We tend to focus on our faces when it comes to skincare, and honestly, that’s fair; they are the first things people see, after all.
However, we suggest also thinking about the first thing you use every day—we’ll bet it’s your hands. They quite literally do almost everything for us.
Sure, our palms tend to be treated to a little topical treatment every time we apply our face creams (and the backs of hands are generally where we rub excess product into), but really, any area that valuable deserves a skincare routine entirely its own.
Enter hand cream, the category of moisturisers specifically designed to cater to (as the fairly straightforward name suggests) your hands.
But though any hand cream is no doubt a worthy addition to your handbag beauty arsenal, there are still some superior formulas when it comes to actually nourishing those precious claws of yours.
So if you’re dealing with a bout of particularly dry skin, allow us to present our edit of the most hydrating (yet still undeniably chic) hand creams on the market…
Compagnie De Provence Seaweed Hand Cream, $35.95 at Adore Beauty
A luxurious cream loaded with soothing seaweed as well as 100 per cent natural shea butter (the gold standard in hand hydrators), it’s also enhanced with a subtle yet dreamy marine and floral fragrance (that no, blessedly won’t irritate skin).
Dior Prestige La Crème Mains de Rose Hand Cream, $120 at Myer
Pulling its impressive replenishing benefits from different forms of rose (of the wax, extract and oil varieties), this anti-ageing hydrator envelops the hands in a velvety veil of moisture without leaving any sticky residue behind.
Jurlique Lavender Hand Cream, $62 at Myer
Lavender’s skin benefits are just as soothing as its sensory ones, so it should come as no surprise that this hydrating hand cream will have your skin feeling soft, supple and silky smooth (as well as deeply moisturised, of course).
Grown Alchemist Age-Repair Hand Cream, $38 at Adore Beauty
A peptide-packed formula that aims to combat visual signs of aging (ranging from loss of collagen and firmness to the appearance of pigmentation, fine lines and uneven tone), it also harnesses the hydrating powers of sweet almond extract.
Lancôme Confort Crème Mains Hand Cream, $35 at Sephora
It’s hard to get more calming than this cream; not only does it feature the brand’s signature rose water blend (an inflammation-easing moisture-booster), but it also heroes honey, an ingredient long hailed for its skin-soothing properties.
Ouai Hand Crème, $37 at Sephora
A thick yet still non-greasy hybrid of shea and murumuru butters as well as coconut oil, it’s a beautifully creamy hand hydrating balm scented with notes of violet, gardenia and white musk. Long story short, it smells and feels utterly lush.
L’Occitane Shea Butter Hand Cream, $45 at Adore Beauty
Remember what we said about shea butter’s superiority? It’s proven once more by this super smoothing buttery blend. As if its star ingredient wasn’t already enough, said butter is flanked by honey and vitamin E to create the most calming hand hydrator possible.
Main image credit: @overglowedit
