I’ve been buying hand creams by the ton lately. The cold, extremely dry desert air makes my hands look and feel positively reptilian. The manicurist at the spa took one look at my poor digits yesterday and clucked with sympathy.
“Oh my god. You’re cuticles,” she muttered to herself.
Yeah, I know. They’re in terrible shape, and working with a lot of paper (at the library, at the home office) hasn’t helped. I’ve found a few fantastic hand creams, though, and have at least one in each room in the house, including two in the master bath. My hands still tend to be a little on the dry side, but with my renewed determination to keep my newly manicured hands soft and scale-free, they’re now much more pampered.
Hands down, the best all-day hand lotion to pop in your purse is RoC’s Retinol Correxion Hand Repair SPF 15. It offers broad-spectrum UVA/UVB protection with the inclusion of Avobenzone (3%) and absorbs into your skin so fast, you won’t have to rub and rub and rub just to clear your hands. Eve
n with our little valley’s parched air, I have no problems keeping my hands baby-soft with this lotion. Plus, in addition to the sun protection, you get high-grade retinol to even out pigmentation and smooth your skin. Definitely worth the little extra money. I hear it also won Allure’s 2007 Best of Beauty in its category.
And did you know that RoC is a fifty-year-old French brand? I didn’t. Apparently, it’s now part of the huge Johnson & Johnson empire but was originally established by a French pharmacist and dermatologists. Price: $15 for 1.7 fl. oz. You can find this at your local drugstore or Target.
For nighttime, bedtime moisturization, I haven’t found anything to top good ol’ fashioned Vaseline. Seriously, their Deep Moisture Creamy Formula hand cream is the freakin’ best ever. It does go on thick and takes a bit of rubbing to get it all absorbed, but I wake up in the m
orning and voila! Hands are still super-soft. Fragrance-free and non-comedogenic, I use this mostly on my hands but have been known to smooth it on my knees and feet when they’re feeling especially unloved. Slip on some of those moisture-locking spa gloves for half an hour, and your hands will be so grateful. And at this low-price, I buy at least six at a time and scatter them all over the house. There’s even one in my car. Price: $3.99 for 4.5 oz. (Note: I don’t see the product on Vaseline’s Web site, so the company may be slowly phasing it out in favor of their Intensive Rescue line. However, I’ve seen this everywhere, from Walgreens to Target, so I don’t think there’s a chance of running out anytime soon.)
Last, but not least, one of my favorite French skincare brands, L’Occitane. I know that everyone raves about the classic Shea Butter hand cream, but my personal favorite is the Lavender, which I think is shea butter-based anyway but has lavender oil mixed in for the aromatherapy benefits. And wow, does it work. I love working this into my hands at night and inhaling its comforting scent. Lavender never fails to induce relaxation in my frazzled body, so this is a favorite when I need a little comfort and don’t require the high-octane moisturization that only Vaseline can provide. During the spring and summer months, this is the perfect nighttime hand cream. Plus, the silvery tube is just lovely on my nightstand. Price: $20 for 2.6 fl. oz.
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