Although I normally apply the excess skin care products from my face onto my hands, as I get older, I notice that I grow to like separate hand creams more and more all the time.  Enter Le Couvent Des Minimes Gardener’s Hand Healer ($5.00 for 0.8 oz, $25.00 for 2.6 oz, LeCouventdesMinimes.us) into my quest for the perfect hand cream.

The very rich cream is fortified with a blend of seven nourishing and hydrating ingredients (please click on the links for verifying research studies/texts): shea butter (hydrating), mimosa (restorative), chamomile (anti-inflammatory), marshmallow, calendula (antiseptic), lemon balm (antibacterial), rosemary (an antioxidant), and verbena (relaxing).   After I applied it, the cream felt thick on my hands, but not sticky.

I recommend using the product at night, for two reasons:  One, it doesn’t contain sunscreen, so you’re probably better off carrying around a hydrator with sunscreen like Neutrogena Norwegian Formula SPF 30 Hand Cream ($9.79, Drugstore.com) or Bath and Body Works True Spa Love Me Tender SPF 15 Hand Cream ($13.00, BathandBodyWorks.com).  Two, the lemon balm in the product offers a rather potent fragrance.  And while I personally adore the scent of lemons, it may clash with, say, your usual Chanel No. 5.

I love using this product under cotton gloves right before bed – I wake up to soft and restored hands.  Definitely a wonderful product, worth a shot after all the incidental and beach sun exposure your poor hands will be getting this summer!