Is Kiehl's Ultimate Strength Hand Salve worth it?

Yes. All 3 gurus who reviewed it give it their stamp of approval, for a Guru Score of 85%.

What is Kiehl's Ultimate Strength Hand Salve's Guru Score?

Kiehl's Ultimate Strength Hand Salve holds a Guru Score of 85%. That is our read on how warmly the experts talk about it, based on the verdicts of 3 expert reviewers we have collected.

Who is Kiehl's Ultimate Strength Hand Salve best for?

Kiehl's Ultimate Strength Hand Salve is generally suited to dry skin.

Kiehl's

Ultimate Strength Hand Salve.

About this product

A thick, nourishing hand salve designed to moisturize and protect hands.

Full ingredients

Aqua/Water, Glycerin, Caprylic/Capric/Stearic Triglyceride, Butylene Glycol, Aluminum Starch Octenylsuccinate, Hydrogenated Stearyl Olive Oil Esters, Butyrospermum Parkii, Cetearyl Alcohol, PEG-75 Stearate, Glyceryl Stearate, Cetyl Alcohol, Bis-Diglyceryl Polyacyladipate-2, Sesamum Indicum/Sesame Seed Oil, Squalane, Dimethicone, Ceteth-20, Phenoxyethanol, Persea Gratissima/Avocado Oil, Steareth-20, Ceteareth-20, Methylparaben, Sodium Dehydroacetate, Tocopheryl Acetate, PPG-5-Ceteth-20, Eucalyptus Globulus, Eucalyptus Globulus Leaf Oil, Allantoin, Disodium EDTA, Aloe Barbadensis/Aloe Barbadensis Leaf Juice

Guru Score

85%

Yay

Early verdict · Few reviews so far

3Gurus

3Yay

0Mixed

0Nay

What they liked

Thick, rich texture for dry skin
Keeps hands moisturized overnight
Good for winter dryness

What they flagged

Nothing. None of the experts who reviewed it raised a problem.

What the gurus are saying

This thick salve earns consistent praise as an overnight hand moisturizer that keeps hands hydrated through the night. It's particularly loved for dry skin and cold months, with some experts using it for years as their go-to product. It's quite rich, so it's best applied before bed.

Synthesized from 3 expert reviews · most recent take August 2026

Best for

Dry skin

Type

Balm & ointment

Key actives

Vitamin ESqualane

Formula notes

Fragrance-freeNo drying alcohol

Where to buy

Amazon → Google →

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What the gurus are saying.

Every take we've logged from this product's reviews across YouTube. Click any row to watch the moment they said it.

All takes Yay takes Nay takes Mixed takes Hide sponsored

No BS Beauty

89k subs

✓Yay

"This one's a really nice hand cream for dry skin and pretty thick. It does have a little bit of fragrance in it, it's got lemon and eucalyptus in it, along with aloe, glycerin, olive oil, and some fatty alcohols. If you're sensitive to fragrances, the Neutrogena Norwegian hand salve is the one to get, but I still like this one even though it's got a little bit of fragrance in it because I'm not as sensitive on my hands as I am the rest of my face."

Dr. Sam Ellis

883k subs

✓Yay

"I have tried so many different hand creams over the years and one of my favorites is by Kiehl's. It's their hand salve, and it's a really nice thick moisturizing hand cream that's perfect for evening."

HotandFlashy

1.23M subs

✓Yay

"I've been using the Kiehl's Ultimate Strength Hand Salve at night for years. I love that."

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All 10 takes from HotandFlashy

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"This is my favorite hand cream. I buy it year in year out. I've been using this for about five to seven years and I always have this in my bathroom on the counter. I put it on every single night before I go to bed and it just keeps my hands so moisturized. It keeps my cuticles from peeling and getting dry and flaky and it keeps my nails hydrated. I mean it just is such a good hand cream. I can't say enough good things about it. And I actually love the smell of it. It's got like a eucalyptus smell to it which is really clean and refreshing and spa-like."

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"Another staple of mine is the Kiehl's Ultimate Strength Hand Salve. This is the thing that keeps my hands moisturized all night, keeps me from having hangnails, keeps my nail beds looking so healthy all the time, especially winter here in New England when the air is so dry. I love this, it's fantastic, and it smells like a spa in a tube."

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"This is the Kiehl's Ultimate Strength Hand Salve and this is such a fave. I actually haven't bought a new one of this and I'm out and I'm so bummed. The ingredients in this are so good, it has all the heavy-duty moisturizers. It's got triglycerides and olive oil and shea butter and sesame oil and avocado oil. I use this at night before I go to bed and my hands have been so just good. I don't have hang nails, I don't have brittle nails. It has a really great fragrance, it smells kind of like eucalyptus, so it's really fresh and nice, but it doesn't make the palms of my hands feel greasy."

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"My favorite hand cream is the Kiehl's Ultimate Hand Salve."

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"This is the hand moisturizer that I use all year round, but especially in the winter. Keeps my hands feeling nice and comfortable, keeps my skin really moisturized during the winter."

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"I've been using the Kiehl's Ultimate Strength Hand Salve at night for years. I love that."

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"I always pick up Kiehl's Ultimate Strength Hand Salve. I use this to moisturize my hands. I have one like at every sink in my house and it keeps my hands nice and moisturized, keeps my nails and cuticles nice and moisturized so I don't have splits and hangnails and stuff like that. It's really really good hand cream."

DRY Winter SKIN Tips! These SAVED My Skin! Body + Face!

"At night I give my hands a really thick occlusive moisturizer. The one I use is the Kiehl's Ultimate Hand Salve and I love this. It just keeps my hands feeling so much better. I especially rub it into my nail beds and my cuticles making sure to get those and then the rest of the skin of my hands. This just keeps my hands feeling so moisturized all night long. I wake up in the morning and my skin isn't dry, my nails have been less brittle every winter since I started using this. I don't end up with hang nails and peeling around the edges of my nails. My 60-year-old hands that do a lot of work they actually don't look terrible."

Empties! Skincare I've Used Up. . . Would I Repurchase?

"My last thing in skincare is my Kiehl's Ultimate Strength Hand Salve. I love this, this is my favorite hand lotion for moisturizing. This has a lot of hydrating oils in it. It's got shea butter and dimethicone, which are occlusive, so they'll lock the moisture into your skin. So it's just a really great overnight hand cream to use. I love the smell of it. It smells like eucalyptus. I love that eucalyptus smell. It reminds me of the spa. It's just so fresh and clean smelling. I have purchased a new one of those."

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"The Kiehl's Ultimate Hand Salve is hands down the best hand lotion for keeping your hands nice and hydrated during the fall and the winter season. As soon as I start putting this on again every single night, my hands are thanking me every day and they're not going to look older and crustier and my nails are going to be healthier. It's just the best hand cream. I love that so so much."