Six of our favourite tried and tested hand creams
words by daisy henry
The best hand creams for dry, weathered hands.
Our hands are often the touchpoint for how we interact with the world. In a single day, they’re put through an endless list of tasks: to apply an assortment of beauty products, to prepare food, and to type away on a keyboard or phone. When you think about it, they weather quite the storm.
While I’m personally inclined to invest the time into a detailed skin or haircare routine, my hands are largely neglected. My approach is to wait until they’re red and cracked before I dig out an old hand balm from the bottom of my bag. However, this winter, I’ve been forced to confront the problem head-on.
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Faced with the full wrath of icy mornings and scalding showers, my hands have been crying out for some TLC. And what a dedicated week of trialling and testing various hand balms, creams and serums has taught me is that it’s as much about the ritual as it is about hydration.
Whether it’s a thick, nourishing barrier cream or an indulgent fragrance, the act of pausing and taking the time to massage in a hand cream is restorative in more ways than one.
Now, I’m a devoted hand cream user, and I think you should be, too. To help get you started, I’ve curated a list of my favourites below.
Glossier Hand Cream
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Glossier’s Hand Cream wins points for the packaging alone: it’s cute, palm-sized and won’t leak in your bag. It’s woody and sweet, with notes of pink pepper and iris resulting in an overall fragrance that is fresh and clean. You’ll need a generous amount (roughly blueberry-sized) to fully coat your palms front to back, and though it left a slightly shiny cast on my skin, my hands felt noticeably silkier after just one use.
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Aesop Eleos Aromatique Hand Balm
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Aesop’s Eleos Aromatique Hand Balm is as much for your mind as it is for your hands. It features a blend of cedar atlas, patchouli and clove bud that translates into a woody, spicy fragrance, which feels indulgent without being overpowering. It sits somewhere in the middle in terms of thickness – it’s rich, yet absorbs quickly.
If the appeal of a good hand cream for you lies in the ritual itself, then I’d suggest keeping a tube on your desk and using it as a reset during a busy day. Apply a generous amount, breathe in and take your time massaging it in.
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Nécessaire The Hand Cream
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If you have sensitive or overly dry skin, then The Hand Cream by Nécessaire might be your saving grace. It’s fragrance-free and strictly designed to restore dry and weathered hands. Functioning as a barrier treatment, it’s made with niacinamide, ceramides and marula butter, and even comes with a seal of approval from the National Eczema Association. It’s noticeably thicker than other hand creams, but is fast-absorbing. Use it daily for maximum impact.
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kit: Urban Hand Salve
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Kit is a unisex body and skincare label owned by, and exclusively sold at Mecca. Its Urban Hand Salve ticks a lot of boxes – it’s rich, hydrating and nourishing, with a soft, herbal scent. Though it’s on the heavier side and can leave your hands feeling somewhat tacky, if you allow up to a minute to let it soak in, you’ll be good to go. Plus, at $28 for 75ml, it’s great value.
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Aesop Solais Replenishing Hand Serum
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A lightweight hand serum, this option from Aesop is designed to brighten and even skin tone. It’s formulated with niacinamide and dandelion root to help protect your skin against environmental stressors, as well as coconut, macadamia nut and sweet almond oils for extra hydration. In true Aesop fashion, it has a strong aroma, leaning into floral, citrus and herbaceous notes.
For a particularly indulgent nightly ritual, I’d suggest applying this to the back of your hands, massaging it in and layering a hand balm over the top.
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Malin and Goetz Vitamin B5 Hand Treatment
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A little goes a long way when it comes to the Malin and Goetz Vitamin B5 Hand Treatment. A pea-sized amount will likely do the trick, and its fast-absorbing formula means you don’t have to sit around waiting for it to soak in. But more than anything, the selling point for this hand cream is its fresh, zingy scent. With notes of citrus and bergamot, it’s instantly energising and sure to elicit compliments from those around you.
Get it here.
For more on treating dry hands, head here.
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