Beauty is a major appearance factor that makes one feel confident about themselves. Today there are more than a million products that give us the looks we want to achieve.
If you’re reading this article, then that means you are here to find the difference between hand and facial cream, which are often used in the same regard.
Creams are another beauty product that not only helps you in keeping your skin fresh but also helps in maintaining it. Many brands offer both of these creams but which one should you go for?
In some cases, many people have thick skin or dry skin, or even oily skin, and creams are the go-to product to make your face and hands soft, beautiful, and healthy.
This article covers a wide array of topics that are going to help you in making your skin and face fresh and appealing. Moreover, I have also added a list of the top creams to help you in choosing the best.
What Is Hand Cream?
Hand cream is a high porosity product that is made for maintaining our hands. It’s recommended to use it only for our hands as it not only helps in moisturizing thick and dry skin but also prevents cracked skin.
High porosity for hand creams means that they have a high volume of oil as compared to water. These skin cracks and dryness occur when a person is exposed to outdoor elements such as water, dirt, and dust in the air.
This results in cracked and dry skin. To prevent this there are many creams to choose from as they all can effectively help you in solving your problem. A lot of people instead of going for something appropriate tend to go for sanitizers. These can make your hands even worse.
It’s good to consider many options before selecting the best cream. A lot of products don’t have the same effect on everyone so it’s best to take your time while thoroughly checking whatever you are going for.
How to Find the Best Hand Cream?
While you search for a hand cream that is best for your hands you should keep these ingredients in mind:
Ceramides – These are natural fats on your skin that help to stop irritation.
Aloe – It’s known for its healing and skin comfort properties.
Hyaluronic acid – Carries moisture to the outer skin.
Oil-based ointment – A plant oil that helps to balance the moisture.
Soy – Contains many substances that help to recover skin barrier and replenish your moisture, and provide an antioxidant activity that makes your skin soft, smooth, and pure
Ingredients/Contents to Avoid in Hand Creams
Some products contain harmful ingredients that can damage dry skin. Some of the major ones you should look out for are
- Parabens
- Synthetic colors
- Fragrance
- Phthalates
- Triclosan
- Sodium lauryl sulfate (SLS) / Sodium laureth sulfate (SLES)
- Formaldehyde
- Toluene
- Propylene glycol
- Sunscreen chemicals
Can We Use Hand Cream on Our Faces?
You cannot as the face skin is sensitive. The synthetic and natural ingredients of hand creams shouldn’t touch the facial skin as they could also clog the pores and could be harsh on the skin.
Our facial skin is so delicate that we should take care of it with full precautions as this could lead to damage. Hand cream is suggested to not be used on the face because it’s too oily.
Moreover, our hand skin is thicker than facial skin making the hand cream suitable for the hands only.
Why Is Hand Cream Thick?
Hand creams have a good effect on our hands because its a little thicker than the other moisturizers and creams, especially facial creams. In my opinion, a hand cream should be thick as it helps in maintaining thick hand skins.
When you apply the cream to your hands it feels normal. However, as you apply it to your face or another part of the body it doesn’t have the same effect. It feels a lot heavy due to its thickness which doesn’t sit well with our facial skin.
Moreover, If you apply hand cream on the face this could result in acne and a very bad reaction and make the facial skin worse than it already is.
What Can We Use for Aging Hands?
When people age, their skin becomes loose and wrinkles start to form on the face to stop that we can do these things:
- Cryotherapy (freezing)
- Laser therapy.
- Chemical peeling.
- Microdermabrasion.
- Skin-lightening creams.
Best Hand Creams One Must Have
EltaMD – The formula includes ceramides, emollient and vitamin E for dry skin, and sclareolide, a plant-based ingredient that is used to lighten the dark spots.
Eau Thermale Avène – Fast absorbing and paraben-free, it is said that it lasts even after washing your hand five times.
Weleda – It’s best for the winters because in winter our skin gets dry, It has a beautiful fragrance and comes at a price under 20$.
Supergoop! – It includes sea buckthorn fruit which lightens the dark spots, and argan and meadowfoam seed oils which keep our skin hydrated and moisturized without the greasy feeling. Also, the SPF 40 protects the exposed skin from the damage of UV rays.
There are many more that are worthy to be on this list. However, in my opinion, these are the best ones as they are cheap and offer great effects and at the same time are luxurious.
What Is a Facial Cream?
A facial cream is a product that is used for your face to make it smooth, soft, and less oily by rubbing it on your face. Facial creams play a big role In maintaining your facial skin.
The facial cream is very important as it makes your facial skin moist and keeps its elasticity making it wrinkle-free and free of age spots and other fine lines.
It’s a protective barrier for your skin from all the harmful chemicals in the air, and also from the harmful UV rays. Our face skin is very delicate and this can be easily damaged due to the harmful effects of these rays.
If are trying to get a facial cream then you should look for a product that contains non-comedogenic as it won’t block your pore and cause a breakout.
What Ingredients a Facial Cream Should Have?
If you want your facial skin to be soft and soothing then your facial cream product should contain these ingredients:
Ceramides – They’re naturally occurring proteins that are found on the outer layers of the skin which help to keep moisture and also protect the skin from any environmental toxins or chemicals. Aged and sensitive skin has fewer ceramides.
