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6 Hand Creams That Are Actually Worth Your Money

A lot of people say that age shows up first on your hands, but before we get into sharing products that can help with this, let's acknowledge that aging is a privilege. 


How do I get soft hands?


The primary reason people have skin damage on their hands is because their sunscreen use is lacking. Especially when we're driving, our hands are totally encompassed by the sun, and think of how much time in life we will spend driving or simply with our hands completely exposed to intense UV beams. This is one of the reasons we may start to see dark spots, discoloration, veins, fine lines, and wrinkles prematurely. Similarly, barrier damage can happen when we wash our hands correctly, but fail to give our skin adequate moisture.



Washing hands can cause dry cuticles, split hands, and painful, itchy dryness. You can even get brittle nails and hangnails. However, using hand moisturizers, face lotions, and body lotions can be very helpful to the skin. However, hand creams are very similar to eye creams in the way that they're often a marketing ploy. Hand creams are similar to body creams, but companies charge us more because they're branded as hand creams. 


Which hand cream is right for me?


Someone who has age spots will need a different product compared to someone who has delicate, dry, and cracked hands. While Cassandra doesn’t necessarily like to use hand creams, and she relies more on protective gloves to protect against barrier damage, there are a few hand creams that she would recommend.


Nécessaire The Hand Cream - $20

This is fragrance-free, and Cassandra would say that this isn’t the best for sensitive-skinned individuals. 


While this is good and Cassandra recommends it, this is basically like their body lotion and moisturizer. But, if you’re looking for something exclusively labeled for hands, this is one that Cassandra would recommend for sensitive skin. This seals off the skin and gives nice hydration. So, both of these are phenomenal especially if you have dry skin. 


For those who wash their hands a ton or have eczema or get a lot of hangnails because a lot of hangnails are due to dry skin, this is the one that Cassandra would recommend. This is for people who like fragrance-free and sensitive skin products.


Nécessaire The Body Lotion -$25



Fenty Skin Hydra’Reset Glycerin Hand Mask -$22 

 

If you are looking for hydration, you’ll want something thick and soothing. When your hands are dry or eczema-prone, that is when you’ll want to go with something like Fenty Skin. It’s nice, thick, and creamy. The applicator is wonderful, and it’s a gel-like texture that goes onto the skin. It’s fantastic, and it almost gives you a waterproof barrier. So, if you struggle with dryness, this deeply locks moisture into the hands. it in. At the same time though, there’s an abundance of fragranced ingredients in this product. 



Beauty Pie Superdose Vitamin C Hand Cream - $60



Now, this product is great at preventing and treating skin damage. This is one of the only hand creams that Cassandra has found that actually targets hyperpigmentation. It has tranexamic acid, vitamin C, and it's phenomenal. It’s great for the hands if there’s hyperpigmentation, uneven skin tone, or age spots. This could also be good for the elbows, armpits, knees, and elbows. It’s a much more liquidy formula so it’s not going to help with dryness too much, but if you do struggle with hyperpigmentation on the back of the hands, skin spots, or you notice that the skin is changing color, tranexamic acid and the vitamin C have proven over and over again to be great for hyperpigmentation, uneven skin tone, and brightening. Cassandra wouldn’t recommend putting this on and going for a drive, she would recommend putting this on at night. So, don’t put this in your car. Put it by your bedside table. 


Jane Iredale HandDrink Hand Cream -$29


But, if you are driving in the car, Cassandra would recommend this or some sort of sunscreen before putting on sun gloves. This does have a lemongrass scent. So, if you’re looking for something fragrance-free, this may be something to take into account.  This also has SPF 15, and there aren’t a lot of hand creams that have sunscreen in them. This is a nice, non-greasy,  lightweight one that Cassandra keeps in her car. When you put it on, it is like a hand drink. However, it does have a slight lemongrass scent. So, if you’re super sensitive,  you may not want to use the lemongrass scent. Alternatively, you could use a sunscreen in tandem with an unscented sunscreen if you don’t want a lemongrass scent.  Also, you can take any sunscreen that didn’t quite work for your face, and put it on your hands.

 

Coolibar UPF 50+ Long Fingerless Sun Gloves - $34


 

Purito Centella Green Level Unscented Sun - $14.91

Cassandra also uses Purito because it’s an unscented SPF hand cream. It also works for the top of your arms when you’re sitting in the car in the sun. SPF is the number one thing you can do to prevent those fine lines and wrinkles and even help deal with them. This is one you should also include in your car. 


Beauty Pie Retinol Anti-Aging Hand Treatment - $50

Retinoids are the gold standard in dermatology, and it is one of the best things you can do for fine lines other than sunscreen. You could also use a retinol body moisturizer like the one from Versed. You get a way bigger container with the body lotion and the same basic ingredients. You can also use a facial moisturizer with retinol for your hands. You don’t necessarily have to spend money on a hand cream. Another hack is taking a tretinoin prescription and mixing it in with a hand cream or body lotion for the back of your hands at night.


Versed Skin Firm Ground Retinol Body Lotion - $17.99