You Can Never Have Enough Hand Cream—Editors Tested and Loved These 8 (2024)

TL;DR

Our top pick for the best hand cream is the fast-absorbingGrown Alchemist’s Hand Cream. It’s full of nourishing ingredients we love without being sticky or greasy. If you’re shopping on a budget, check outBenton's Shea Butter and Olive Hand Cream. We love that it can improve overall skin texture without breaking the bank.

Our Top Picks

Key Ingredients: Glycerin, camellia seed oil, grapeseed oil | Size: 2.3, 16.9 oz | Cruelty-Free: Yes

Grown Alchemist’s hand cream is formulated with a blend of nourishing ingredients—glycerin, camellia seed oil, grapeseed oil, and aloe plant extract—to moisturize and soothe dry skin without any lingering residue.

Our tester, Elise, loved this product’s lightweight yet plush consistency and found that a nickel-sized dollop was enough to make her hands feel soft and smooth (although she sometimes dabbed a little more onto extra-dry patches of skin). We also love that while this cream doesn’t contain synthetic fragrance (which can be irritating to some), it does have a natural citrusy scent that smells fresh without being overpowering.

Key Ingredients: Shea butter, olive oil | Size: 1.8 oz | Cruelty-Free: Yes

This budget-friendly option is formulated with shea butter and olive oil to nourish dry, cracked skin, and despite its ultra-moisturizing abilities, it’s not at all thick or heavy. Even with its lightweight texture, our tester. Mike, only needed a small amount of product—enough to cover a fingertip—to coat both hands. It absorbed in around two minutes with no sticky residue left behind, leaving Mike’s hands noticeably nourished.

Key Ingredients: Glycerin, shea butter, jojoba oil, camellia oil, iris extract | Size: 1.7 oz | Cruelty-Free: No

While Chanel’s La Crème Main is packed with classic moisturizers, including glycerin, shea butter, and jojoba oil, the brand highlights camellia as its star ingredient. This hydrating plant oil is high in antioxidants, helping protect the skin barrier. Additionally, iris extract (another antioxidant) helps even skin tone and boost radiance.

According to Caitlyn, our tester, this cream was extremely rich but highly absorbent, drying within seconds so she could use her laptop and phone without leaving any greasy fingerprints behind. The difference it made to the condition of her hands was “like night and day.” After using the cream, Caitlyn felt an immediate improvement in her skin's softness and smoothness. The subtle scent and sleek egg-shaped packaging also added to the luxury experience.

Key Ingredients: Cupuaçu butter, Brazil nut, coconut oil, squalane | Size: 1.7 oz | Cruelty-Free: Yes

This gorgeously scented cream utilizes cupuaçu butter, Brazil nut oil, coconut oil, and squalane to hydrate parched hands and support the skin’s natural barrier. Despite all these rich butters and oils, it’s ultra-lightweight, absorbing into the skin so quickly “you wouldn't even think you had just put product on,” Katherine said.Katherine found that a pea-sized amount was enough to keep both hands moisturized for hours after application.

Key Ingredients: Shea butter, coconut oil | Size: 1, 5.2 oz | Cruelty-Free: No

This hand cream has been around for ages, and it’s no wonder so many people have raved about it for so long. Its rich texture (thanks to shea butter, coconut oil, and glycerin) deeply hydrates the skin while remaining lightweight and nongreasy.

Michal, our tester, was in love with the consistency of this cream. The formula spread quickly and easily over her hands, and no matter how much she applied, it still absorbed completely without any stickiness or greasiness. After slathering on the cream four times a day, Michal noticed a big improvement in the texture of her skin; dryness and roughness—especially between her fingers—were both visibly reduced.

Key Ingredients: Ceramides, vitamin E | Size: 3 oz | Cruelty-Free: No

This nourishing hand cream leans on ceramides, vitamin E, and jojoba esters to coat the skin in rich, buttery moisture. A dime-sized amount was all Maggie, our tester, needed to completely cover her hands, and she appreciated that it effectively nourished and smoothed her skin without leaving an oily residue behind.

The formula does take one to two minutes to fully absorb, but once it does, Maggie says it’s virtually undetectable, especially since it doesn’t impart a fragrance. While Maggie’s hands typically get very dry in the winter (especially those pesky cuticles), this cream worked wonders.

Key Ingredients: Glycerin, panthenol, murumuru and mango butters | Size: 1, 2.5 oz | Cruelty-Free: Yes

Nighttime hand masks are often extremely thick and oily; while this one does have a rich texture, it’s far from greasy or slimy. Designed for pre-bedtime application, this hand treatment from Rihanna’s skincare line is packed with hydrating ingredients (like glycerin and a blend of nourishing butters), and it works beautifully to remedy dry patches, smooth skin texture, and significantly boost hand hydration.Our tester Chantia was impressed by its smooth, gel-like consistency and lavender squeeze bottle that dispenses the perfect amount of product each time. It absorbed easily in around two minutes and “worked like a gem,” hydrating ashy patches and leaving her skin noticeably more supple.

Key Ingredients: Colloidal oatmeal, allantoin, sweet almond oil | Size: 3 oz | Cruelty-Free: Yes

If you deal with eczema, you know how hard it can be to find a lotion that adequately moisturizes the skin and helps relieve the itching and burning sensations that come with flare-ups. This formula from Skinfix checks all those boxes and more due to the fact that it contains soothing colloidal oatmeal, which is known to provide relief from eczema symptoms, as well as allantoin (a hydrating ingredient) and sweet almond oil (a nourishing oil that works to moisturize and smooth the skin).Our tester Cindy found the rich texture of this formula easy to work into the skin and noted that it left no oily residue behind. The cream was instantly soothing, providing on-the-spot relief from her eczema symptoms. In fact, Cindy credits the product with preventing flare-ups and leaving her palms noticeably softer than before. As an added bonus, she raved that her hands “never looked better”—they were soft, smooth, and supple by the end of the testing period.

FAQ

• How often should you use hand cream?

  You should apply hand cream as often as you feel is necessary, but keep in mind that Dr. Madfes recommends using it at least twice daily and after every hand washing.

• What ingredients should be avoided in hand cream?

  Just like it’s important to seek out certain ingredients in hand creams, the opposite is also true. According to Dr. Madfes, it’s best to avoid synthetic fragrances—especially if you have sensitive or broken skin—because fragrance can be an irritant.