All products and services featured are independently chosen by editors. However, StyleCaster may receive a commission on orders placed through its retail links, and the retailer may receive certain auditable data for accounting purposes.
More than six million people have watched creator Kenna McClellan’s TikTok about her favorite L’Occitane hand cream. The way the thick hydrator comes out of the tube sure is satisfying. While the $30 hand cream is worth every penny, it has us thinking about all the hand creams like L’Occitane, ones that are thick and full of shea butter, as well as ones that hydrate but with a more lightweight formula. It’s all about preference.
Some of us want it thick like L’Occitane and even Trader Joes’ “dupe,” both which have 20 percent shea butter. But others like more fragrance, a silkier formula, or just a lightweight one that sinks in right away. All of these hand creams hydrate the skin but in different ways and in different levels. We all have different skin so it’s nice to have options. Maybe during the winter months, you reach for L’Occitane but prefer Rare Beauty or Sol de Janeiro’s versions during warmer months.
There are so many good choices and you can’t go wrong with any of the hand creams, below.
“I’m sorry but if your hand cream doesn’t come out like this, it’s probably not doing a good enough job,” McClellan says in her viral video while showing L’Occitane’s Shea Butter Hand Cream for Dry Skin that she calls “hand cream cheese.” That might sound gross but the super-creamy balm does penetrates quickly and nourish with fatty acids and omega 6 and 9. Not everyone likes the sweet almond oil scent but we find it disappears quickly.
StyleCaster’s Editor-in-Chief Alana Peden swears by this drugstore staple. “Curel Extreme Dry Relief is THAT hand cream—you won’t need another,” she says. “I apply the non-greasy formula before bed and never need to reapply throughout the day, even though I wash my hands excessively (germophobia is real) and endure the dry New York winter. I don’t know how it does it.”
If you prefer a more earthy, woody scent to your hand cream, Sabon’s Patchouli Lavender Vanilla Hand Cream is perfect for you. It’s not as thick as L’Occitane but still hydrating with shea butter and aloe vera.
Soft Services’s Theraplush Overnight Repair Treatment isn’t just a pretty piece of art next to your bed. The medium-dense cream hydrates, plumps, and even reduces dark spots overnight. Because it has retinol, it’s not for those with sensitive skin but everyone else will love the addition of colloidal oatmeal and panthenol (pro-vitamin B5) for smoothness. It’s like a facial for your hands.
Those who do have dry, cracked, and/or sensitive skin should reach for La Roche-Posay’s Cicaplast Hand Cream , a fragrance-free hydrator with shea butter, niacinimide, and glycerin.
Selena Gomez’s Rare Beauty Find Comfort Hydrating Hand Cream doesn’t just smell nice and hydrate your hands, the actually bottle is a massage tool to destress your aching digits throughout the day. Genius.
You won’t get a greasy film on your hands using French skincare brand Yon-Ka Paris’s Sweet Orange Shea Butter Hand Cream but you will smell fresh and citrusy throughout the day. Plus, bisabolol extract and vitamins A, C and E nourish and protect the skin.
Fans of The Body Shop’s Hemp Hand Protector swear by its skin-softening properties with natural hemp seed oil and cocoa butter.
If you love Sol de Janeiro’s viral Brazilian Bum Bum Cream, you’ll love its Brazilian Touch Hand Cream — it smells just as delicious. Plus, it hydrates with cupuaçu butter, Brazil nut selenium, and squalane.
Nécessaire’s simple and ultra-hydrating The Hand Cream is a favorite for its skincare ingredients, such as healing ceramides and peptides, strengthening niacinamide, and nourishing marula butter and marula oil.
Juara’s Coconut Oil Hand & Nail Balm is so popular, it’s sold out on the brand’s website. It has sea algae, wild mangosteen butter, and rice bran oil to hydrate and repair hands and cuticles. Amazon still has some of the ultra-rich balm in stock so hurry.
Aesop’s skin-softening emollients provide major hydration, plus a blend of botanicals makes you feel like you spent a few calming minutes at the spa.
If you wash your hands as much as we do, have Homecourt’s Neroli Leaf Hand Cream next to your sink and you’ll never have dry digits again.
Fans of Bath & Body Works’ Dry Hand Relief Hand Cream say it “works great and doesn’t leave my hands sticky.”
For less than $4, Gold Bond’s Healing Hand Cream is Amazon’s #1 best-seller in the hand cream category. And for good reason. It uses a blend of vitamin B, C, and E to hydrate, protect skin, and repair any damage.
Though Sidia’s The Hand Serum is a different formula from the “hand cream cheese” the TikToker loves so much but it’s no less hydrating. The gorgeous, lightweight serum contains avocado butter, shea butter, aloe vera, prickly pear, and cactus flower extract to hydrate and refresh skin.
More than 5,000 Amazon reviewers have given CeraVe’s Therapeutic Hand Cream at least four stars. That’s thanks to its hydrating formula packed with hyaluronic acid, niacinamide, dimethicone, and ceramides. It’s even accepted by the National Eczema Association.
More than 13,000 Amazon reviewers have given eos’s Hand Cream in Pink Citrus a least four stars. They love the seven nourishing oils and butters, including shea butter and shea oil, plus the light, fresh smell.
Dry skin is no match for this shea butter, cocoa butter, and sesame oil formula. Burt’s Bees Shea Butter Hand Repair Cream is just one of the brand’s hydrating hand creams but has to be our favorite.
Oribe’s Cote d’Azur Nourishing Hand Cream sure is luxe, from the silky smooth packaging to the blend of oils and shea butter. The cult-fave scent features notes of Calabrian bergamot, white butterfly jasmine, and sandalwood.
“It” girls all have Chanel’s La Crème Main Texture Riche in their tiny bags—and for good reason. The luxe cream contains iris pallida to help protect the skin barrier and diminish the look of dark spots, May rose wax for a protective veil on skin, plus shea butter and glycerin for moisture.
If you’ve ever tried Jack Black’s cult-fave lip balm then you can imagine how hydrating its Industrial Strength Hand Healer is. The non-greasy formula contains vitamins A and E, and is made just for rough, chapped hands.
Kiehl’s Ultimate Strength Hand Salve uses avocado oil (rich in amino acid proteins, vitamins A, D, and E, and potassium) and sesame oil moisturizes, softens, and strengthens the skin.
