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How we rate OTC Medicines and Health Products
1100+
products evaluated
357
pharmacists surveyed
134
dermatologists surveyed
See our full methodology
Key Takeaways
- Hand creams containing emollients, humectants and occlusives provide comprehensive hydration and protection for dry skin.
- If you have moderately dry, irritated or cracked skin, hand cream can help. For severe skin dryness, see your doctor or dermatologist.
- Patch test before applying hand cream fully to check for mild side effects like redness, skin irritation or allergic reactions, particularly with fragranced products and when using on infants or children with dry hands.
- Consistent application, especially after bathing or hand washing, helps maintain optimal hydration and skin barrier function.
Dry skin on your hands is more than just uncomfortable. If left untreated, it can become itchy, flaky, sore and cracked – especially in dry, windy climates or when seasons change. Hands tend to get dry in low humidity because your skin has a hard time retaining moisture.
Dry skin is made worse by overly frequent handwashing and bathing, using harsh soaps and cleaning products, blasting your indoor heating, swimming in chlorinated pools and having certain medical conditions such as psoriasis and eczema.
Over-the-counter hand creams can provide relief for moderate dryness by restoring the skin’s moisture barrier, preventing water loss and softening any rough skin texture.
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Hand creams, lotions and ointments tackle dry skin with different ingredient formulas, including humectants, emollients and occlusives.
Humectants
These ingredients attract water to help skin stay supple. They include:
- Glycerin. This natural humectant helps increase water absorption into the skin’s outer layer.
- Hyaluronic acid. Also produced naturally by the body, this ingredient hydrates the skin by helping it retain water to make it more flexible.
- Lactic acid. By providing gentle exfoliation, this ingredient removes dead skin cells and attracts water to the skin.
- Urea. This compound is both an exfoliant and a humectant, which makes it particularly effective to treat severely dry skin and calluses.
Emollients
Emollients soften and smooth the skin, creating a protective barrier by filling the cracks between skin cells. Ingredients include:
- Ceramides. These natural lipids help restore the skin’s protective barrier.
- Shea butter. Rich in fatty acids and vitamins, shea butter is an emollient with skin-repairing properties.
- Dimethicone. This silicone-based moisturizing ingredient is both an emollient and an occlusive. As an emollient, it softens the skin while allowing it to breathe.
Occlusives
Occlusives lock moisture in to prevent moisture from evaporating from the skin's surface. Ingredients include:
- Petrolatum. Also known as petroleum jelly, petrolatum is an occlusive that reduces water loss from dry skin.
- Dimethicone. This emollient also works as an occlusive, as its occlusive properties provide protection from environmental irritants.
The most effective formulas will have some combination of moisturizing humectants and barrier-building, water-loss preventing emollients and occlusives. Also look for added sunscreen to protect against damaging, dehydrating sun rays. To prevent itching specifically, look for a formula that also contains skin-calming hydrocortisone.
Ingredients to avoid
Ingredients to skip include:
- Sulfates
- Benzyl alcohol
- Isopropyl alcohol, which can dehydrate the skin
- Synthetic fragrances, which can cause allergic reactions
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OTC hand creams are generally considered safe, but some people may experience mild side effects including redness, skin irritation or an allergic reaction to an ingredient. If you have allergies, check the ingredient label before applying.
If you are overly sensitive to topical products – especially ones with fragrance – do a patch test on a small area of skin to check for any reaction.
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The following home remedies can help alleviate dry hands, especially used in tandem with hand cream.
- Apply natural emollients like coconut oil, shea butter or aloe vera.
- Exfoliate with a gentle scrub to help shed dry, dead skin cells.
- Use a moisturizing hand treatment mixture of cooked or raw oats and olive oil.
- At night, slather your hands with petroleum jelly and wear cotton gloves to enhance its moisturizing and hydrating effect.
To keep hands from becoming overly dry in the first place, dermatologists suggest the following:
- Keep shower and bath water warm, not hot.
