The Great Hand Cream Showdown
A definitive guide to 12 of the most popular hand creams
First order of business: we have to talk about the big P word. Paid. WAIT! It’s not what you think!
I’ve been writing this Substack for about a year now *gasps* and it’s brought me SO much joy. Like, so much. But it’s also a lot of work. I love it, don’t get me wrong, but sometimes it teeters on irresponsible how much time I spend on this for how little financial return I see. Once again, we live in a capitalist society. Sorry.
I’ve been toying with the idea of paywalling certain posts for quite a while now, but there’s something inside of me that really doesn’t want to. I love Plant Based being able to fall into any internet-user’s hands (ok, terrifying), and I don’t want to stunt any potential growth, frankly. I also want to keep writing this at the current velocity, and in order to do that, it would be REALLY awesome to get some money for it. So here’s where I’ve landed:
We’re going to do a MET-style pay-as-you-wish situation. I don’t want to make any of this inaccessible, but if you’ve been enjoying my writing and have the means, it would really mean a lot if you could support me in my favorite way, monetarily. We’re also having a lot of fun in the chat, which, in the future, could be a paid-subscriber function only. I’m noodling on it.
TLDR: Nothing is changing but now you have the option to pay me if you want. XO
Tis the damn season, am I right people? The damn season I refer to would be that of moisture necessitation. We’re well into dry hand season, at least here in the Northern Hemisphere. This begs the question:
Do you need a hand cream?
Probably. There is nothing I dislike more than dry, cracked hands. I don’t mean to shame my fellow moisture-lacking folks, this is coming from a person who historically runs dry (skin type, humor, etc). Especially in the winter, let’s make sure those hands are hydrated.
What makes for a good hand cream?
Hydrating, deeply-penetrating ingredients. The occlusives aren’t doing anything for us here, not without the actual humectants. I want simple, powerful ingredients that *actually* work.
Scent, or lack thereof. I’m a big proponent of fragrance-free, but if there is a fragrance, it better be good. I’m just a simple girl with simple needs.
Texture. It can’t be drippy, sticky, or clumpy. Ew. I’m looking for smoothing, creamy, and nourishing.
Packaging / delivery mechanism. Things I’ve been known to love: metal tube, tube press, multi-purpose design object. Things I don’t love: Tubes that are too full such that an avalanche of lotion is oozing out at all times. In the era of “what’s in my bag,” hand creams are a demarcation of taste. Therefore, it better look pretty.
The Key Players
Let’s talk about the hand creams you need to know about.
Nécessaire makes a hand duo: day-to-night cream and retinol companions.
This wouldn’t be a hand cream discussion without Aesop.
SIDIA is the hot new brand I’m seeing around town, with a serum of their own.
The latest launch from Flamingo Estate is their Manuka Rich Cream.
Written about extensively, Soft Services’s Theraplush is a mainstay in the category.
If I don’t include L’Occitane in this discussion, the people on TikTok get angry with me.
Salt + Stone offers a hand cream in almost all of their non-toxic scent formulas.
As no surprise to crunchy girls everywhere, Weleda has a sort of skin food for hands.
A brand I’m recently fawning over, Typology, has a 10-ingredient formula.
I’ll be trying a hydrating hand cream from eco-friendly brand evolvetogether.
Glossier has their own pink hand lotion contraption, of course.
It’s about time I bring Kiehl’s into the mix. They have a heavy-duty hand salve.
As with most cosmetic products, there are simply way too many. I obviously can’t try all of them — I’m just a girl, after all — so I’ve capped it at 12 for the sake of depth and detail. If there’s a glaring blind spot, please, I’m all ears. Or hands? Enough.
Nécessaire
Nécessaire makes a Hand Cream and a Hand Retinol, sold as a duo for day and night handcare (this should be a word) options. I can only speak to the Hand Cream which is a lovely, unscented formula but The Duo is a VERY good deal for a pretty substantial concentration of retinol.
Price: $55 for the duo, $25 for the cream / $38 for the retinol
Hero Ingredients: Ceramides, Peptides, Niacinamide, Marula Butter/Oil, 0.25% Retinol, AHA, Glycerin
Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️/5
Aesop
Look, Aesop is sexy. There’s no way around it. The best thing this brand has done is get their products in the hands of very attractive men across the world. For that reason, I can’t help but be curious if the infamous hand cream is worth the hype it’s gotten.
Good news: it is. I love this stuff. It smells wonderful, it’s neither greasy nor sticky, and I love looking at the tube. Doesn’t get better than that.
Price: $33
Hero Ingredients: Glycerin, Coconut Oil, Mandarin Rind, Rosemary Leaf, Cedar Atlas
Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️/5
SIDIA
Real talk: SIDIA is blowing my mind with this serum. It’s so lightweight, yet so impactful. It feels like a drink of water for my skin. Plus, the squirt bottle is a fabulous innovation for avoiding the unidentifiable liquid mess that can often occur when you throw a [insert cosmetic item] in a bag. Don’t pretend you don’t know what I’m talking about.
Price: $36
Hero Ingredients: Avocado Butter, Shea Butter, Aloe Vera
Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️/5
Flamingo Estate
Let me just say, it’s called Manuka Rich Cream for a reason. For one, it has the faint, naturally sweet smell of honey. And one thing about honey — that sh*t is sticky. So is this. As I was lathering my hands up with this stuff, my brain was replaying the scene in the Parent Trap where Hallie pranks the whole cabin and that one girl is just dripping in honey.
