With flu season well underway and the COVID-19 pandemic still a concern, it’s no surprise that we’ve all been washing our hands more often to help prevent spreading germs. One side effect of this healthy habit, however, is all that sudsing, rinsing and towel-drying can really do a number on your hands, leaving them feeling overwashed and dry. Coupled with the cooler temps of fall and winter, the skin on your hands may be even drier than usual. Enter shea butter hand cream. For times like this when your standard lotion just isn’t cutting it, a shea butter cream for your hands could be just the right remedy. We’ll walk you through all the basics on this topic, including:

• What is shea butter?
• Why is shea butter cream good for your hands?
• What shea butter hand cream can I try at home?

What Is Shea Butter?

Shea butter is a rich, buttery substance extracted from the nuts of Vitellaria paradoxa, also known as shea trees. These trees are native to the savannahs of West Africa and East Africa, where shea butter has long been used as a cooking oil and skin moisturizer.

Why Is Shea Butter so Good For Your Hands?

Shea butter is packed with elements that are beneficial for your skin and hair, which is why it’s so commonly used in hand creams, body moisturizers and hair treatments. Shea butter contains a number of essential fatty acids (oleic, linoleic, palmitic and stearic acids) that help soften and soothe skin that is feeling dry, rough or irritated. It also features substances with both anti-inflammatory and antioxidant properties—including tocopherol, triterpenes, sterols and phenols—that help protect your skin against damaging free radicals and calm inflamed skin. What’s more, it has allantoin, an ingredient that can help heal skin irritations.

5 Shea Butter Creams For Hands

All the benefits shea butter provides make it an effective (and popular!) active ingredient commonly used in hand creams. Now that you’re well-versed on the healing power of shea butter hand cream, you might be ready to add one to your skin care regimen to help remedy dry, overwashed skin. To get you started, here are five of our favorite shea butter creams for hands:

La Roche-Posay Cicaplast Hand Barrier Repairing Cream

This shea butter hand cream was created specifically to help soothe dry hands that have been sapped of their natural moisture by overwashing or cold weather. The quick-absorbing, fragrance-free formula contains shea butter as well as niacinamide to soothe irritated skin, plus glycerin and thermal spring water to provide much-needed hydration.

Yon-Ka Creme Mains Repairing Comforting Hand Cream

If you can’t get enough of scented hand creams, here’s one for you to try. This shea butter hand cream is scented with a blend of citrus extracts for a refreshing pick-me-up every time you apply. Vitamins B5, E and C work together with grape seed oil and shea butter to help soften cuticles and provide relief to dry, overwashed hands.

Image Skincare Vital C Hydrating Hand and Body Lotion

A multitasker for moisturizing both your hands and body, this lotion contains a number of nourishing ingredients designed to leave your skin feeling restored. Aloe, glycerin and hyaluronic acid help draw much-needed moisture into your skin cells while shea butter mixed with macadamia seed oil deliver antioxidant benefits to help skin retain moisture. It also contains four forms of vitamin C to help diminish signs of aging on your hands, including age spots, fine lines and wrinkles.

Eminence Organics Vanilla Mint Hand Cream

With aloe and glycerin to help hydrate as well as sweet almond oil and shea butter to nourish irritated, cracked skin, this non-greasy formula is a cold-weather must-have. Not to mention, this mint-scented shea butter hand cream is also USDA-certified organic and would make a sweet stocking stuffer this holiday season!

FixMySkin 1% Hydrocortisone Healing Body Balm

This melt-proof medicated skin balm is a convenient, portable alternative to traditional shea butter hand creams. It’s packaged in a roll-up stick that looks like an oversized lip balm, perfect for tucking into your purse, backpack or pocket. It pairs shea butter and cocoa butter—which help support your skin’s moisture barrier—with 1% hydrocortisone to help soothe dry, irritated skin on your knuckles, cuticles or backs of hands.

Is the skin on your face feeling parched too? We’ll help you find some skin-soothing fall hydration for dry skin, courtesy of La Roche-Posay.