You don't need a statistician on hand to know that sales of hand sanitiser in the UK have rocketed in the last year, so it's likely you've got a bottle of the deep-cleansing stuff stashed away in your bag. We're all for some on-the-go anti-bac (shop our favourites right here), but most formulae wreak havoc on your skin, so whilst you're shopping for those gels, make sure to pick up a tube of nourishing hand cream too.
It's worth being picky when it comes to hand cream. There's bundles of choice on the beauty shelves, but to act as an antidote to dehydrating hand sanitisers, you need a formula that's going to go the extra mile in terms of nourishing ingredients. Those all-scent-and-no-substance ones? They're just not going to cut it. That being said, a beautiful fragrance never goes amiss. Take Byredo's offering for example, the formulas are light, nourishing, and their scents just as attention-grabbing as their perfume counterparts.
Make sure to check out the ingredients list on the label, it's the best indicator of how nourishing your chosen hand cream is going to be. Shea butter, argan oil, vitamin E, coconut oil and olive oil all pack a punch in the hand soothing game, so keep an eye out. Your hands are in constant use during the day, and suffer a huge amount of wear and tear, so they deserve to be prioritised every so often when it comes to TLC.
Shop: The Best Hand Creams For Dry Skin
www.lookfantastic.com
Grown Alchemist's luxurious, non greasy hand cream combines antibacterial Ylang Ylang and Cedarwood, and Tea Tree Extract and Candeia Oils to soothe and protect skin, all the while keeping hands delightfully soft. With five different formulas, they have the perfect lotion for every kind of skin.
Palmers is well known in the beauty world for being totally amazing, as well as purse-friendly. This hand cream restores and softens dry, rough skin as it's formulated with vitamin E and pure cocoa butter. It sinks in relatively quickly and leaves no sticky residue, just silky soft skin. It's a handbag must-have.
www.libertylondon.com
Aurelia knows a thing or two about skincare and their luxurious hand-cream is packed full with nourishing organic extracts like red algae, sea daffodil and baoba which work to deeply hydrate the skin and nails. Oh, and it smells heavenly!
www.lookfantastic.com
Blended with retinol, this hard-working hand cream specifically targets fine line and age spots, by increasing collagen production and evening skin tone.
www.cultbeauty.co.uk
Acai and coconut oil work together to moisturise and nourish skin leaving hands silky soft and sweetly scented of the signature nutty fragrance.
This quick-absorbing cream treats provides immediate relief and visible improvement to dry, distressed skin dry. A must-have.
This nourishing cream from Dove contains AHA, olive oil and vitamin B3 for natural skin rejuvenation and is enriched with NutriDUO, to nourish the deeper layers of the skin, leaving hands moisturised and soft for 24 hours.
www.superdrug.com
Neutrogena's hand cream provides immediate and lasting relief for even the most dry hands - and you don't need much. Just a dab of this glycerin-enriched formula instantly relieves and protects seriously dry or chapped hands. The product comes in a handbag-friendly size, perfect to fit into pockets.
www.nealsyardremedies.com
At just £10, this affordable product has a luxury feel - and it doesn't just make your wallet and hands happy, either! The uplifting sunny scent of rose, geranium and vibrant sweet orange essential oils lift your mood, whilst softening your hands.
Lotil is the fairy godmother of hand creams, having been a staple for soft hands for over 100 years. Rich, easily absorbed and multi-purpose, it's great for a number of dry skin conditions including psoriasis and eczema.
uk.loccitane.com
This miracle hand cream will see you through the winter months and into spring, giving you smooth skin. £24 can seem a lot to splash out on a hand cream, but the huge tube will last a long time, so its worth the money. The cream is formulated with a very high concentration of 25% Shea Butter to provide intense nourishing care.
www.houseoffraser.co.uk
It's the little sister of the infamous Elizabeth Arden 8 hour cream - and it sure does live up to its family's name. But unlike the original 8 hour cream, this product has a much softer, creamier formula that still restores skin. And yes, it does last eight hours!
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Byredo Blanche Hand Cream Travel Size
Here's the chic travel size option, got a favourite Byredo scent? Channel it through your hand cream too with this dinky tube of goodness. The lightweight formula sets to work hydrating dry hands back to beautiful, and needless to say each scent is to swoon for.
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