This feels like that but in a good way? The move is to use this overnight — your hands will certainly be out of commission — and I promise you the softest skin of your life.
Price: $48
Hero Ingredients: Manuka Honey, Lanolin, Calendula Flowers, Olive Oil, and Shea Butter
Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️.5/5
Soft Services
What’s one more ode to this brand? I could write a whole dissertation on Soft Services and my favorite products they make. Come to think of it, I already did. Like I’ve said, you can tell everything they make is for a specific reason — no unnecessary or mediocre crap. Theraplush is perhaps the best example of that.
I was hesitant to include it in this list because it’s the only non-portable option. It’s also far and away the most expensive option. But it’s simply too good not to include. In the ~6 months of I’ve been using it, I’ve seen a noticeable difference in my skin — particularly my cuticles. They really meant it when they said “overnight manicure.” BTW, I haven’t even had to change the pod yet.
Price: $62 for the case and pod set, $36 for the pod
Hero Ingredients: .05% Retinol, Colloidal Oatmeal, Panthenol, Castor Seed Oil
Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️/5
L’Occitane
I’m sorry, am I missing something? The People On The Internet lose their minds over this hand cream and can I just say, for what? We can do better, guys. It’s not BAD, per se, but it leaves my hands with a sticky residue that I don’t enjoy. Points for the mini size though.
Price: $13 for the mini; $30 for full size
Hero Ingredients: Shea Butter, Coconut Oil, Honey, Marshmallow Root Extract
Rating: ⭐️⭐️.5/5
Weleda
If you’re trying to go for lower-cost, bare bones option, this is the one to choose. It’s unscented, super gentle, and fast-absorbing. This is a baseline good hand cream.
Price: $12.99
Hero Ingredients: Jojoba Seed Oil, Coconut Oil, Borago Officinalis Seed Oil
Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️/5
Salt + Stone
They hooked me in with the deodorant, and they keep me coming back for the hand cream. I will say, the fragrance is potent, so if you’re sensitive to smells, be warned. Because it smells so strongly, however, you can use it as a reinforcement for the deodorant you’ve decided to wear and go totally perfume-free; they really let you build a whole scent story. I should add that it works fabulously.
Price: $20
Hero Ingredients: Niacinimide, Seaweed Extract, Spirulina, Snow Mushroom, Squalane
Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️.5/5
Typology
I’ve been eyeballing Typology for a while, just waiting for the right time and the right product to enter their customer base. Writing this piece felt like a good enough excuse, and I’m so happy I did with this product. It’s marvelous. Take it from me when I say it’s really hard to find a sophisticated-looking, high-performing hand cream with trustworthy ingredients without fragrance. This is that.
Price: $25.90
Hero Ingredients: Hyaluronic Acid, Purified Water, Organic Coconut Oil, Vitamin E
Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️/5
evolvetogether
This Hydrating Hand Cream, and this brand in general, is a sleeper hit. It smells subtly sweet, there’s a lot in the tube, and it works quickly. Plus, when you start to get some good use out of it, the tube forms these topographical ridges which give it a sculptural-feel, so that’s fun.
Price: $27
Hero Ingredients: Pro-Vitamin B5, Vitamin E, Vitamin C, Glycerin
Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️/5
Glossier
This is what I would describe as a gizmo. A gizmo that is perfectly crafted for a teenage girl (which is a mindset, not a demographic, FYI). I applaud the creativity of this delivery system and appreciate its leakproof nature. It’s a good cream, and I find the scent to be rather comforting, as I do with You. Just a tad too Girliepop for me, personally.
Price: $20
Hero Ingredients: Glycofilm Pollustop, Meadowfoam Seed Oil, Fermented Coconut Seed Extract
Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️.5/5
Kiehl’s
This is for when you bring in the big guns. If you’ve gotten to the point of cracked knuckles, I’m going to suggest you reach for this. It’s thick. THICK. But it’s necessary. The Kiehl’s Ultimate Strength Hand Salve is just that, a hand salve. This will rescue you in times of complete and utter dry hand crisis.
Price: $33
Hero Ingredients: Avocado Oil, Sesame Oil, Glycerin
Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️.5/5
The Big Takeaways:
If you want a total hand nourishment system, go with Nécessaire’s Duo.
If you were looking for an excuse to own an Aesop product, consider this your sign.
SIDIA’s serum is the best for lightweight hand thirst-quenching.
If you are in the danger zone (uncomfortable, dry, cracked), Kiehl’s has the salve.
If you’re looking for a minimal, fragrance-free option, do Typology’s 10-Ingredient Balm.
For a literal “overnight manicure,” it’s time you get Soft Service’s Theraplush.
Beautiful scents + deep moisturization calls for evolvetogether or Salt + Stone.
And with that, happy hand-creaming. Gross.
That’s all for now. Reply to this email or leave a comment if you want to reach me. :)
Weleda Skin Food is great for hands, even though it’s not labeled as a hand cream.
You gotta try the Prequel hand cream! I wash my hands so much that sometimes the whole process of lotion can feel like I’m washing it right off but not with this!