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They’re rare but they *do* exist.
For a few years, I dated (and practically lived with) a man who had a severe tree nut allergy. I was sensitive to what he ate but wasn’t aware of other risks, until he started inspecting the ingredient lists of my beauty products. He wanted to avoid sharing drinks if I’d used a lip balm with almond butter or anything of the like, so I thus created a secondary routine for when we were together. It was easy to find skin and body care products without any nuts, but there was one exception: hand creams.
Although we’re no longer together, I think of him—and all the other nut-allergy folk out there—whenever I read a hand cream’s ingredient list for. It’s damn near impossible to find one! After pouring through dozens of ingredient lists, I found seven options I’d use, even though I’m not personally limited by the allergy.
- The Chicest Option: Salt & Stone Hand Cream, $20; saltandstone.com The French Drugstore Staple: Avène Cicalfate Restorative Hand Cream, $27; dermstore.com A Simple Formula: Typology 10 Ingredient Hand Balm, $26; us.typology.com An All-Time Classic: Aveeno Skin Relief Intense Hand Cream, $10 (Originally $13); amazon.com The Makers of My Favorite Lip Balm: Dionis Hand and Body Goat Milk Cream, $12; amazon.com An Anti-Aging Option: Paume Probiotic Hand Balm, $24; mypaume.com
Salt & Stone Hand Cream
$20 at Saltandstone.com
Salt & Stone is the Aesop of the 2020s—the packaging is chic, the scents are divine, all the ‘It’ people you know have it in their bathrooms, and it’ll soon be everywhere else, too. All three scents (santal and vetiver, bergamot and hinoki, and black rose and oud) are formulated without any nut oils—and yes, that includes omnipresent shea butter.
The non-greasy but deeply hydrating formula moisturizes with squalane, soothes with seaweed extract, and improves texture with niacinamide.
Avène Cicalfate Restorative Hand Cream
Buy Now for $27
I have frustratingly sensitive skin, and at its worst, most-inflamed moments, I have comfort in knowing that Avène’s famously gentle products exist. When I was searching for brands with a nut allergy-safe hand cream, Avène popped up almost immediately.
Thanks to copper-zinc and thermal spring water, this is an especially good option for people with chapped hands, peeling dry skin, and eczema.
Paume Probiotic Hand Balm
$24 at Mypaume.com
If you haven’t heard of Paume yet, you’re welcome. It’s a rare handcare-specific brand with the Probiotic Balm being its only hand cream. Besides having a nut-free formula, it’s also heavy on the anti-aging properties. A combination of probiotics, grape seed oil, and safflower seed oil gives it elasticity-improving, skin tone-evening, and roughness-smoothing benefits.
Typology 10-Ingredient Hand Balm
$26 at Typology.com
Aveeno Skin Relief Intense Hand Cream
$13 $10 at Amazon
Dionis Hand and Body Goat Milk Cream
$12 at Amazon