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There will probably never be a day when so many people, and cameras, will be focused on your hands, nails (and ring finger!) like your wedding day. Between the photographer getting close ups, to your friends and family dying for a look at your new sparkle, your hands are going to have a starring role in the show! Believe us, the last thing you want is dry skin, rough cuticles and fragile nails that break easily! But these aren't problems that can be fixed overnight, which is why applying a hard-working, nourishing hand and nail cream religiously in the weeks running up to the wedding day is vital, especially now that we wash our hands so often! Remember, not all hand creams are created equally, so we've rounded up the 10 best hand creams for brides and grooms, so your digits will dazzle!
The 10 Best Hand Creams for Brides & Grooms
1. L'Occitane Shea Butter Hand Cream
€25.50/150ml, L'Occitane stores & www.loccitane.ie
A cult classic, L'Occitane's hand cream with 20% shea butter harvested in Burkina Faso, West Africa is a bestseller for a reason. Available in two sizes, a handy 30ml handbag tube costs €10.50, and the large 150ml is €25.50. The rich cream has a blend of honey, almond and coconut oils to give lasting comfort and hydration, while the fragrance is jasmine and ylang ylang. The cream is non-greasy with no oily traces, and your hands feels totally restored.
Best for: Your nails
2. Kiehl's Ultimate Strength Hand Salve
€25, Arnotts & Kiehl's stores and online
All-day care for severely dry and active hands, Kiehl's hand salve forms a protective shield over parched skin and works to repair from within. The blend is avocado, eucalyptus, and sesame oils, along with a wax derived from olive oil to hydrate and moisturise skin in extreme need. A salve works more as a protectant over the skin whereas a hand cream absorbs into it. Perfect for hands exposed to frequent washing or harsh elements.
Best for: Hard-working hands
3. La Roche-Posay Lipikar Xerand Hand Repair Cream
€6, Boots & Pharmacies nationwide
Suitable even for sensitive skin, Lipikar Xerand is a deeply moisturising hand cream La Roche-Posay created for very dry, chapped, skin. Allantoin, a derivative from the soothing comfrey plant, works to repair and restore better health by boosting the hydrolipidic barrier of impaired skin. The hand cream is suitable for those prone to allergic reaction, its fast-absorbing and non-greasy formula is also water-resistant. As with all hand creams use after hand washing for best results.
Best for: Reactive skin
4. Nimue Anti-Ageing Hand Cream
€36, Skinbox.ie, salons & clinics nationwide
For skin renewal, Nimue's Anti-Ageing hand cream will revive and restore softer skin while working on age spots and rough texture. The cream is deeply nourishing but in the blend is Glycolic Acid which works to lift away dead skin cells and promote radiance and smoothness. If ageing hands is a concern then there is Retinyl Palmitate, a gentler version of retinol, which promotes improved skin health with regular use for younger-looking hands, which is why we consider it one of the best creams for brides.
Best for: Sun damage
5. Jurlique Five Roses Hand Cream
€39, www.jurlique.com
Luxurious and nature-inspired beauty from Australia, Jurlique has a long-standing reputation for using only the best ingredients in keeping with its farm heritage. Here, five gorgeous rose extracts are blended with skin-nourishing elements like honey, sweet almond, macadamia, and safflower oils plus aloe vera to create a hydrating, nourishing and soothing hand cream. It's scented beautifully from those roses, and it's a real treat for hands that need some TLC.
Best for: Sensitive hands
6. Oskia Renaissance Hand Cream
€31, www.spacenk.com
Pampering and rich, this hand cream from Welsh brand Oskia is perfect for even the driest hands. The brand uses natural and bio-available ingredients, the blend here is packed full of oat ceramides to rebuild damaged skin, rosehip seed and macadamia oils, pomegranate, and starflower extract to restore softness and health. Passionfruit gently exfoliates dead skin cells to leave the hands looking and feeling more cared-for and radiant.
Best for: Dry hands
7. Avène Cicalfate Restorative Hand Cream
€9.50, Pharmacies nationwide
Leading French pharmacy brand Avène created this cream for very dry, damaged, and cracked hands. Anti-bacterial, it has a special formula that works like a second skin over the hands to protect the delicate skin from external aggressors. This protective veil allows the cream to work on skin health and repair underneath, it is more a cream-balm bandage for the severely dry. Perfect for impaired or irritated skin, it's ideal for both sexes.
Best for: Broken skin
8. Neutrogena Norwegian Formula Hand Cream
€4.99, Pharmacies nationwide
The OG favourite, everyone knows the best-selling Neutrogena Hand Cream. Available in a non-scented version for fragrance sensitive skin, the glycerin-rich cream repairs chapped skin and knuckles to heal and care for damaged skin. As best hand creams for brides go, this is the top budget buy on our list, it has up to 200 doses in each tube, and it is useful for the feet also if you have run out of foot cream. For severely dry hands, use multiple times daily and apply a thick layer before bed every night for an extra treat.
Best for: Budget buy
9. Eucerin Urea Repair Plus 5% Hand Cream
€11, Pharmacies nationwide
Eucerin created a very considered hand cream for persistent dryness and impaired skin that works to rebuild hand health over time. In the cream, the brand has a formula that includes 5% urea, ceramides and Naturally Moisturising Factors (NMF) all of which are naturally-occurring elements of healthy skin. With constant dryness, the skin loses these hydrating and strengthening factors leading to rough, irritated and chapped skin. Suitable for those with xerosis, psoriasis, and diabetes.
Best for: Problem skin conditions
10. Rituals The Ritual of Jing Overnight Hand Mask
€9.90, www.rituals.com
Rituals collection for better, more peaceful sleep The Ritual of Jing has three gorgeous products for hands and feet. Foot cream, hand cream, and this interesting overnight hand mask are the three, and each scented with sacred woods and lavender. The mask is packed full of glycerin and skin-loving oils and designed to care for dry and rough skin intensively. An easy nighttime regime to follow, use the hand cream during the day to really work on hand health.
Best for: Intensive treatment
Want to read our other essential beauty buys? Check out our picks of the best Lip Balms, Waterproof Mascaras, Hairsprays and Iconic Wedding Fragrances for brides!