The Best Hand Lotions for Dry Skin

If you have increased the number of times each day you wash your hands and you’re using sanitizing wipes or other chemicals to clean more frequently than you’re used to, you might be suffering with dry, cracked hands. Using a high-quality hand lotion regularly can help keep your hands soft, smooth, and comfortable. It can also help prevent cracking, which can lead to infection or long-term irritation.

We’ve looked at dozens of hand lotions so we could give you five recommendations that we think you’ll love. We considered the ingredients used, how well they work, and how Amazon customers who bought the products described them.

All of these hand lotions can be purchased online at Amazon.com. You don’t have to leave your house to purchase the hand lotion you need for your comfort and health.

Best Hand Lotion
Eucerin Advanced Repair Lotion
This unscented lotion repairs the skin on your hands quickly.

Our top spot goes to Eucerin Advanced Repair Lotion. This is an unscented lotion that provides immediate relief to dry, chapped hands. It also continues to moisturize for 48 hours, so each time you apply it, you are adding to your skin’s moisture level. If you have very dry hands, we highly recommend this product.

The 5 Top-Rated Hand Lotions for Dry Skin

Editor's PicksBrandRating
Best OverallEucerin Advanced Repair Lotion 4.7
Best Men's Hand LotionGold Bond Men’s Essentials Intensive Therapy Lotion
4.6
Best Budget BuyMrs. Meyer’s Clean Day Hand Lotion4.4
Best Trial-Sized LotionJ.R. Watkins Natural Moisturizing Hand Cream4.4
Best Lotion With OatmealAveeno Skin Relief Intense Moisture Repair Cream 4.3

*Ratings are from Amazon at the time of publication and can change

Best Hand Lotion Overall: Eucerin Advanced Repair Lotion

Best Hand Lotion
Eucerin Advanced Repair Lotion
This unscented lotion repairs the skin on your hands quickly.

Eucerin Advanced Repair Lotion earned our top accolades among all of the hand lotion brands available. This is a 16.9 ounce bottle of lotion that is rated for very dry skin. It moisturizes immediately, and it also continues to moisturize over the next two days. It’s lightweight and absorbs quickly without making your hands feel oily and greasy.

This cream is fragrance-free, so you don’t have to worry about your skin (or your nose) being irritated by extra chemicals. Eucerin is a dermatologist-recommended brand and is well-known for leaving dry, chapped hands soft and supple. You should notice a difference in how your hands feel after just one application. It works by strengthening your skin’s moisture barrier, which allows your skin to hold onto moisture better and resist drying–even if you are washing your hands more frequently than usual or using alcohol-based hand sanitizers or wipes.

Eucerin Advanced Repair Lotion Key Features:

  • 16.9 ounce bottle
  • Unscented
  • Rated for very dry skin
  • Lightweight, won’t leave skin feeling greasy
  • Provides immediate relief
  • Moisturizes for a full 48 hours

Best Hand Lotion for Men: Gold Bond Men’s Essentials Intensive Therapy Lotion

Best Hand Lotion for Men
Gold Bond Men's Essentials Intensive Therapy Lotion
Specially formulated to moisturize men’s dry skin.

If you are looking for a moisturizing hand lotion for men, look no further than Gold Bond Men’s Essentials Intensive Therapy Lotion, which took the top spot in this category. This is an intensive lotion for dry skin that is formulated for men. If you are working outdoors or washing or sanitizing your hands frequently, this might be the right lotion for you. It goes on smooth, absorbs within 15 seconds, and doesn’t leave skin feeling oily or greasy.

This lotion contains 11 moisturizers and vitamins, so it will repair extra dry skin quickly. It lasts for 24 hours, so you only need to apply it once per day to notice an improvement in the way your hands feel. You can apply it as often as necessary, however, and the more you use it, the better your dry, flaky hands will begin to look and feel. This product has a light, masculine fragrance.

Gold Bond Men’s Essentials Intensive Therapy Lotion Key Features:

  • 13 ounce bottle
  • Good for very dry skin
  • Absorbs within 15 seconds
  • Doesn’t leave skin feeling oily
  • Contains moisturizers and vitamins
  • Lasts 24 hours
  • Masculine fragrance

Best Budget Hand Lotion: Mrs. Meyer’s Clean Day Hand Lotion

Best Budget Hand Lotion
Mrs. Meyer's Clean Day Hand Lotion
Enjoy soft hands and the smell of lavender with this wallet-friendly lotion.

