The best hand creams you can buy

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The best hand creams you can buy
  • We use our hands to do everything, so it's no wonder they get dried out - especially if you work with them, or wash them frequently. That's why it's important to moisturize daily, and to choose the best hand cream for the job.
  • Of all the hand creams we tested, Kiehl's Ultimate Strength Hand Salve is the best because it moisturizes effectively to leave a glove-like barrier of protection.
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Most people remember to moisturize their faces at the very least, but what about the rest of your body? Hands are probably the last thing you think about moisturizing daily, but they're also vitally important in just about everything you do, so it's time to treat them a little bit better. If you have a job that requires frequent hand washing or you work out in the elements, your hands are even more vulnerable.

A good hand cream is a vital addition to your skincare regime. These specially formulated creams are rich moisturizers that can create a special barrier to protect your skin from the elements all day long.

Since my husband is a doctor and we have a young kid in daycare, we both wash our hands obsessively. This results in painfully dry skin, especially in the winter. We tried several highly recommended hand creams and sifted through buyer and expert reviews to find the best hand creams you can buy.

Here are our top picks for the best hand cream:

Updated on 09/11/2019 by Caitlin Petreycik: Updated links, formatting, and prices.

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Disclosure: This post is brought to you by the Insider Picks team. We highlight products and services you might find interesting. If you buy them, we get a small share of the revenue from the sale from our commerce partners. We frequently receive products free of charge from manufacturers to test. This does not drive our decision as to whether or not a product is featured or recommended. We operate independently from our advertising sales team. We welcome your feedback. Email us at insiderpicks@businessinsider.com.

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The best hand cream overall

The best hand cream overall
Kiehl's Ultimate Strength Hand Salve is an all-star hand cream that's well-known for soothing even dry, cracked hands while providing a "glove-like" barrier for your skin.

After testing tons of hand creams of all prices, my husband and I now keep a big container of Kiehl's in our bedside table and apply it every night before bed, letting the nourishing blend of oils sink in while we sleep. It works so well that itchy red patches and peeling from dryness are now a distant memory, even when the air is parched from the heater running all night. It's even effective enough at softening and healing skin that I also use it as a cuticle cream.

Since this darling of the Kiehl's skin line is a salve, rather than your average lotion, it's thick going on, but in a way that feels extra nourishing rather than greasy. It also soaks in really quickly so all those heavy-duty moisturizers, like avocado and sesame oil, end up absorbed into your skin rather than smeared on your phone's screen.

With a 4.9 rating on Sephora.com and a host of glowing reviews on Amazon, I'm not alone in granting Kiehl's Ultimate Strength Hand Salve "miracle product" status.

The few negative reviews on Amazon are mostly related to a couple of individual sellers making packaging and shipping mistakes, not any dissatisfaction with the product. A few reviewers say it's too expensive, but the fact that a little bit of salve goes a long way means that you do end up getting a lot of bang for your buck.

Pros: Nourishing oils like avocado, sesame, eucalyptus, and olive, combined with powerhouse soothers like shea butter and aloe, condition and protect skin naturally

Cons: Pricier than some other creams, some may dislike the smell

The best hand cream for anti-aging

The best hand cream for anti-aging
The Supergoop! hand cream moisturizes well while also providing SPF protection just for your hands.

I stumbled onto the Supergoop! brand by accident while trolling the shelves of my local Sephora. Since I'm naturally so pale that strangers sometimes ask me if I'm feeling well (thanks, awkward strangers!), I'm always looking for the best and the brightest in new beauty products that offer high SPF protection. So when I found the brand that features SPF power in its entire line, I became an instant fan.

While sunscreen in hand cream is still pretty rare, experts say that the thin skin on the backs of your hands is just as much of a danger zone for sun damage as your face. I've also heard that your hands are the first place to give away your age, but that seems more subjective. Either way, if you're concerned about sun damage and aging in any capacity, then protecting your hands is a no-brainer. I know I'm at the point in my life where I'm really realizing that an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure, so I'm going to coat my whole self in SPF, thanks very much.

Supergoop! Forever Young Hand Cream with Sea Buckthorn has a gentle list of ingredients that stands up to most green buyers' scrutiny, and it provides SPF 40 protection. The cream also absorbs quickly and gives off a light, pleasing smell. In fact, one of the ingredients is limonene, a natural plant extract known to boost happiness when inhaled.

