Or so we thought. If you thought all hand sanitisers were born equal (drying, sticky and foul-smelling), then think again. Many of our favourite beauty brands have caught wind of our hand sanitiser gripes, and dropped products which will moisturise your hands as they clean them. There are now plenty of hand sanitisers that contain good-for-skin ingredients like aloe vera, witch hazel and essential oils - so you don't need to settle for cracked and sore skin. Praise be.
Take Davisage’s Handy Bottle, for example. It boasts 60% alcohol content - the recommended percentage if a hand sanitiser is to effectively combat germs - but it also contains the brand’s Luxury Black Orchid Hand Cream to nourish skin as it goes. Black orchid extract reduces the appearance of fine lines, while aloe replenishes moisture levels for a supple and soft finish. There's also This Works' new Stress Check Clean Hands. It contains natural essential oils of Lavender, Neroli and Camomile which hydrates hands as you clean.
If you're worried about how much single-use plastic you're getting through during excessive hand sanitising (we all should be - this year there will be over one billion single use hand sanitisers bought in the UK alone), consider the sustainable option. Beauty Kitchen have dropped a refillable hand sanitiser starter kit (containing a 50ml sanitiser and a 500ml refill) which saves 11 whole single-use plastic hand sanitiser bottles. The product itself contains 62% alcohol and moisturising aloe vera and vegetable glycerine to combat dry skin. Game changer.
Before you place your order, it's worthwhile refreshing your memory on how to use hand sanitiser properly. Yup, turns out there’s actually a right and a wrong way to apply it which could be the difference between keeping yourself healthy or unintentionally spreading the illness. According to the Centres for Disease Control and Prevention, there are three steps to using hand sanitiser properly.
Once you’ve taken off any jewellery you might be wearing on your hands - rings, bracelets, watches and such like - apply the gel product to the palm of one hand. You should read the label on your hand sanitiser for the correct amount.
Rub your hands together.
Rub the gel over all the surfaces of your hands and fingers until your hands are dry. This should take around 20 seconds.
And one more thing: the NHS property services issued a warning not to leave alcohol-based hand sanitiser in your car as there is a potential fire risk - especially during the heat wave. If it becomes hot, flammable vapours are released which can ignite and set fire. You've been warned.
Hand sanitisers are hot property (literally...), so here are the best, editor-approved formulations that are still in stock. We'll keep the list updated regularly, so you always know where to shop.
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