- Use mild, fragrance-free moisturizing cleanser.
- Wear dishwashing gloves to protect your hands while cleaning.
- Pat your hands dry with a soft, non-abrasive towel.
- Apply hand cream immediately after bathing or washing your hands while skin is still slightly damp. Apply it again just before bed.
- Minimize sun exposure (it’s dehydrating to skin) and always wear sunscreen.
- Stay hydrated.
- Limit alcohol, caffeine, salt and sugar, which can sap water from your body and skin.
- Use a humidifier when your home is dry to add moisture to the indoor air.
- Stop smoking, as nicotine can dry out your skin.
For infants and children, follow these recommendations to treat dry skin.
- Use gentle, fragrance-free hand cream formulated for sensitive skin.
- Avoid products containing harsh soaps, chemicals and potential irritants.
- Avoid hand sanitizers. They typically include ingredients that dehydrate the skin.
- For babies and infants, limit bathing to every other day – excessive bathing can dry out the skin.
- Use a humidifier in your child’s room to moisten the air.
OTC hand creams are not intended to treat infections or inflammatory or severe skin conditions. Discontinue use of hand cream and consult your doctor or dermatologist if you experience the following:
- Persistent and severe dryness
- Signs of infection
- A continuing red rash
- Irritable skin
- Cracked and bleeding skin
The following medical conditions can cause dry skin on the hands. In these cases, it’s best to seek guidance from your healthcare provider as you may need a medicated prescription hand cream:
- Allergies
- Diabetes
- Eczema
- Kidney disease
- Psoriasis
Dry skin vs. eczema
It’s particularly common to mistake hand eczema for a severe case of dry skin. Consult your health care provider or dermatologist iIf you experience any of the following symptoms on your hands:
- Burning sensations, bleeding or weeping skin
- Crusts or pus
- Deep or painful cracks
- Itchy blisters
- Patches of dark brown, gray, purple or red irritated skin
- Scaly, itchy, inflamed skin
Learn More
Methodology
The Best OTC Medicine & Health Products are based on the reviews of nearly 500 independent pharmacists and dermatologists.
U.S. News partnered with The Harris Poll, a global market research and consulting firm with more than 65 years of experience conducting surveys. For the 2025 rankings, The Harris Poll randomly assigned 133 over-the-counter categories of health or personal care products to 357 pharmacists and 134 dermatologists who practice in the U.S. and asked them to rank their top three brands for each category based on what products they would most recommend to consumers.
Independence and transparency
Across the 133 categories that were evaluated, each category included between five and 10 products representing their respective brands that could be ranked. More than 1,100 products were included in the survey. The products included in each category were selected to represent their respective brands based on input by several independent pharmacists and dermatologists on our
Medical Review Board. The list of products were finalized by the health editorial team to ensure all products can be purchased without a prescription and are readily available at most pharmacies or pharmacy sections of grocery stores in the U.S.
We independently evaluate the products we recommend. Brands do not pay to be included or ranked in our survey. When you buy through our links, we may earn a commission. The dermatologists and pharmacists who participated in the survey were paid a small honorarium by The Harris Poll for their time.
OTC category winners
Pharmacists and dermatologists selected their top three brands from representative products in each OTC category assigned to them. At least 112 dermatologists evaluated each skincare-related category and at least 108 pharmacists evaluated each of the other categories. For each evaluation, the top-ranked brand received 5 points, the second-place brand was awarded 3 points and the third-place brand earned 1 point. All unranked brands were given 0 points. Points were averaged for each brand. The results were then rescaled so the winner in each category scored 100 points, and the scores for other brands were expressed as percentages of the top score. Brands were then ranked according to their rescaled scores. Scores were rounded to the nearest whole number.
Category winners and brands that scored within the margin of error of the category winner and achieved a score of 80 or higher were given a Gold Badge in that category. The results: 196 brands received a Gold Badge. In total, 849 products are displayed. Brands that received a score of less than 10 were not included in the final display list. See our full methodology here.
