Having tried Kiehl's Ultimate Strength Hand Salve and fallen in love with it, I was looking for a good hand cream without parabens to replace it. The St. Ives Intensive Healing Hand Cream is advertised as a natural, paraben-free hand cream. Judging from reviews, I thought maybe the St. Ives hand cream would fit the bill, but I was sadly mistaken.

What I liked about the Kiehl's hand salve was that it wasn't greasy at all, and sunk in really quickly. So many hand lotions and creams claim not to be greasy but still are, but the Kiehl's hand salve really isn't greasy. Another thing I really liked about the Kiehl's product was that though it was light, it made my hands feel moisturized for far longer than most (if not all lotions). I hate having to reapply lotion after every hand wash, and my hands felt soft, smooth and hydrated for two to three washes per application. The downsides to the Kiehl's Ultimate Strength Hand Salve, then, are that it contains parabens. Methylparaben, and dimethicone. Really disappointing. It also has a very green, herbal smell that may put some people off, and of course, the price tag of $15 is a little steep for 2.5 ounces.

So after reading a bunch of reviews, I settled on purchasing the St. Ives Intensive Healing Hand Cream as a paraben-free replacement to the Kiehl's hand salve. It is indeed paraben-free, but it is, unfortunately, not free of petroleum by-products (it contains petrolatum) or silicones. Additionally, the texture is completely different from that of the Kiehl's salve -- not that I expected them to be all that close. The St. Ives cream contains such natural oils such as: Grape Seed Oil, Cranberry Seed Oil, Mango Seed Butter, Cocoa Seed Butter, Sunflower Seed Oil, Olive Leaf Extract. The St. Ives Intensive Healing Hand Cream really just reminds of the Neutrogena Norwegian Formula Hand Cream, except thinner and slightly more watery. I can appreciate that, because the Neutrogena Norwegian Hand Cream is a seriously heavy duty hand cream probably meant for sleep time application.

But like the Neutrogena Norwegian Hand Cream, the hydrating effects left with every hand wash, and like the Neutrogena cream, it coats your hands in this petroleum, silicone-like "glove" to protect it from both losing moisture or ... gaining any moisture. The St. Ives cream, unlike the Neutrogena cream, has a synthetic, plasticky scent common to fragrance-free products. Overall, at about $3.50 for 3 ounces, the St. Ives Intensive Healing Hand Cream is an inexpensive, quick fix for any dry spots, but doesn't seem to offer any long-term hydration. If you're not concerned about petroleums and silicones in your beauty products, this isn't a bad product, but there are better out there (like the Nature's Gate lotions).

More information on the St. Ives Intensive Healing Hand Cream, 3 fl oz/88 mL ...

Ingredients: Water, Glycerin, Dicaprylyl Ether, Petrolatum, Isohexadecane, PEG 100 Stearate, Glyceryl Stearate, Cetyl Alcohol, Capric/Caprylic Triglyceride, Grape Seed Oil, Cranberry Seed Oil, Mango Seed Butter, Cocoa Seed Butter, Sunflower Seed Oil, Hydrolyzed Jojoba Esters, Olive Leaf Extract, Cetearyl Alcohol, Dimethicone, Dimethiconol, Acrylates/C10 30 Alkyl Acrylate Crosspolymer, Glyceryl Acrylate/Acrylic Acid Copolymer, Triethanolamine, Disodium EDTA, Polysorbate 60, Ethylhexl Glycerin, Phenoxylethanol