While Thanksgiving and Christmas bring lots of joy in our life, our skin takes a major hit in the winters. The humidity level drops and due to the cold and dry air, the skin loses its ability to hold moisture.
And this results in excessive dryness. Most of us do make sure we’re moisturising our face diligently but hands are often neglected. The skin on the hands is thinner with less sebaceous glands hence it gets dry quickly.
Did you know it is also one of the first places to show signs of ageing? This is exactly why you need to make sure that you’re giving them enough moisturisation.
Making sure that your hands are always hydrated isn’t impossible, all takes is some proper hand care. Today I’ll be sharing some of the best cruelty-free hand creams that you need to try this winters!
How to avoid dry hands?
As we all know, Prevention Is Better Than Cure. To make sure that you’re not triggering dryness and are taking measures to prevent it, these are a few easy changes you should start making.
- Change Your Handwash
Everyday life requires you to wash hands multiple times a day which leaves the hands drier than ever. And that’s why you need to switch to a creamier handwash and ditch soaps completely.
- Ditch Hot Water
It’s obvious that you’d need hot water in extreme cold but that could make your skin, not just hands, really dry. Whenever you wash your hands, try to use lukewarm water.
- Humidifier
If you’re living in an extremely cold state, it’s very important to have a humidifier in your room. These restore the humidity level, leaving your skin feeling hydrated and healthy.
- Hand Creams
Even when you’re following the above mentioned preventive measures, it’s important to know that the presence of fewer oil glands calls for additional moisturisation.
A hand cream or butter or even body butter is necessary all year round to keep your hands moisturised. However, it becomes twice as important to have a rich hand cream during winters.
- Wear Gloves
After applying a generous amount of hand cream or even body butter in your hands, wear gloves. This would help lock the hydration and you’ll wake up with soft, moisturised hands.
I totally recommend applying a thick body butter even on the hands to make sure they’re well moisturised. However, it’s not possible to carry that big butter jar to everywhere you go and that’s why having a small tube of hand cream is so important.
So here are the 6 best cruelty-free hand creams that are amazing for dry winters. They’re super moisturising, sink fast and don’t leave a sticky residue.
Disclosure: Contains affiliate links. I receive a small commission for purchases made via them.
Not just winters, these can be used throughout the year especially when you’re living in a colder state or are in an air-conditioned environment throughout the day.
1. Skinfix Eczema+ Hand Repair Cream
Price: USD 18 for 3 oz (90ml)
A must-have hand cream for people with dry skin and eczema this winters and beyond! The Skinfix hand repair cream restores the skin barrier and is free of fragrance.
If you’ve been struggling to find something that would really help your dry, sensitive hands, give Skinfix a try. It’s one of the best cruelty-free hand creams out there.
The key ingredients include 1% Colloidal Oatmeal that temporarily protects and helps relieve minor skin irritations and itching due to eczema, rash and dermatitis and 5% Sweet Almond Oil that helps in nourishing dry skin and relieve itching.
This hand cream is rich, non-greasy and takes a minute or so to get completely absorbed into the skin. And 3 oz for $18 is a decent price for such an amazing cruelty-free and fragrance-free hand cream.
2. First Aid Ultra Repair Cream Intense Hydration
Price: USD 12 for 2 oz (60ml)
The First Aid ultra repair is a head-to-toe moisturizer that gives a boost of hydration to dry, distressed skin. This body moisturiser comes in a 2 oz tube that works absolutely amazing as a hand cream and is easier to carry around.
Devoid of drying alcohols, artificial colorants, artificial fragrance, etc this cream can be used by everyone including children and people with eczema.
The key ingredients in the ultra repair cream include colloidal oatmeal that relieves itching and minor irritation caused by eczema, rashes and other skin conditions, shea butter – an emollient rich in vitamins, minerals and essential fatty acids that helps to moisturize and protect the skin barrier and allantoin that helps to calm and soothe skin.
3. The Body Shop Hemp Hand Protector
Price: USD 6 for 1 oz (30 ml)
The Body Shop’s best-seller, Hemp Hand Protector softens and nourishes the hands. It’s an excellent choice for people with sensitive, dry hands even those with peeling skin.
Hemp Oil is known for its moisturising and anti-inflammatory capabilities. While this hand cream doesn’t have a very pleasing, warm or floral fragrance that’s quite common with most hand creams these days, it’s still not horrible and disappears in a few minutes!
If you’re suffering from dryness, this Hemp Hand Protector should be in your shopping bag! The convenient tube packaging is a big plus and it’s recyclable too.
The formula is thick but is non-sticky after sinking in completely. It’s available in 1 oz and 3 oz tubes!
4. Burt’s Bees Almond & Milk Beeswax Hand Cream
Price: USD 9.99 for 2 oz (60ml)
Enriched with Sweet Almond Oil which is rich in Oleic and Linoleic Acids and Vitamin E, this Burt’s Bees hand cream makes sure your hands are always hydrated.
Combining these two with beeswax assures soft, nourished and healthy hands this dry winters. This can be used on elbows, knees, feet and other dry areas of the body to nourish them.
The only minor flaw in the Burt’s Bees Almond & Milk Beeswax Hand Cream is that it comes in a jar as opposed to a tube which a lot of people dislike.
5. Weleda Skin Food Ultra-Rich Original Cream
Price: USD 12.49 for 1 oz (30ml)
This cult-favourite hand cream was launched in 1926 and has a rich plant blend formula to deeply nourish the skin.
The skin food cream is an all-rounder and is meant to be applied to any dry area like elbows, knees, hands and feet. It is amazing for dry skin, mature skin and gets absorbed quite fast.
It’s got a great blend of ingredients like calendula and chamomile that are anti-inflammatory and relieve itching and eczema, all formulated in thick oils and beeswax to nourish and lock the moisture.
While it’s free of synthetic fragrance, Skin Food has multiple fragrant essential oils added to it.
6. Aveda Hand Relief Moisturizing Creme
Price: USD 9 for 1.4 oz (40ml)
Aveda’s haircare range is a cult fave but their skincare is no-less. The Hand Relief Moisturizing Creme is an intense, rich moisturiser that leaves dry hands softer and super hydrated.
It’s got sunflower oil to condition the skin, meadowfoam seed oil for that deep nourishment and andiroba oil to lock in the softness.
This contains added fragrance which might give you a luxurious experience but if you react easily to fragrance then you might need to explore Skinfix and First Aid Hand Creams.
So these are my top picks for cruelty-free hand creams that your dry skin needs this winter! Choosing cruelty-free should be easy for all and with multiple such products present in the industry now, there shouldn’t be any excuses.
If you’re someone who’s interested in exploring the cruelty-free beauty world, check out this post on 10 Easy Tips To Switch To Cruelty-Free.
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