The only negative review I found that I agree with is that the bottle's pump can be quite finicky. I know that I did struggle a bit operating it when I already had a creamy or oily beauty product on my hands. I also agree that $14 for the one-ounce bottle is not the best deal. However, the other size option is $38 for 10 ounces, which is much more reasonable. Still, it's probably not the option for buyers on a tight budget.

Pros: Nourishing hand cream with great anti-aging protection via SPF

Cons: The pump can be finicky, it's not cheap

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The best hand cream on a budget

The best hand cream on a budget
The Eucerin Advanced Repair Hand Cream is a powerful, dermatologist recommended cream at a great price.

Sure, expensive hand creams may be made with more natural, organic ingredients, but Eucerin Advanced Repair Hand Cream is one example of a mainstream, affordable product that achieves top results.

As one Amazon reviewer put it, "The skin on my fingers looks like human skin and not like I got a skin graft from Deadpool for the first time in 2 years!!!" Many reviewers mentioned how long-lasting the product is, so you don't need to constantly re-apply.

A couple of buyers have mentioned that it can burn a bit at first, but this will likely only happen if your hands are severely dry, irritated, or cracked. The burning on damaged hands may be due to the inclusion of AHA, a kind of acid that exfoliates and evens skin, particularly rough spots and calluses when used in hand cream. On the flip side, however, AHA can make your skin more susceptible to sunburn.

It has virtually no scent, which can be a plus or minus depending on your needs. It doesn't smell like you're getting a luxurious spa treatment, like some of the creams on this list, but if you have sensitive skin in need of some heavy-duty healing, you're not going to want synthetic perfumes in your hand cream.

Some customers on the Eucerin website are saying that the newly revamped formula is not as rich and creamy as the old one. But with droves of positive reviews and dermatologist recommendations, you have a good chance of loving Eucerin Advanced Repair Hand Cream as your on-a-budget pick.

Pros: Affordable, exfoliating, dermatologist recommended

Cons: Less creamy than the old formula, and can make skin more vulnerable to sun damage

The best hand cream for damaged hands

The best hand cream for damaged hands
O'Keeffe's Working Hands hand cream offers heavy-duty healing for very distressed skin at a good price.

If you work in a hands-on career, like landscaping, nursing, or car repair, then chances are you may have already heard of O'Keeffe's Working Hands, since many of your co-workers are likely to use it. This cult favorite is Amazon's number one seller in hand creams and lotions, boasting a high majority of five-star reviews.

Thousands of enthusiastic reviewers on Amazon talk about the cream's ability to heal very damaged skin seemingly overnight. There are lots of mentions from users who have eczema on their hands, and who have found that nothing works as well for them as O'Keeffe's. Looking through the gallery of user-uploaded before and after pictures is definitely a trip.

I like O'Keeffe's because, just as the container says, it creates what feels like a moisture barrier to seal in the nourishing ingredients. But can I be fussy for a second and say that I just don't like the packaging? Obviously, that's a pretty superficial concern, but if I'm going to keep a product on my nightstand and see if every evening and morning, I want it to look at least slightly pleasing.

I was happy to find O'Keefe's has virtually no smell, even though I expected a heavy-duty medicinal scent due to the serious nature of the product. But I found the formula too oily/greasy for my preferences. However, that's because, while I do get dry hands and cuticles from frequent washing, my hands were never severely damaged, cracked, or irritated by eczema. But that's the clientele this cream was made for, and many people seem to find it life-changing.

My final word is that it's great for those with super cracked or damaged hands, but might be too much if that doesn't describe you.

Pros: Heavy-duty healing power, good price

Cons: Too greasy for some people, contains lots of unpronounceable chemicals

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The best smelling hand cream

The best smelling hand cream
Tocca Crema da Mano moisturizes nicely and the cream smells like you just had a mini spa treatment.

You've probably heard that a person's sense of smell is tightly linked with memories in the brain. And it's true that certain scents are capable of giving you the instant sense of being transported back to a particularly emotional time where a similar scent permeated the air. It's primarily this incredible power of scent that leads me to grant Tocca Crema da Mano a top-five spot on the list of best hand creams.

