners for hard grime

Solvent cleaners cut grease but leave skin raw. Your hands need a cleaner that gets the job done and leaves them in one piece.

Skin care do’s and don’ts →

The plant kit

Hand cleaner, pre-gloving lotion and repair cream for manufacturing

Contamination-compliant hand care for production teams, process engineers, quality and safety. Easy to apply, quick drying, no residue.

All I.C. lotions & hand creams →

CleanIC Antibacterial Hand CleanerNeutral, mildly cationic hand cleaner made for electronic, cleanroom, pharmaceutical and food environments. Helps eliminate germs while you wash. NSF E2.From $10.99Add to cart · $10.99 8 oz. · other sizes

ProtectIC Lotion Fragrance Free (Cleanroom)Pre-gloving lotion with no silicones, lanolin, glycerin or mineral oils. Fragrance free, static dissipative. NSF E4.From $8.99 ★★★★★ (5) 4.3 on Amazon · 29 ratings Add to cart · $8.99 8 oz. · other sizes

ProtectIC Lotion Lightly Fragranced (Blue)The same non-contaminating, static-dissipative formula, lightly fragranced. NSF E4.From $8.99 ★★★★★ (6) 4.5 on Amazon · 112 ratings Add to cart · $8.99 8 oz. · other sizes

RepairIC Advanced Repair Hand CreamDimethicone skin protectant that helps prevent and temporarily protects chafed, chapped or cracked skin.From $13.95Out of stock · $20.50 8 oz. Bottle · other sizes

Also for the crew: I.C. Heavy Duty Hand Cleaner · I.C. Foaming Hand Sanitizer · I.C. Workstation Cleaner · 32 oz wall dispenser

For EHS, quality & plant managers

One hand-care program that passes quality

Our products are formulated without the silicones, lanolins and mineral oils that cause contamination problems. Tell us about your process and we’ll help with samples for the floor and dispensers for every wash station.

Request samples Talk to our team

R&R LOTIONUSA

NSF E2I.C. Antibacterial Hand Cleaner

NSF E4Both I.C. Lotions, fragranced and fragrance free

CHGBoth I.C. Lotions are CHG compatible

Since 1983Made in our FDA registered facility in Scottsdale, AZ

On the floor

Made for every shift

General Manufacturing worker using R&R Lotion skin care (Assembly & test) — Assembly & test

General Manufacturing worker using R&R Lotion skin care (Wash station) — Wash station

General Manufacturing worker using R&R Lotion skin care (Gloving up) — Gloving up

Maintenance tech scrubbing grease off his hands at a utility sink — Maintenance bay

General Manufacturing worker using R&R Lotion skin care (Every station) — Every station

Field Notes

What a production shift does to your hands

Five short animated chapters: the work, the exposure, what happens in the skin, why we built the product, and how to use it on the job.

Education, not medical advice. If your skin cracks, bleeds or won’t settle down, talk to your plant’s health and safety lead or a clinician.

CaptionThe loop on a production line: wash, glove, work the line, strip grease off after a maintenance job, and start again.

01 · The line

Wash, glove, degrease, repeat

Assembly, machining, molding, packing, maintenance. You wash at the start of the shift, pull on nitrile, latex or vinyl gloves, handle parts and coatings all day, and scrub off grease after every machine job.

Every one of those steps is part of doing the job right. Together, five days a week, they’re hard on the hands doing them, and whatever is on those hands can end up on the product.

NIOSH counts skin disease among the most common work-related illnesses.CDC / NIOSH, Skin Exposures and Effects

CaptionThe outer layer is skin cells (bricks) held together by natural oils and lipids (the yellow mortar). Each wash (blue) and each harsh solvent cleaner (orange) dissolves some of that mortar.

02 · The barrier

Your barrier is a brick wall

Skin cells
Oils and lipids
Water
Solvent cleaners

The outermost layer of skin, the stratum corneum, is made of dead skin cells held together by natural oils and lipids. Picture bricks and mortar. The mortar holds moisture in and keeps irritants out.

Frequent washing strips those oils. Solvent hand cleaners cut grease by dissolving oil, including the skin’s own. Gloves worn all shift trap sweat against the skin. By mid-week the mortar is thin, and hands feel it.

Sources: R&R Lotion blog, Protecting Your Skin with Barrier Creams (2023) and The Do’s and Don’ts of Skin Care Products in Industrial Settings (2023).

CaptionWith the mortar gone, moisture escapes, irritants work their way in, and the skin underneath reddens and cracks.

03 · What develops

Irritant contact dermatitis

Water escaping
Irritants

Keep exposing skin to water, solvents, oils and the inside of a glove and the barrier breaks down. That’s irritant contact dermatitis. It starts as redness, itching and dryness and can progress to cracking and blistering.

Cracked hands make every wash sting, and that’s when people reach for whatever lotion is in their bag. Lotions from home often carry silicones, lanolin, glycerin or mineral oils, and those can end up on parts, coatings and finished goods.

