Washing hands regularly and repeated applications of alcohol-based hand sanitisers is drying your skin out – there’s no question about it. However, it’s also one of the most effective ways to keep safe from the coronavirus, so there’s no getting around it either. But we have to moisturise. Here’s why.
When washing our hands thoroughly with soap and water multiple times a day, we aren’t just keeping our hands germ-free.It rinses off grime and microbes, but also strips away the natural layer of oil, known as sebum, that protects our skin. Over time, this leads to dry, cracked skin.
(Related: The rise of natural skincare)
It’s bad for our looks, sure. But there’s more: fissures that form on cracked skin provide an entryway for germs – so make revitalising the skin on your hands an integral part of your routine. Here’s our top hand moisturisers, creams and salves that’ll keep your hands as soft as a baby, letting you wash away with aplomb.
(Related: 5 Asian Skincare Beauty Brands on the Rise in Singapore)
Hand Creams For Him
Kiehl’s
The 169-year-old apothecary offers the Ultimate Strength Hand Salve: “formulated for the driest, most active hands” reads the blurb. It’s all about heavy-duty care that’ll last the whole day. Heavy industrial work, manual labour and harsh elements? This rigorous salve takes it all in stride, thanks to avocado and sesame oil. Both are emollient, moisturising oils rich in vitamins. Botanicals and olive oil bolster the hand salve to create a bulwark against the elements that seal in moisture.
Read more here.
Image courtesy of Kiehl’s.
Doctor Rogers
American dermatologist Dr Heather Rogers started this company after honing her craft for nearly 20 years. Her products are ethical, lab-tested and hypoallergenic: which brings us to the Restore Healing Balm. It’s another multi-tasker that is suitable for not only dry hands, but lips, cuticles and minor injuries like burns and scrapes. The key ingredient is sustainably-sourced glycerine, a natural component of skin, that speeds healing and reduces inflammation along with castor oil. It’ll speed up the natural healing processes of skin, while keeping dry, chapped skin moist and protected.
Read more here.
Image courtesy of Doctor Rogers.
Clinique
Fragrance-free moisturisers offer up some unique utility for men. Your nose might be a vital tool for sampling pinots, thus requiring zero possibility of olfactory distraction, or unwanted floral hints might just mess with your carefully-calibrated cologne. Whatever the case, Clinique’s Maximum Hydrator 72-hour Auto-Replenishing will rejuvenate dry hands for 72 hours by helping our skin to create its own water source. It also seals in moisture using hyaluronic acid and provides an instant moisturising boost with activated aloe water. Did we mention it also doubles as a face moisturiser, post-shave hydration and cuticle treatment salve?
Read more here.
Image courtesy of Clinique.
Aesop
Aesop knows their stuff. The grooming brand has provided high-quality products that are safe and effective for over thirty years. Their plant-based and laboratory-made ingredients are uniquely formulated to provide what you need most, completely cruelty-free and vegan. Their Reverence Aromatique Hand Balm is almost a no-brainer: its smoky, woody fragrance embedded in an emollient moisturiser that mixes vetiver root and bergamot rind. Our favourite part? It comes in a pump dispenser (99.7 per cent recycle PET) – no fiddling with tubes and caps here.
Read more here.
Image courtesy of Aesop.
Hand Creams For Her
Sisley
The Parisian beauty brand launched Sisleya in 1999 with one goal: to turn back time. For your skin that is. Its uniquely formulated Hand Care Anti-Aging Concentrate doesn’t just moisturise and protect your mitts. A trifecta of skin evening hexyl resorcinol and anti-free radical agents vitamin E acetate and buckweed seed extract combat the emergence of dark spots. The silky-smooth balm isn’t greasy and leaves a velvety finish on plumper, firmer skin.
Read more here.
Image courtesy of Sisley.
La Mer
There are few worse feelings than stepping in seaweed at the beach. It’s icky, squishy and slimy. Yet, that slipperiness in the seaweed is key to it being the secret ingredient of La Mer’s proprietary Miracle Broth that is central to their beauty products. Kelp boosts our skin’s natural regenerative powers, enhancing our skin’s ability to repair itself. The Hand Treatment mixes in essential oils and extracts to smooth and soften your digits while improving your skin’s radiance – all thanks to the power of kelp, hand-harvested off the pristine coasts of Vancouver Island.
Read more here.
Image courtesy of La Mer.
Lush
When you walk into a Lush outlet, you know you’re in for an experience. Well, were: nowadays, it’s just a little safer to ship your favourite vegan bath bombs and cruelty-free shower gels straight to your abode. Why not get a little Love and Light in your life at the same time? This hand cream combines organic cocoa butter cream, neroli and Brazilian orange oils into a softening, refreshing salve that promises to keep you and your digits happy.
Read more here.
Image courtesy of Lush.
Estee Lauder
Estee Lauder is no slouch to going the extra mile when it comes to beauty. As part of their Re-Nutriv product line, the brand extracted essential oils from the pungent (and much coveted) black diamond truffles through a process that takes 10,000 hours. While the luxurious ingredient was incorporated into their ultimate face cremes, the Re-Nutriv Intensive Smoothing Hand Creme is cut from the same cloth: it hydrates, protects and exfoliates your skin with its use of acetyl glucosamine, grape fruit extract and citric acid.
Read more here.
Image courtesy of Estee Lauder.
Natura Bisse
Natura Bisse was founded in Barcelona by mastermind Ricardo Fisas who came upon a factory worker with incredibly soft hands – all thanks to amino acids. 41 years later, and the beauty brand now brings you the luxurious Diamond Extreme Hand Cream. It stimulates collage production, promotes elasticity and firmness and protects the skin from free radicals with a cocktail of shea butter, chia oils and hydrolysed collagen. It also regulates your skin’s pigmentation.
Read more here.
Image courtesy of Natura Bisse.