The Hand Cream Roundup
I’m sure you’ve all heard that bit of beauty wisdom that holds that your hands are becoming the first place where you show age, now that people are actually starting to wear sunblock on their faces and necks regularly. Hands are the next anti-aging frontier, and mine get put through the mill with harsh soaps, UV light, and general abuse (where DID that scrape on my knuckle come from?) with disturbing regularity. This is a problem about which I’m becoming increasingly neurotic as time goes on and yet about which I have done little to nothing. The time has come, ladies. Hand cream it is.
The main problem I find with hand cream is getting a cream that’s strong enough to stay put and provide moisture for some decent length of time without making me feel like I’m going to leave grease all over everything I touch. This is the primary reason I’m so bad about using it. Here are a few that do the job.
First up, Bliss’ high intensity hand cream with macadamia oil and grapeseed extract.
Hydration with a lovely fragrance from Bliss
This is a really nice basic hand cream, providing effective hydration with a pleasant light scent that I had trouble pinning down. Lemon and almond? Apples? Do macadamia nuts have a scent? Regardless, it was pleasant and easy to live with, which is not always the case with hand cream scents.
I also liked the Philip B. Lovin’ Hand & Body Creme.
Philip B. Lovin' Hand & Body Creme
What I liked most about this one is that it provides some serious hydration and does a good job of staying put, so that my hands are still feeling soft hours later despite the gauntlet I put them through. The creme contains coconut oil, shea butter, and Vitamins E and B5 to give you good hydration and healing, and has a fairly strong melon-y scent that makes me a little hungry if I apply it on an empty stomach.
Hand cream with SPF15 from RoC
Another favorite is the RoC Retinol Correxion Hand Repair cream. This one isn’t just about hydration — it also contains retinol that you can actually use during the daytime and a sunblock to prevent further sun damage. (What I said about that neurosis? Yeah.) Admittedly, it does leave a little bit of the typical sunblock shine when you first apply it, but it disappears with a little time. The texture isn’t quite as nice as some of the other hand creams, but the SPF makes that a good exchange.
My last pick is L’Occitane’s Lavender Hand Cream:
What's more Provencal than lavender?
Now, I like lavender but I’d be the first to admit that products with lavender essential oil can be overwhelming — the scent is wonderful in small quantities but can get aggressive fast. I was impressed to find that although the lavender essential oil is clearly perceptible, it fades to a very manageable level rapidly after application. This cream is a little lighter than any of the others, and would be great for people who don’t like a heavy moisturizer. My only quibble here is that the tube and cap are not the most user-friendly design (the cap can be a bit of a pain to screw back on), but it’s definitely a minor issue. I’m looking forward to trying the verveine scent next time I’m in the store.
After all this research, my hands are feeling younger already! On to the next neurosis. Where are we showing age these days? Elbows? Ankles? No worries, I’m sure my ankle cream roundup is right around the corner.
