The roots of O'Keeffe's Working Hands Crème go back about 25 years to an arid region on the California-Oregon border known as the Klamath Basin. Tara O'Keeffe's father ranched in the area and the tough lifestyle took its toll on Bill O'Keeffe's hands and feet. The work and the weather had dried and cracked his skin to the point that he could hardly shake hands and it was even painful to walk. With daughter Tara fresh out of pharmacy school, he thought the new pharmacist in the family might be able to help him. Of course he had already tried nearly every proclaimed dry skin treatment available, including the expensive prescription medications. All for naught; nothing seemed to worked. So at his urging, Tara began a long process of experimenting with various concoctions until, many years later, she had the basic formula for what became O'Keeffe's Working Hands Crème. Her persistence turned a kitchen-table project into a solution for her father's dry skin and a booming business helping others with the same problems.
What makes this product so special? Why does it work when nothing else will? Over the years, Tara has discovered many secrets about healing skin, and has incorporated each of them into the constantly improving formula. Her premise departed from the conventional wisdom about making hand creme right at the outset. The underlying difference is the oil - or the lack of it. Unlike most skin crèmes and lotions, O'Keeffe's contains no oil. According to Tara, "oil repels moisture - it just sits on the skin. Our product attracts moisture and draws it into the skin".
O'Keeffe's is a family owned business incorporated in 1994. The company proudly carries on the tradition of family owned businesses that have always been the backbone of American communities. All members of Tara's immediate family are involved in the business in one way or another. In 2002, the company won the Oregon State University sponsored Austin Family Business Award for best small woman-owned company.
O'Keeffe's is an old fashioned success story in which science, dogged determination, desire to help others, and the love for a father came together in a miracle product more effective than anything the giant cosmetic companies could conceive of.
This 22 year-old, hard-working, construction worker used O'Keeffe's Working Hands Creme before bed and three times daily for one week. The results speak for themselves.
The roots of O'Keeffe's Working Hands Crème go back about 25 years to an arid region on the California-Oregon border known as the Klamath Basin. Tara O'Keeffe's father ranched in the area and the tough lifestyle took its toll on Bill O'Keeffe's hands and feet. The work and the weather had dried and cracked his skin to the point that he could hardly shake hands and it was even painful to walk. With daughter Tara fresh out of pharmacy school, he thought the new pharmacist in the family might be able to help him. Of course he had already tried nearly every proclaimed dry skin treatment available, including the expensive prescription medications. All for naught; nothing seemed to worked. So at his urging, Tara began a long process of experimenting with various concoctions until, many years later, she had the basic formula for what became O'Keeffe's Working Hands Crème. Her persistence turned a kitchen-table project into a solution for her father's dry skin and a booming business helping others with the same problems.
O'Keeffe's is a family owned business incorporated in 1994. The company proudly carries on the tradition of family owned businesses that have always been the backbone of American communities. All members of Tara's immediate family are involved in the business in one way or another. In 2002, the company won the Oregon State University sponsored Austin Family Business Award for best small woman-owned company.