Glycerin – A natural moisturizer that protects and repairs skin.
Lactic acid – An exfoliant that tends to remove the dead skin cell’s outer layer.
What to Avoid in a Facial Cream?
If the facial skin is acne-prone or is an oily skin then you should avoid products that consist of these ingredients:
Fragrances and perfumes – Due to this, skin irritation and allergic reactions occur.
Retinoic acid – This is an anti-aging ingredient that irritates your skin.
Methylparabens/parabens – These improving preservatives could cause allergic reactions and clog your pores.
Salicylic acid – This exfoliant can irritate sensitive skin.
Can We Use Face Cream for Hands?
You can use face cream for your hands, but there won’t be much of an effect on the hands as our hands have thick skin than the face which has a thinner skin and more sensitive skin.
Sometimes people can’t afford and buy only face cream and use it as a hand cream also and that’s alright because sometimes hand creams can cost a lot and this could save you money.
Best Face Creams For Your Wrinkled Face:
Retinoids – These are also known as vitamin A compounds; these ingredients are used to help repair sun-damaged skin and remove fine lines and also wrinkles.
Vitamin C (ascorbic acid) – Vitamin C is an antioxidant, it protects skin from free radicals.
Hydroxy acids – Alpha hydroxy acids (AHAs) have glycolic, citric, and lactic acid. They reduce dead skin cells (scrap).
Coenzyme – This helps in reducing fine wrinkles around the eyes and protects skin from getting damaged.
Peptides – These occur naturally in living organisms. Some peptides can stimulate collagen production and can improve skin.
Tea extracts – Green tea has compounds with antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties. Wrinkle creams use green tea extracts.
Grape seed extract – It has antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties. Grape seed extracts provide collagen and improve.
Niacinamide – A potent antioxidant, this ingredient is related to vitamin B-3 (niacin). It reduces water loss and improves skin elasticity.
Difference Between Hand Cream and Face Cream
The two creams are made with the same ingredients but have different concentrations. The hand cream has a higher concentration as the skin of our hands is thicker than the facial skin as it is way thinner than the hand skin.
Our hands require more hydrating agents than the skin on our faces. The cream for the hands should be 50MOP and for the face should be 100MOP.
From the price, you can see the difference and your face becomes smooth and tender and if you won’t apply the cream it could be bad for your skin as it could become harsh and dry.
Hand cream cannot be applied on the facial skin as it could be fatal for your skin as it could clog your pores, it’s even worse for a person with acne. Whereas you can apply facial cream to your hand with ease as it does not damage your hand skin.
Hand Cream vs. Facial Cream in Winter: Which Is the Best?
You may not realize how much your hands get busy throughout the day in winter, it could be you working in the office or on the construction site, which your hand comes into contact with all sorts of things.
This can leave your hand dry and un-moisturized and cracked.
In winter, if your hands get dry it could lead to serious skin issues. to prevent this dryness and to prevent the skin from cracking. You can apply hand cream to your dry skin and make them softer and smoother.
Whereas for facial skin winter wreaks havoc by making the skin dry and flaky, to prevent this people would usually swap facial cream with a richer and thicker cream that would prevent the skin from becoming dry and keep it hydrated and smooth.
Our facial skin is delicate so we should take more care of our facial skin and apply creams before the skin becomes dehydrated.
Hand Cream vs. Facial Cream in Summer: Which Is Better?
Summer weather is way drier than winter as hot air can easily dry up your skin and dehydrate it eventually cracking it up, people apply sunscreen or any facial cream on the face to protect the skin from the sun.
We’ve all seen folks lounging on the beach, enjoying the sun without any fear that their skin is drying off. That’s because they use sunscreen for their backs and faces to protect them from any UV rays that could hurt their skin.
Moreover, our hands should also be protected as we use them for everything and come in contact with many things and in summer, surfaces get hotter and could even burn your hand.
These surfaces could be metal, concrete, or bricks. If you work in the construction industry, you should be aware that these surfaces can become extremely hot, resulting in hand burns.
Although our hands have thick skin that doesn’t mean it does not need any sort of moisturizer. We need cream to moisturize our hand skin so it doesn’t dry up and crack.
Full Difference Between Hand and Facial Cream
| Facial Cream | Hand Cream |
|---|---|
| If any injuries or scars form they can be healed or removed | Removes or heals scars and injury |
| It helps by removing marks on the face | Remove marks on the hands |
| Removes blemishes from the facial skin | Removes age spots on hands |
| Removes dark circles under eyes | Treats skin inflammation |
| Removes acne | Heals dried up skin |
| Melasma can be managed by daily usage | Melasma can be controlled on hand skin by daily usage |
Conclusion
As we have come to the end let’s conclude by saying that every part of your body needs to be taken care of so that your skin can be hydrated and not end up dry and cracked.
Not only our facial and hand skin but the whole body needs to be taken care of and you are the caretaker of your own body. Making your skin look beautiful requires a lot of effort and time as it is an extensive process.
A lot of people link beauty to better facial skin that’s why they consider making their face more appealing than other parts of their body. This leads to an unbalanced look of your body.
People are ignoring the fact that they should keep their skin fresh and healthy, so it doesn’t end up wrinkled and flakey. Not only is facial skin important, but the hands and the body are equally important. So it’s best to look after every aspect of your body.