For me, hands and lips are the two things that really suffer when the cold weather starts biting, so this year I’ve been working hard at finding the best things to treat hands and keep them as soft and smooth as possible. I find the key to success is to have lots of hand creams around so that you can always reach for something without the excuse that it isn’t nearby. I take the exact same approach to lip care too so I’m constantly moisturising both my hands and lips.
1. Trilogy Helping Hand Wash* (£13.50)
I’m still using this several times a day as it’s such a fantastic hand wash; it’s creamy, smells lovely and fresh and cleans hands thoroughly whilst giving it a gentle boost of moisture.
2. Molton Brown Naran Ji Fine Liquid Hand Wash* (£16)
Molton Brown is still a fairly new brand to me, but having used one of their body washes whilst I was on holiday (I used it as a bath treatment to get some bubbles going and make the most of the hotel bath!) I was keen to find out more about the brand. Both Trilogy and Molton Brown feature twice in this list as they really do give good hand care. This wash is again very gentle, easy and lightly fragranced, leaving the hands feeling very soft and very clean.
You don’t need to use an expensive hand wash – I personally enjoy the indulgence of a luxurious wash – but there are plenty of much cheaper brands that offer very effective moisture-boosting washes such as Simple, Dove and The Body Shop.
3. No7 Revitalising Hand Savior* (£11.50)
For me, the quickest way to drastically improve the texture of the skin on my hands is with a good quality, dry scrub. The idea behind these is that you work it into dry hands (which really does slough away dead skin with ease) before involving water to wash off the residue. There are quite a few dry scrubs for hands around, but the reason I like this No7 one is because the scrub beads are suspended in an oil treatment, so whilst you’re scrubbing away you’re also working an oil into your skin which leaves you with seriously soft hands.
If you’re looking to save money, mixing course salt into olive oil and working this over the hands is another good way of dry scrubbing, although it won’t be quite as effective, it’ll still do a really good job.
4. Etat Pur Peptide-4 Pro-Collagen* (£13.80)
This is a treatment designed for established lines and wrinkles around the eye and lip contours, but it works really well as a pre-cream treatment when your hands are crying out for some serious help, due to the fact that it helps skin repair collagen loss. I’m sure you know that the hands are big age giveaways, so adding an active to your regime to help anti-age your hands is definitely a good step to take.
Above were all the bits and bobs that I like to use to help my hands, but the most important thing for me is a good hand cream. Here are my five favourites:
5. Etat Pur Hand Repair Care* (£6.80)
Any regular readers will know that I absolutely love the Etat Pur brand and I’ve raved about their various products on many occasions. However, now I’m on a strict skincare regime I haven’t been able to continue using their products, so I was really excited to involve them in my hand care instead. As is to be expected, the Hand Repair Care is well formulated, rich without being greasy, sinks in quickly and is purse-friendly. Used in combo with the Pro-Collagen active I feel like I’m doing my hands a true service!
6. Trilogy Ultra Hydrating Hand Cream* (£15.50)
This is a seriously, seriously, SERIOUSLY rich hand treatment that feels indulgent, luxurious and smells like Terry’s Chocolate Orange. This is one that I save until just before bed as whilst it isn’t greasy, it does take a while to soak in. However, my mum has really dry hands and it soaks in much more quickly on hers.
7. Soap and Glory Hand Food (£2.50 – £5)
This is a purse-friendly product that delivers great moisture without greasiness or an overwhelming scent. It’s ideal for travel and comes in two sizes; the travel version is really handy and will slot into most handbags.
8. Simple Kind to Skin Intensive Hand Cream* (£2.55)
This is my mum’s favourite out of the bunch and probably the one I turn to most regularly due to the fact that it isn’t scented, is very rich without any grease and you can really see the difference after use. On first application it feels like it’s going to leave you with really greasy hands, but a few minutes later it’s all absorbed leaving you with very soft skin. It’s also fantastic value and definitely worth investigating if you want something cheap and effective.
This isn’t actually a hand cream and I’m not hugely fond of the scent either, but the reason I’m including it is because I went to a Molton Brown event a little while ago and received a hand massage using this product and it was amazing just how smooth my hands felt and looked afterwards, so on that basis alone it deserves a mention.
I’ve included lots of different products from all price ranges as I don’t believe you need to spend lots to keep hands soft and smooth; a good treatment followed by a good hand cream is all you need, and I believe the key to success is to be regular in your application more than anything else.
I love S&G Hand Food – though I think it’s a gateway drug to the rest of their brand 😉
Ha ha 😀 Sounds about right! xx