Texture decides where a cream is practical, and that matters more for hand cream than for anything else — because you use it repeatedly through the day, between other tasks.

Texture and place

Light, fast-absorbing creams work where you need to carry on immediately: a handbag, a desk, by the sink. Anything that leaves a film is impractical before typing or handling paper, so it simply does not get used.

Rich creams work overnight, where absorption time stops mattering and the texture does the most good.

Most people are better served by owning both than by compromising on one. They cost little enough to keep two.

Where each lives

  • Handbag or pocket — light, for after washing hands away from home
  • By the kitchen or bathroom sink — light, for after every wash
  • By the bed — rich, applied generously
  • Desk drawer — light, since air conditioning and paper both dry hands

The determining factor is whether it is within reach at the moment you need it. A cream in a drawer upstairs is a cream you do not use.

The habit that matters

After every hand wash, not once a day. Water and soap strip the barrier, and the minutes right afterwards are when replacing it does the most good.

This does more than any difference between products.

Applying it

Backs of the hands first — thinnest skin, most exposure, and where dryness and ageing show. Then between fingers, then nails and cuticles. The palms need it least.

On the fragrance

Described in the catalogue by the people who composed it. If you wear perfume, be aware that a scented cream and a different fragrance produce a third smell — either keep them from the same line, or use an unscented cream underneath.

Using it on the body

On damp skin within a minute of washing. Concentrate on shins, forearms, elbows and knees, which are driest.

One caution

Fragrance is the most common cosmetic irritant, and cracked or very dry hands are more reactive. While hands are recovering, an unfragranced cream is the safer choice.

The full composition is in the Faberlic catalogue. For the routine, see the skincare section.