There’s a second type, allergic contact dermatitis, where skin becomes sensitized to something it touches, including some glove materials. If your hands won’t heal, get them looked at. Source: R&R Lotion blog, Understanding Occupational Dermatitis (2023).

CaptionA light lotion layer goes on first and helps seal moisture in. The glove goes on over it, and nothing in the lotion is there to transfer onto the part.

04 · Why we built it

Built to pass quality

Production hands need a cleaner that cuts grease without solvents, and a lotion that won’t show up as a defect on a coated part. So we built both without the silicones, lanolin, glycerin and mineral oils that cause contamination problems.

I.C. Antibacterial Hand Cleaner · NSF E2

The everyday hand soap for wash stations. Benzalkonium chloride helps decrease bacteria on the skin. No soap, silicone, lanolin or mineral oil, and no harsh solvents.

See the hand cleaner →

I.C. Heavy Duty Hand Cleaner

A micro-scrubber hand cleaner for the maintenance bay that strips tar, oil, grease, carbon and adhesives. Benzalkonium chloride helps decrease bacteria on the skin. Solvent-free and silicone-free.

See the scrub →

I.C. Lotion, Fragrance Free and Lightly Fragranced · NSF E4

Purified DI water base. No silicones, lanolin, glycerin or mineral oils. Use before nitrile, latex or vinyl gloves. Quick drying, with no oily residue.

Fragrance Free → Lightly Fragranced →

I.C. Advanced Repair Hand Cream

A dimethicone skin protectant that helps prevent and temporarily protects chafed, chapped or cracked skin. It contains dimethicone, a silicone, so it’s for after the shift, off the line.

See the hand cream →

Both I.C. Lotions are dermatologist tested: a 50-subject patch test with zero reactions.ALS / BioScreen, FDA-registered lab, Study 22-522A (2022)

CaptionFour moments on the line: start of shift, after a greasy job, break time, and before you head home.

05 · On the line

When to use what

1
Start of shiftWash with I.C. Antibacterial Hand Cleaner, dry, then I.C. Lotion. Let it dry before you pull on gloves.
2
After a greasy jobI.C. Heavy Duty Hand Cleaner at the utility sink instead of a solvent. Rinse well, then lotion before you glove up again.
3
Break timeGloves off, wash, and lotion again. Fresh gloves on the way back to the line.
4
End of shiftAfter your last wash, Advanced Repair Hand Cream on dry or chapped hands, once you’re off the floor.

Follow your plant’s PPE and contamination-control rules and the label directions on each product.

Manufacturing hand care Samples for your plant

Sources

CDC / NIOSH, Skin Exposures and Effects (skin disease at work).
The do’s and don’ts of skin care products in industrial settings (2023).
Understanding occupational dermatitis (2023): irritant and allergic contact dermatitis.
Protecting your skin with barrier creams (2023): stratum corneum, oils and lipids.
Beauty and the beast: cosmetic contamination in electronics factories (2022).
NSF registrations on file: I.C. Antibacterial Hand Cleaner E2; I.C. Lotion, Fragrance Free and Lightly Fragranced, E4.
R&R Lotion, I.C. Hand Lotion (Cleanroom) Technical Data Sheet, 08/01/2022; I.C. Antibacterial Hand Cleaner, I.C. Heavy Duty Hand Cleaner and I.C. Advanced Repair Hand Cream product data.
ALS / BioScreen, Human Repeat Insult Patch Test, Study 22-522A, November 2, 2022.

Learn

Hand care articles for manufacturing

Plain-English guides from our team on skin care that works with your process.

All articles →

Jan 2023 · IndustrialThe Do’s and Don’ts of Skin Care Products in Industrial SettingsRead →Oct 2023 · DermatitisUnderstanding Occupational Dermatitis and the Role of I.C. Hand LotionsRead →Sep 2022 · GlovesGlove Safety and Compatibility in the WorkplaceRead →Mar 2023 · GlovesDouble Gloving: Protecting Workers and Environments in Various IndustriesRead →Feb 2023 · RepairProtecting Your Skin with Barrier CreamsRead →Aug 2022 · ContaminationBeauty and the Beast – Cosmetic Contamination in Electronics FactoriesRead →

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Questions plant teams ask

Hand care for manufacturing: FAQ

Will I.C. lotion contaminate parts or coatings?

I.C. Lotions contain no silicones, lanolin, glycerin or mineral oils. They’re non-contaminating, quick drying and leave no residue.

Can I use the lotion before gloving?

Yes. Both I.C. Lotions are pre-glove compatible for nitrile, latex and vinyl gloves.

Are your products NSF registered?

Yes. I.C. Antibacterial Hand Cleaner is NSF E2, and both I.C. Lotions are NSF E4.

What do you have for heavy grease?

I.C. Heavy Duty Hand Cleaner uses synthetic wax micro-scrubbers to remove tar, oil, grease and carbon. It’s solvent-free and formulated without silicones, lanolins and mineral oils.

Can our plant get samples?

Yes. Request free samples and we’ll help you choose sizes and dispensers for each station.