Sure, this paraben-free cream moisturizes well with primarily botanical ingredients like coconut oil, shea butter, and aloe, and it feels light, not oily. But what really sets this hand cream apart from so many others is its intoxicating fragrance that Tocca modeled after "Italian blood orange."

The same basic formulation of the cream is available from Tocca in several scents, all of which are lovely, but in my opinion, "Stella" or "Italian blood orange" is by far the best. Maybe, in part, since this cream also contains limonene — a natural plant extract that is known to boost happiness when inhaled. The crisp, citrus blossom scent gives me flashes of my summer honeymoon four years ago in Tuscany and along the Cote d'Azur. Is this cheesy? Yes. Bougie? Definitely. But oh my goodness this stuff has an alluring fragrance.

Even though the scent is a major plus for feeling like you're getting a little spa treatment every time you put on your hand lotion, perfume can sometimes be an irritant, making it a drawback for those with very sensitive or cracked skin. In fact, this option is generally better for those without serious irritation or dryness issues, since it's really more of a medium to light-weight cream. That's the only really consistent negative listed in its many Amazon reviews — that it moisturizes well, but isn't super intensive.

Pros: Amazing scent, paraben-free with lots of naturally soothing ingredients

Cons: On the more expensive side, and might not be best for sensitive or extra dry skin

Check out our other great skincare guides

Check out our other great skincare guides
The best exfoliators you can buy for any skin type or budget

Whether you're new to the exfoliation game or a seasoned skincare pro, Glossier's Solution is the exfoliator you should be reaching for. Its powerful mix of acids dissolves dead skin cells and improves your complexion, giving your face a gorgeous glow.

You might also like the Simple Kind to Skin Smoothing Facial Scrub, the Dermalogical Daily Microfoliant, the Juara Radiance Enzyme Scrub, and the Ole Henriksen Transforming Walnut Scrub.

The best moisturizers you can buy

Everyone wants healthy, smooth, and soft skin. Dry skin not only looks dull and flaky, it also feels tight and itchy. The solution? A good moisturizer. Our favorite moisturizer for both face and body is the CeraVe Moisturizing Cream, but we have several others that we wouldn't hesitate to recommend:

The best anti-aging serums you can buy

Let's face it, there's nothing you can do about getting older, but you can delay the signs of aging with a good serum. Here are our top picks for the best anti-aging serums you can buy:

The best eye creams you can buy

Eye creams and serums are likely the product you know you should be using but have no idea how to actually shop for. If you're unsure of where to start, reach for the Dr. Dennis Gross Ferulic + Retinol Eye Serum. Buyers and experts agree that this is the cream of the crop when it comes to treating under eye circles.

You'll also love the Sunday Riley Auto Correct Brightening and Depuffing Eye Cream, the Aveeno Absolutely Ageless Eye Cream, the Uma Absolute Aging Eye Oil, and the Lancôme Vissionaire Yeux.

The best clay masks you can buy

Clay masks are an easy and cost-effective way to give your skin a boost without hitting the spa. Our top pick is the Aztec Secret Indian Healing Clay Mask because it is a super affordable all-natural mask that deep cleans your pores.

You might also like the Glossier Mega Greens Galaxy Pack Mask, the Pure Biology Clay Face Mask, the L'Oréal Paris Pure Clay Exfoliate & Refine Mask, or the Charlotte Tilbury Goddess Skin Clay Mask.

The best body oil you can buy

If smooth, supple skin is what you're looking for, then the Fresh Sugar Ultra-Nourishing Body Oil is the bottle you want to reach for.

You might also like the Jao Goe Oil, the Herbivore Jasmine Glowing Hydrating Oil, the Kypris Body Elixir Inflorescence, and the Burt's Bees Body Oil.

The best face cream for dry skin

If you're one of those people whose face feels flaky whether it's December or August, finding the right face cream can be difficult. But if full-on hydration and protection are what you're after, Dr. Jart+ Ceramindin Cream is your best bet.

You should also consider the Neutrogena Hydro Boost Water Gel, the CeraVe Moisturizing Cream, the Drunk Elephant Protini Polypeptide Cream, and the Youth To The People Age Prevention Superfood Cream.

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