If your post-supermarket ritual now involves some frenzied handwashing – like Mr Burns’ “excellent”, but with more soap and panic – you’re not alone. Washing your mitts every time you so much as think about going outside takes its toll, and by now your hands have probably seen better, certainly less lizard-like, days.

Which brings us to hand cream. Perhaps in the past perceived as something that you might give to your mum on her birthday, a hand cream may not be the obvious addition to a man’s grooming routine. But any man who has used one before will know its merits. And just as it so happens, we have a selection of the best, so you can stay hygienic and safe, but keep your hands in good nick, too.

Horace’s grooming products are invariably no-nonsense; this is reliable stuff you can add to your routine with relative ease. And this moisturising balm is just the ticket for parched hands, packed as it is with vitamin E to repair skin. The light scent of vetiver and green mandarin also gives it a fresh (but not overpowering) masculine vibe. It absorbs into skin so fast you’ll forget it’s there, apart from the marked improvement in your dried-out skin.

If you’ve not been addicted to putting on hand cream before, you’ve clearly never had a bottle of Le Labo in the vicinity. Containing basil, safflower and sweet almond oils, it smells almost good enough to eat (although please don’t do that) and lasts for ages, too. Keep it on your desk at home to remind you to use it throughout the day.

If your hands are looking particularly dry and dusty, you’ll want to bring out the big guns. Grown Alchemist’s Hand Care Kit will do just that – a double whammy of nourishing handwash and hand cream to follow, it’s just the thing to make your handwashing ritual that little more salubrious.

For hand cream that looks good, smells amazing and actually works, Byredo proffers the ultimate trifecta. Its Suede hand cream is named for the soft, woody scents of cedar, amber and musk, and will double up as a subtle yet effective fragrance.

By now, Aesop’s products likely need no introduction. The Australian brand has been around for a cool three decades now, and has set the standard for unquestionably good products that lift the atmosphere of any room. Which is quite a lot to expect from a hand cream, but stick this earthy, nourishing Reverence Aromatique hand balm in your bathroom (next to the matching handwash if you fancy) and you’ll see exactly what we mean.