Does it make sense to blog about hand creams in the summer when hands often get dry and beaten from too much sun and too much gardening, or wait until winter when dry indoor air and cold temperatures threaten to crack and parch even the best cared for hands? Given the fact that people say you can tell a person’s age just by looking at his or her hands, I figure any time is a good time.
Mine are constantly in warm water–doing the dishes, bathing the kids, etc., which is extremely drying. Warm or hot water and the handling of paper are the too biggest culprits when it comes to dry skin on the hands.
If you’re concerned about slowing the aging of your hands, apply sunscreen to help protect the backs of hands from premature aging caused by UVA light. If you’re mainly concerned about keeping hands smooth and supple, apply hand cream often.
My “splurge” recommendation for hand cream is Skin Food by Weleda. It’s technically not a hand cream, but I’ve been using it as such for several years because it’s so effective. It’s not inexpensive, but it relieves any degree of dryness overnight. I tend to use it more during the winter months. I typically prefer unscented products, but Skin Food has a not-unpleasant herbal scent that smells like you’ve been in the garden. Skin Food is sold at nearly all Whole Foods Markets as well as other natural food stores, although you’ll pay about $17. You can get a better price ($11-$12) on-line.
My “steal” recommendation is Burt’s Bees Almond Milk Beeswax Hand Cream. I use it all summer. I love the smell of almonds, it’s non-greasy and it absorbs immediately–in part, due to kaolin (clay) as one of its ingredients. Burt’s Bees Hand Cream is now sold in some Safeways for $7.99. You can get it on-line but for only slightly cheaper.
To younger-looking, softer-feeling hands!
Eat Well, Be Well, Live Well 
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