Soothe Your Dry Palms with These Luxe Hand Creams

(Image credit: Morgan McMullen)

published 16 January 2021

Once winter rolls around, I completely reform my skincare routine. I have dry and redness-prone skin, so I swap out my lightweight gels and serum in favor of rich creams and luxurious oils to make my face more comfortable. But one area of my body that keeps on flaking, no matter what I do? My hands. My cracked, dry, rough-ass hands. It's like December hits and everything from the wrists down enters its own invisible cryo chambers. They hurt! And now that we're all using hand sanitizer a dozen times a day, they get absolutely no relief. So after a couple weeks of hand hell, I started calling in reinforcements: the best hand creams on the market.

These aren't your boring, average hand creams that sit unused next to your work keyboard. These are luxe, velvet-y, innovative formulas that don't just make your hands feel better—they actually heal and soothe irritated skin to get your digits back to baseline. And since it's such a necessary product lately, new creams are cropping up every day for every type of parched person. Not a fan of fragrance? Try Nécessaire's scent-free solution. Wish you could plant your own personal rose garden in your apartment? Add By Terry and Diptyque's bloomy options to your cart. And aging hands will find comfort in Dr. Barbara Sturm and Augustinus Bader's science-driven formulas. Whatever your preference, here are the most covetable hand creams of 2022.

Nécessaire The Hand Cream

For Minimalists

Sleek, chic, and scent-free—we're into it. If you've got rough patches, this formula's niacinamides and marula oil will help hydrate and heal compromised skin.

Malin+Goetz Vitamin B5 Hand Treatment

For Lightweight Moisture

Want buttery, soothing relief without the sticky residue? Malin & Goetz' hydrating cocktail of fatty acids, almond extract and vitamin B5 sinks right in.

Skinfix Eczema+ Hand Repair Cream

For Eczema

Eczema flare-ups are uncomfortable and often hard to manage, but this lotion has many fans thanks to its intensely healing, colloidal oatmeal-infused ingredient list.

Payot Mains Velours 24H Non-Greasy Melt-In Cream

For Francophiles

Payot is a favorite amongst Parisian cool girls, and this honey extract-infused formula will fit right in your tote.

Pai Heavy Mettle Fragonia and Sea Buckthorn Rescue Hand Cream

For Sensitive Skin

Pai is known for its gentle offerings, and their hand cream is a standout. Sea buckthorn oil will restore even the most raw, chapped palms.

SkinCeuticals Hydra Balm

For Desperate Times

If your knuckles are torn to shreds from hand sanitizer and constant scrubbing, use this deeply nourishing treatment before bed. Hot tip: slather it on, then slide on gloves to help the formula penetrate before a DIY mani.

SHOP IT Super Anti-Aging Hand Cream

For Mature Skin

If wrinkles are a skincare concern for you, it might be time to add some hand care to your routine. Dr. Sturm's luxe formula addresses signs of aging as well as hydration: Daisy Flower Extract targets age spots while hyaluronic acid and quince plump the skin to reduce the appearance of lines.

Jurlique Citrus Hand Cream

For Scent Lovers

This line's rose cream has a cult following, but I'm partial to the citrus scent. It's the house hand cream at NYC salon Paintbox, and it smells like Froot Loops, somehow? It's flat out delicious.

Diptyque Eau Rose Hand Cream

For Flower Fanatics

This floral formula is la vie en rose, bottled. It smells sophisticated but never stuffy, and it's enriched with macadamia oil and aloe vera to hydrate thirsty hands.

BYREDO Gypsy Water Hand Cream

For High-End Hydration

The brand's Gypsy Water perfume is a favorite amongst beauty editors (myself included) and the adjacent hand cream is no different. The chic little tube can fit in your back pocket, and it smells like a dream.

Glossier Hand Cream

For On-the-Go Application

If you're trying to apply hand cream while you're out and about (which is often, for me at least, thanks to the boatload of hand sanitizer I've been running through) this adorable snap cap makes it easy.

Augustinus Bader The Hand Treatment

For Invigorated Skin

Bader's formulas are famous for their healing powers, and the brand's new hand cream imbues the same benefits for cracked, moisture-stripped hands. Shea butter, vitamin E, and glycerin hydrate while a proprietary complex boosts cell turnover.

SUSANNE KAUFMANN Hand Cream Nourishing

For Your Shelfie

This Austrian export might be the prettiest thing on your sink in 2022. And herbal extracts like soothing mallow, astringent witch hazel, and mineral-rich broccoli seed oil pamper even the flakiest palms.

Tatcha Indigo Soothing Hand Cream

For Eczema

Japanese Indigo is a botanical coveted for it's soothing and healing effects, and Tatcha's silky cream blends it with squalane to baths hands in

By Terry Baume de Rose Hand Cream

For Rose Devotees

If your perfume collection might as well be a rose garden, this is the cream you'll want in your purse at all times. Rose butter, rose blossom essential wax, rosehip oil, black rose extract and pastel rose extract are all blended to create a nourishing treat for dry skin.

La Prairie Cellular Hand Cream

For Mature Skin

Sure, it's a splurge, but one that's well worth it: consider this anti-aging formula a time machine in a bottle. It hydrates and strengthens the skin on dry hands, and increases elasticity so it's harder for new wrinkles to form.

Taylore Glynn is a former beauty and wellness editor for Allure. Previously, she served as beauty and health editor at Marie Claire and Harper’s Bazaar, and her work has appeared in Refinery29, Town & Country, Compound Butter, and RealSelf. She holds a master's degree in English and Creative Writing from Monmouth University. If you need her, she’s probably at the movies, braising a chicken, or evening out her cat eyeliner.