I’ve always felt self-conscious of my hands. While other women’s hands looked smooth and soft, mine were constantly dry. I have lots of lines around my knuckles, and I’ve always felt that my hands seemed to belong to someone older than myself. Plus, due to the cool tone of my skin, my hands have a lot of natural redness. The face and hands are the parts of our bodies that age the fastest, so it’s not an uncommon occurrence. Though I try my best to take care of my hands (moisturizing and applying SPF daily), I’m always looking for more effective products to use. I was on the Deciem site looking through some of their brands, and I stumbled upon The Chemistry Brand. Their product Hand Chemistry is a pro-repair lotion that promises younger hands and visible repair within 11 days. Being the skincare nerd that I am, I knew I wanted to test it out. So what’s the verdict? Does Hand Chemistry give you baby soft, smooth hands? Here’s the lowdown!
Ingredients
The ingredients list for Hand Chemistry is as follows:
Aqua (Water), Caprylic/Capric Triglyceride, Propanediol, Cetearyl Glucoside, Cetearyl Alcohol, Glycerin, Cetyl Alcohol, Plukenetia Volubilis Seed Oil, Copper Lysinate/Prolinate, Plantago Lanceolata Leaf Extract, Methylglucoside Phosphate, Proline, Alanine, Serine, Pseudoalteromonas Ferment Extract, Tremella Fuciformis Sporocarp Extract, Tocopherol, Betaine, Cellulose, Xanthan Gum, Sodium Polyacrylate, Sodium Phosphate, Sodium Hydroxide, Potassium Sorbate, Caprylyl Glycol, Ethylhexylglycerin, Phenoxyethanol, Chlorphenesin, Parfum (Fragrance), Limonene, Linalool
The formula is comprised of 19.5% of their “active complex”, which is broken down like this on the box:
7.5% Maiz Propanediol, 5% Pseudoalteromonas Complex, 2% Sacha Inchi Oil, 2% Tremella Fuciformis, 2% Plantago Lanceolata Complex, and 1% Biological GHK Complex
Maiz propanediol is made from corn sugar, as the name suggests. Its primary function is moisturizing. Pseudoalteromonas Complex, by which I’m assuming they mean the pseudoalteromonas ferment extract, is made by fermenting bacteria found in the Antarctic Ocean. (Totally not what I expected, either.) The brand claims that this ingredient can help shield hands from the elements, prevent redness, and encourage skin regeneration through protein synthesis. (Apparently, these results came from in-vitro testing, so take that with a grain of salt.) Sacha inchi oil (plukenetia volubilis seed oil) is an emollient oil rich in fatty acids and antioxidant vitamin E.
Tremella fuciformis (tremella fuciformis sporocarp extract) comes from the Silver Ear mushroom, which is native to China. It’s a moisturizer/humectant that works similarly to hyaluronic acid. It helps smooth the skin and even out texture. Plantago lanceolata leaf extract is an antioxidant, antibacterial, and anti-inflammatory ingredient that acts similarly to hydrocortisone. It has been used medicinally to promote healing in wounds.
I’m assuming the Biological GHK Complex is referring to the copper lysinate/prolinate, which can boost the skin’s collagen and elastin production. It’s able to increase the appearance of firmness and elasticity.
Usage
The directions for this are fairly simple; you just use it twice a day, morning and night. I’m trying to make mine last, so I stick with that schedule.
The feel of this lotion is wonderfully soft and nourishing. It’s not too heavy or too light; the texture is perfectly in the middle for me. I don’t like having to rub lotion in for ages to get rid of greasiness!
Where the texture is elegant, unfortunately, the scent is sadly lacking. I would best describe it as sort of a musty/fruity/floral scent. It’s fairly generic, not unlike other lotions I’ve tried in the past. Thankfully, the scent isn’t strong, and it fades away after a short period. The poor choice of perfume is not enough to put me off using it!
Results
In the end, was I able to achieve younger hands in only 11 days?
Not in an extremely obvious sense, no. But then, was I really expecting a dramatic, mind-blowing change? Also, no. I tried to rein in my expectations with this product as much as possible. I think that my hands might look the teeny, tiniest bit smoother overall. And that could possibly just be me imagining things, but in the before and after photos the lines and dryness seem somewhat less apparent. I see the most difference in the fingertip area, around my nails.
As you can see, I forgot to get another photo until the 13th day, so the lotion had a few extra days to do its job!
As always, I’ll state that correlation doesn’t always equal causation. Perhaps my hands were just in a better-moisturized state on that 13th day. Or maybe the increased humidity here over time played a role. Or maybe, just maybe, that lotion gave me younger hands as it had promised! (But likely not, ha!)
I’ll be continuing to use Hand Chemistry because I truly enjoy the feel of it. The 100ml bottle that I got is $20, which for me is slightly on the higher end for hand cream. They also have a 30ml and 240ml size for $7 and $39, respectively. I could see myself repurchasing it in the future because I’m curious to see how my hands will look after prolonged use. Plus, it can be hard to find a cream that feels as nourishing as this one does without being greasy too. I regularly repurchase products from other brands under Deciem like The Ordinary (I love their Hemi-Squalane Oil and Multi-Peptide Serum for Hair Density), so it’s convenient to get Hand Chemistry at the same time. I don’t think I’ll actively be recommending it to people, as the effects are minimal at best. It’s fun to give products like these a test, and I’m happy to say that my experience with it was at least fairly satisfactory!