Dry winter skin is the worst. On top of all the cooking, cleaning, gift wrapping and DIY projects (so much glitter and glue) we’ll be doing for the holidays, nature puts our digits through the ringer with its harsh blustery wind and zero-moisture air. Gloves and mittens can only do so much to protect our holiday manis, which is why we’ll be turning to these luscious hand creams to give our dry skin a tall drink of water. You’ll want to have all of these super thick creams and salves on hand this winter.
1. True Blue Spa Look Ma, New Hands Lotion ($12): Throw this in your purse for a portable salon treatment. A blend of olive, avocado and apricot oils makes this hand cream extra yummy smelling.
2. Supergoop! Forever Young Hand Cream w/ SPF 40 ($11): For some of us, the winter months mean not seeing the sun for days, even weeks at a time. But that’s no reason to walk around unprotected. Keep sunspots and skin damage at bay with this powerful SPF formula.
3. Glossier Bomb Dotcom ($12): You’ll want to grab a few tubes of this miracle balm. Packed with castor seed oil, beeswax, lanolin, cupuacu fruit extract, rice bran and rosemary leaf extract, this skin salve will repair irritated winter skin. It’s super concentrated, so you only need a small amount for dry areas like lips, cuticles, elbows and other rough patches.
4. Philosophy Hands of Hope Hand and Cuticle Cream ($10): We love the mantra printed on this tube of miracle cream. Its non-greasy consistency locks in moisture for hours, making it the perfect tube to keep at our desks.
5. Burt’s Bees Thoroughly Therapeutic Hand Creme ($10): We’re familiar with honey’s beauty superpower as a tried-and-true ingredient for a DIY face mask, so we’re sold on this Burt’s Bees hand creme. Not to mention, it smells delicious.
6. Neutrogena Fragrance-Free Hand Cream ($4): A tiny drop of this stuff helps to heal the driest winter hands. Plus, it’s fragrance-free, so it won’t compete with your signature scent.
7. L’Occitane Hand Cream ($12): This might be the world’s favorite hand cream — a tube of this is sold every three seconds. Treat yourself to this ultra luxe treatment with nourishing shea butter. You can take your pick from 14 scents.
8. Bliss High Intensity Hand Cream ($9): While Bliss is known for cheeky packaging, this hand cream gets straight to the point. Macadamia nut and grapeseed oils leave a subtle scent and transform your skin to ultimate silkiness.
9. Kiehl’s Ultimate Strength Hand Salve ($15): This is the Rolls Royce of winter hand creams. A bead-sized dollop of this works as a second skin shield, and then it’s bye-bye, dry cuticles; hello, smoothest skin ever.
10. Jenna Hipp Essential Nail & Hand Cream ($20): This set comes with three award-winning hand creams, perfect for holiday gifting to your friends… and yourself. That packaging is sure to brighten up your day every time you re-moisturize.
11. Deborah Lippmann Rich Girl Hand Cream ($28): Max out your mani’s staying power with this blend of shea butter, avocado and jojoba oil.
12. Eucerin Intensive Repair Hand Creme ($6): This is just what the doctor ordered. A squeeze of this concentrated moisturizing hand treatment gives immediate results. For ultimate hydration, slather this on and wear a pair of moisture mitts overnight to wake up to the softest hands you’ve ever felt.
13. Aveeno Intense Relief Hand Cream ($6): Hit your neighborhood drugstore on your way home and grab a few tubes of this Jennifer Aniston-approved hand cream. Aveeno’s signature oatmeal blend is gentle enough for sensitive skin and absorbs quickly for instant hydration.
14. Aveda Hand Relief Hand Cream ($24): Splurging on a full sized (4 oz) version might be just the holiday treat you need. The light, clean scent of this stress relieving hand cream will melt all your worries (and dry skin) away.
What’s your favorite formula to fight dry winter skin? Tell us in the comments!
