A Hand-y Guide To Hand Creams, Balms & Ointments

Seeking a salve for dry hands, Emma Gleason tries out cult favourites and new products.

Hand cream can be a soothing ritual to punctuate the day or prepare you for bed, it can provide practical protection, while a high-end choice makes for a lovely gift or treat for yourself. There are myriad creams and balms on the market, all promising to hydrate and protect, but which are worth a try? Viva beauty editor Lucy Slight tasked me with just that.

The changing seasonal weather can impact your hands; cold, dry air, changes in temperature, exposure to heating, wind and more can all leave your paws feeling parched and sensitive. I struggle with this, and even on a good day my hands are very dry, rather wrinkled, and always have been.

Sometimes I feel alone in this complaint, and then I remember my hand twin, who I met 10 years ago at a party (much like that episode of Friends). A decade later, my hands remain much the same, and I go through long stretches of eschewing creams and lotions out of laziness and ambivalence.

But ageing skin (not a bad thing) and a desire to treat my body with a little more care have me wanting to make a more concerted effort. So, with that in mind, and a front line of hand creams at the ready — not to mention the cold temperatures approaching — I’ve been trialling them all over the past few weeks.

Week One: Weleda Skin Food

With its signature grass-green plastic tube and die-hard fan base, best-seller Weleda Skin Food was on the hit list. The 100 per cent natural formula hasn’t changed since 1926 and includes chamomile, lanolin, almond oil and beeswax. It’s sold as an all-over cream for face and body, but with its thick formulation (and lauded properties) it seemed like a good choice for my dry hands.

First impression: The scent. Herbaceous and astringent, the smell is strong and it lingers. But I like it. The texture is very thick, though not exactly greasy like a petroleum, but still thicker than a cream. It rubs in easily, and feels very rich and nourishing — although it does leave a bit of a greasy residue on hands for a while afterwards.

Where to get it: Weleda Skin Food 75ml, $25, from HealthPost.

Week Two: Mario Badescu Rose Hand Cream

I’ve always liked this brand. It’s no-fuss packaging — erring on the right side of minimal and classic — and low-key formulations that do the job.

First impression: Mousse-like texture, fluffier than a cream and considerably lighter than Weleda. The fragrance is nice, it smells clean and floral, but doesn’t linger for long (not necessarily a bad thing, especially if you’re wearing perfume and don’t want to interfere with that). It leaves my hands feeling hydrated and nourished, but not greasy — I can write in my diary without leaving a greasy residue.

Best for: With its fast-absorbing formulation, this one is good if you’re in a bit of a hurry, or at work, and can’t afford to have your hands out of action for long. Chuck it in your bag for any occasion.

Where to get it: Mario Badescu Rose Hand Cream 85g, $15, from Mecca.

Week Three: La Roche-Posay Cicaplast Mains Barrier Repairing Cream

Cicaplast Mains is billed as a “repairing cream”, formulated for hands that are affected by things like hard work, hot water or suffer from dry skin. Ingredients aim to both hydrate and create a protective barrier — it contains four per cent niacinamide and 30 per cent glycerin, as well as shea butter — and maintain moisture in my hands is something I have long struggled with, so this might be just the thing.

First impression: The texture is like a balmy ointment: it’s light but hydrating. It dries very, very quickly — great if you have things to do — and there’s no greasiness at all. My hands felt very nourished, and the feeling lasted. There’s no scent, something I appreciate, as you don’t always want a fragrant hand cream conflicting with your perfume.

Best for: Anyone whose hands feel “ravaged” will enjoy this. It’s fast-drying enough to make it an on-the-go option, and I also found it good to layer over other lotions at night to really lock in moisture.

Where to get it: La Roche-Posay Cicaplast Mains Barrier Repairing Cream 100ml, $22, from Chemist Warehouse.

Week Four: Kiehl’s Ultimate Strength Hand Salve

This powerfully named product promises “all-day care for severely dry, active hands”. Intriguing! The New York brand’s signature verbose packaging offers a lengthy description of its benefits — including ingredients that help skin draw moisture from the air, and create a “glove-like” protective barrier. Ingredients include oils from eucalyptus, avocado and sesame, wax from olive oil, glycerin, and shea butter.

First impression: This is lush. A very creamy, very rich cream that I want to describe as “fatty”, in the skincare sense. It’s very hydrating and has no scent (making it practical and universal). My hands were left feeling soft and nourished, with a slightly greasy finish that doesn’t last too long at all — it dries to a slightly waxy/chalky finish that feels like a barrier, though more subtly than others I tried, and it’s not balmy or ointment-like.

Good for: Work. I’ve been keeping this on my desk at the office — it’s a good one if find yourself regularly typing or touching paper, and it isn’t oily or sticky. It’s also good for anyone whose hands bear the brunt of their labour — the brand recommends it for people who undertake industrial work or are exposed to the elements.

Where to get it: Kiehl’s Ultimate Strength Hand Salve 150ml, $31, from Farmers.

Week Five: The Basic Blue Harakeke Soothing Hand Lotion

Alongside cult products and famous brands, it’s always nice to try (and support) a new entrant, especially a local one. This was created by Selene Nguyen, a nurse who knows well the toll that hand hygiene can take on your skin, and became so frustrated that she made her own lotion to address her dry, cracked hands.

Formulated for sensitive skin, and vegan, it’s made locally from all-natural ingredients — including harakeke (famously anti-inflammatory and anti-microbial), jojoba and sunflower seed oils, squalene, soothing aloe vera, and barrier-repairing shea butter.

First impression: This is much more fluid-y than the others — very much a lotion rather than a cream, balm or salve — which makes sense, as it’s designed for busy on-the-go people, and feels really hydrating, absorbing quickly with no waxy or greasy finish. Like its peers, this one is fragrance-free. Also savvy is its (fully recyclable) pump action bottle, which means no squeezing required.

Best for: A nice one to use while desk working, or applying in the morning before rushing out the door to work. I liked to use this and then add the La Roche-Posay barrier a short while afterwards to seal it all in. And of course, this is likely a good choice for those who need to wash or sanitise their hands frequently.

Where to get it: The Basic Blue Harakeke Soothing Hand Lotion 80ml, $45.

Week Six: Aesop Resurrection Aromatique Hand Balm

An old favourite, and one I really just can’t resist the charms of, Aesop’s hand balm has become a cult favourite for many reasons — the company’s famously strategic brand building and ethos (which saw it recently acquired by L’Oreal for US$2.5 billion), that fabulous, photogenic metal tube that gets all crinkly and gorgeous, and its popularity with tastemakers — but also because it really does work nicely.

First impression: A thick, cosseting cream, it’s the colour of butter, and I find so much satisfaction squeezing it out of the (recyclable) aluminium tube; a great hand-feel experience before you even touch the cream itself. It’s so rich and nourishing, but sinks into my hands very easily. The botanical Aromatique fragrance is strong and beautiful, with notes of mandarin, rosemary and cedar providing that signature scent.

Best for: Anyone who enjoys a bougie hand cream and a multi-sensory experience. While this balm does take a little time to sink in (though not as much as some of the others I’ve tried) it’s good for day-to-day use, although don’t go picking up a magazine straight away. And to be honest, the slower absorption serves a purpose too, and I find myself taking time to massage into my hands, enjoying the calming process and the scent — a ritual of sorts to encourage you to take a fiver, because really, that’s an unsung benefit of nourishing your hands, caring for the rest of you too.

Where to get it: Aesop Resurrection Aromatique Hand Balm 75ml, $47.