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The Best Hand Lotions For Dry Skin That Our Shopping Experts Swear By

Try these editor-approved lotions for dry skin, flaky hands and cracked knuckles.
By 

Associate Commerce Editor, HuffPost

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Repeatedly stripping your hands of moisture without replenishing it can cause your skin to dry out, crack and become irritated. Here are the hand lotions our shopping experts swear by to prevent dry skin.
HuffPost
Repeatedly stripping your hands of moisture without replenishing it can cause your skin to dry out, crack and become irritated. Here are the hand lotions our shopping experts swear by to prevent dry skin.

Cracked knuckles, flaky skin and itchy, red bump are just a few of the symptoms you might be dealing if you’ve been routinely washing your hands for 20 seconds, as the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends for good hygiene.

That’s because soap, alcohol from hand sanitizers and other products you’re using to keep your spaces clean are defending against unwanted germs ― but also drying out your hands in the process. And, unfortunately, repeatedly stripping your hands of moisture without replenishing it can cause your skin to dry out, crack and become irritated — which can damage your skin’s natural barrier and potentially leads to other health risks.

Medical experts swear by a few go-to hand lotions, like Neutrogena’s Norwegian formula hand cream and Aquaphor, but what products are real people turning to in order to soothe their excessively washed hands?

Like many of you, our shopping experts have been struggling with reptilian hands for the past few weeks, so we asked them: What hand creams are you using to soothe your over-washed hands?

Below, we’ve rounded up the hand creams our shopping experts swear by for dry skin. Take a look:

1
Barr-Co. Fine Shea Butter Lotion
Anthropologie
I fell in love with this lotion when I was working retail in college. I would walk by the Barr-Co. display multiple times during my shift and slather my hands with the thick lotion, knowing it would absorb fast enough for me to fold T-shirts a minute later. It's nourishing but not greasy, and has the lightest, most natural scent — somewhere between vanilla, oatmeal and freshly cleaned sweaters. — Danielle Gonzalez, Associate Commerce Editor

Find Barr-Co. Fine Shea Butter Lotion for $24 at Anthropologie.
2
Darphin All-Day Hydrating Hand & Nail Cream
Anthropologie
One of my friends introduced me to this hand cream when we were both working in retail. She would use it all the time after spritzing herself with hand sanitizer and swore by it. Since I washed my hands all the time while working, I decided to give it a try after a day when they felt especially dry. It's absolutely the best hand cream I've ever put on. While the cream is pricey, at $23, it lasts for months. It has a super light rosewater scent, so it doesn't feel overpowering if you're wearing perfume (Marc Jacob's Daisy is my go-to). And it's not incredibly thick — the cream feels velvety and doesn't leave you with greasy fingers. I keep one at my desk and one on my vanity at all times. — Ambar Pardilla, Commerce Writer

Find Darphin All-Day Hydrating Hand & Nail Cream for $23 at Anthropologie
3
Weleda Skin Food
Amazon
If you haven’t heard of Weleda Skin Food before, here’s your chance to become a cult user. I first purchased Skin Food intending to use it on my hands at night (I like a thick cream on my hands before I sleep!). I quickly realized that the cream is so incredibly thick that it actually works really well on ultra-dry and rough spots of skin (heels, elbows, etc.). Now, after weeks of excessively washing my hands, I'm turning back to a tried-and-trusted favorite to soothe my cracked knuckles and flaky skin. It's smells faintly of lemongrass, and goes on extremely thick, so you have to work it into your skin. I particularly love that it's all natural. — Brittany Nims, Head of HuffPost Commerce Content

Find Weleda Skin Food for $13 on Amazon
4
Burt's Bees Almond and Milk Hand Cream
Target
Burt's Bees has been one of my favorite brands for years. I use the brand's Micellar Makeup Removing Wipes religiously. When I first tried this cream a while back, I wasn't sure what I thought of it, since it was much thicker than the hand creams I usually go for. But I've actually found that it's best to put on as a before-bed ritual. I wake up with my hands feeling so smooth. It doesn't have a strong scent, either, which I prefer. While Darphin takes the cake for hand creams, this hand cream is a close and much more affordable second. — Pardilla

Find Burt's Bees Almond and Milk Hand Cream for $9 at Target
5
SKINFIX Eczema+ Hand Repair Cream
Sephora
I received a sample of this intense hand cream in gift set over the holidays but didn't break it out until recently. While it's too thick for me to use during the day, it works wonders as an overnight treatment. It's a super thick, unscented balm that I've recently started applying to my hands before bed to soothe the tight, dry feeling I've been getting from over-sanitizing. I wake up with baby-soft hands. I will definitely be buying a full-size when it runs out. — Gonzalez

Find SKINFIX Eczema+ Hand Repair Cream for $18 at Sephora.
6
Miracle Hand Repair Cream
Amazon
I wrote about this cream a few years ago as being a solution for dry hands that's probably currently sitting on your grandma's nightstand. I discovered this hand cream nearly a decade ago working retail. It's surprisingly effective, despite the lackluster packaging and branding. You can put this on the driest, flakiest, crispiest skin, and it'll feel baby-soft almost immediately. I've used this on dry elbows, cracked knuckles and even dry feet in the lead-up to sandals season, and swear by it when nothing else works. — Nims

Find Miracle Hand Repair Cream for $10 on Amazon
7
Vaseline And Overnight Gloves
Amazon
When all else fails, I go back to basics. Scoop out a glob of Vaseline, slather it around my hands, slip on a pair of gloves and go to sleep. It's not the most comfortable solution — and you definitely can't text — but it gets the job done. — Gonzalez

Find these Cotton Gloves ($7) and Vaseline ($15) on Amazon
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