Mrs. Meyer’s Clean Day Hand Lotion earned a spot at the top of our list for budget-friendly hand lotions. This brand comes in different fragrances; this product is the lavender scent. This is a 12-ounce bottle with a pump top. The active ingredients are sweet almond oil and shea butter, which makes it a great lotion for even the driest hands. The lotion absorbs into skin quickly, leaving hands lightly scented and not greasy or oily.

Mrs. Meyer’s products are made with natural ingredients and can be used as aromatherapy. Lavender can be used to promote calmness and relieve anxiety, so if you are dealing with stress or you are unable to settle down, this lotion might help. If you love this scent (or any of the other scents), you can purchase various home care products, such as air freshener, laundry detergent, multipurpose cleaning spray, or dishwashing liquid in the same scent.

Mrs. Meyer’s Clean Day Hand Lotion Key Features:

  • 12 ounce bottle
  • Lavender fragrance
  • Other scents available
  • Absorbs quickly, doesn’t feel greasy
  • Can be used as aromatherapy
  • Other scented products available

Best Travel-Size Hand Lotion: J.R. Watkins Natural Moisturizing Hand Cream

Best Travel-Size Hand Lotion
J.R. Watkins Natural Moisturizing Hand Cream
Bring this coconut-scented hand lotion with you wherever you may roam.

If you’re looking for a hand lotion to keep in your purse or to take with you on a flight, you will want to check out J.R. Watkins Natural Moisturizing Hand Cream, which is our favorite travel-sized hand lotion. This product has a coconut honey fragrance, which is good for both men and women. This moisturizer is made with shea butter, cocoa butter, and avocado oil, so you can be sure that it will keep your hands soft and crack-free when used regularly.

This lotion is made without irritating chemicals, and it’s 100 percent cruelty-free. This company does not test its product on animals. It has been producing body care products since 1868 in the USA, so you can feel assured that you’ll receive a quality moisturizer that has been made safely to all of the specifications you’d expect from a nature-based long-running company.

J.R. Watkins Natural Moisturizing Hand Cream Key Features:

  • 3.3 ounce tube
  • Coconut scented
  • Contains shea butter, cocoa butter, and avocado oil
  • Keeps hands soft
  • Made without irritating chemicals
  • Cruelty-free
  • Made in the USA

Best Hand Lotion With Oatmeal: Aveeno Skin Relief Intense Moisture Repair Cream

Best Hand Lotion With Oatmeal
Aveeno Skin Relief Intense Moisture Repair Cream
Relieve irritation and itching from dry skin with the natural power of oatmeal.

Aveeno Skin Relief Intense Moisture Repair Cream is our favorite oatmeal-based hand lotion for dry skin. Oatmeal is an ingredient that soothes skin naturally and helps reduce irritation and itching, and Aveeno is a brand known for providing skin care products containing oatmeal. This is a moisturizing cream that is perfect for skin so dry that it has gotten inflamed. It comes in an 11-ounce tub and can be used on both the hands and the body.

This product works by providing intense moisture and boosting the skin’s moisture barrier. It moisturizes for a full 24 hours, so the effect is cumulative if you apply it more often than that. It doesn’t contain fragrances, and it also doesn’t contain steroids; the oatmeal is what helps relieve itching. Your skin will be deeply hydrated and will be able to hold onto moisture better, resulting in less dryness, inflammation, and itchiness.

Aveeno Skin Relief Intense Moisture Repair Cream Key Features:

  • 11 ounce tub
  • Can by used on hands and body
  • Contains oatmeal to soothe skin and reduce itching
  • Moisturizes for 24 hours
  • No fragrances, no steroids
  • Leaves skin deeply hydrated

Choosing the best hand lotion to meet your needs can feel overwhelming, but it can help to narrow down what you want and then look at products that meet that criteria. Or just choose one of the five we’ve highlighted above! If you need a place to store your hand lotions (as well as shampoos, body washes, and other toiletries), check out our list of the best shower caddies.