Hand creams: 10 of the best

A few years ago, I was sitting next to a lovely woman at a dinner. She had the most impressively glowy skin. The kind of skin one could only acquire with a serious dedication to care (and I suspect a little bit of cosmetic intervention, too). As we spoke, she gesticulated, lifting her hands close to her face and I had to stop my food from falling out of my mouth. Her hands looked as if they belonged to someone else, someone 200 years older. While that is a bit of an exaggeration, my point is this: we need to pay more attention to the skin on our hands. Hand cream with actives – such as retinol – and SPF protection are particularly progressive as they treat hands with as much care as the skin on your face, and now increasingly, your body. Hand creams tend to be spoken about more in winter, but they should be an all-year-round necessity. On a basic level, a great hand cream will make your hands feel more comfortable, but it also means you won’t end up with hands that don’t match your face.

1. L’Occitane Dry Skin Hand Cream £23, uk.loccitane.com
2. Elizabeth Arden Eight Hour Cream Intensive Moisturising Hand Treatment £28, elizabetharden.co.uk
3. Aesop Eleos Aromatique Hand Balm £27, aesop.com
4. Necessaire The Hand Cream £20, spacenk.com
5. Super Retinol Hands Anti-Ageing Moisture Cream £12.50, beautypie.com
6. Hello Sunday The One For Your Hands SPF30 Hand Cream £10, cultbeauty.co.uk
7. Cerave Reparative Hand Cream , £7, sephora.co.uk
8. Shiseido Ultimate Power Infusing Hand Cream , £27, johnlewis.com
9. This Works Perfect Hands Intense Moisture £20, thisworks.com
10. Chanel Le Crème Main , £52, chanel.com

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