How to Find the Best Hand Cream For Parched Winter Skin

Winter is never easy on the skin. Between dry, cold air, moisture-sucking central heating, and stripping hot water, it can zap away softness and dry out your skin in an instant. Throw in all the extra frequent hand washing and sanitizing we’re doing these days, and it’s nearly impossible to keep hands from flaking, cracking, and looking a mess, resulting in chapped skin and cracked hands.

Luckily, the right hand cream can do wonders to soothe parched winter skin and restore a healthy skin barrier. Here’s what you should—and shouldn’t—be looking out for when it comes to cracked skin, dry hands, and dehydrated skin during the winter months

How Hand Cream Works

First things first: how does hand cream really work to moisturize and protect the skin? The best hand cream for winter will contain a combination of humectants, emollients, and occlusives, and these ingredients are all crucial if you want your hand cream to work effectively in harsh elements like dry air. Why?

Humectants work to draw moisture in from surrounding areas, providing lasting skin hydration and helping to hydrate your skin even in winter weather. Emollients and occlusives, on the other hand, work to seal that moisture in, repairing the skin’s natural barrier and providing long-lasting protection over time.

Certain creams may also include essential oils, which not only hydrate skin but can also offer additional skin benefits, such as helping to lighten dark spots caused by sun damage or environmental factors.

If you only use humectants, you’ll notice that your hands might feel moisturized right away, but the moisture simply doesn’t last, leaving you with extremely dry skin, especially in cold weather conditions and environments with dry air.

Similarly, if you apply a product with only emollients or occlusives—like Vaseline, for example—you may notice that your hands feel greasy on top while remaining dry underneath.

Because of this, using hand creams with a non-greasy formula that includes the right balance of humectants, emollients, and occlusives is essential. In other words, you’ll deal with incomplete, not-so-great skin hydration if your hand cream doesn’t contain the right ingredients and hydrating formula.

Ingredients in Hand Creams You Shouldn’t Use

That’s not the only issue to look out for. Some hand creams also have ingredients that can actually hurt your skin, leading to painful cracks or exacerbating dry hands.

The thought process here? On one hand, some companies want you to need their products, so they include ingredients that make you more reliant on their lotions.

Many products contain damaging ingredients that may clog pores or irritate the skin barrier, especially when used on sensitive skin or through the course of ongoing frequent hand washing.

This includes things like:

• Synthetic fatty alcohols that improve product texture but can cause allergic reactions, soothe irritation, and impair barrier function over time.
• Silicone, which makes lotions more spreadable yet actually clogs pores and interferes with healthy skin cell turnover.

In the same vein, many products often include preservatives, fragrances, alcohols, and other no-no ingredients you should totally avoid (you can find the whole list here). These ingredients aren’t compatible with nourishing shea butter or natural oils and can lead to chapped or dry skin.

The top no-nos on our list include:

• Parabens like ethylparaben, propylparaben, or methylparaben that extend shelf life but disrupt the endocrine system.
• Synthetic fragrances, which can irritate sensitive skin types and cause allergic reactions.
• Butylated Hydroxytoluene (BHT), a synthetic antioxidant with carcinogenic properties.

Hand Cream Ingredients That Work

So, what should you look for when choosing the right hand cream for winter? We recommend hand lotion ingredients that keep your skin soft and provide long-lasting hydration. Some of the best ingredients to look for include:

• Hemp seed oil, a fatty acid-rich oil that can reduce inflammation, regulate oil production, and hydrate your skin.
• Vitamin C, an MVP antioxidant that works to reduce signs of aging, reverse photodamage (the number one cause of visible signs of aging), and strengthen the skin.
• Avocado oil, a dry skin savior that’s packed with vitamins – including vitamin A, vitamin B, vitamin C, and vitamin E – and rich in lecithin, a lipid that helps deliver nutrients directly into the deep layers of the skin.
• Cacao butter, a stabilized vegetable extract known to reduce scarring, provide antioxidant benefits, and richly moisturize the skin.
• Shea butter, a fat extracted from African shea nuts that can soothe eczema, reduce fine lines, and rebuild damaged skin.

Look for hand creams containing these powerful, nourishing ingredients, as they provide both immediate relief and long-term protection for sensitive, dry skin. In addition to soothing dry skin, the right moisturizing ingredients can help to improve skin texture and support anti-aging benefits.

Using a hand cream with built-in sun protection is also important to prevent further damage to the hands, as UV rays can contribute to the aging of your skin even during colder months.

Find all of these moisturizing ingredients and more in our Almond Butter Sugar High Hand Cream.