Now more than ever, it’s important to wash our hands frequently and correctly. As the daughter of a registered nurse, I know how often my mom has to soap, lather, rinse, and repeat—as well as the dryness and cracks she suffers because of it. Glossier’s Hand Cream is the brand’s latest response and launch during a global pandemic, with a campagin centered around healthcare workers and consumers in quarantine.
According to Glossier, the formula has been two years in the making, but was first announced several weeks ago on Instagram. At the time, the brand pledged to donate 10,000 of the first units available to healthcare workers in the United States.
In an open letter on Glossier’s website, founder Emily Weiss called the donation a no-brainer. “One of the most frequent requests we’ve received during this time is for a hand cream. As it happens, our community has been asking the same thing: We’ve been working on Glossier Hand Cream for nearly two years, and have been so excited to bring it into the world this spring,” she wrote. “For the nurses and doctors who are gathering every day to care for patients, it makes sense to get Hand Cream to them first.”
Launching a beauty product in the age of COVID-19 is no simple or easy feat. Glossier relies heavily on story-telling and word-of-mouth, which is difficult to achieve in self-isolation. In a press release, the brand states it “wanted to make a something that inspired connection in the same way they’ve seen Balm Dotcom does — something displayed on your desk and shared with coworkers, carried in your bag and doled out to friends, or that strikes up a conversation with a stranger on the train.”
To combat this, Glossier created a community-first campaign, asking followers to create and shoot campaign images while in quarantine. “To bring Hand Cream to life [Glossier] asked people in their community who inspire them to share how they’re finding comfort and taking care of themselves and others right now,” the release adds. The brand also enlisted Artist Christine Sun Kim, photographer Suzanne Saroff, and photographers Tayna and Zhenya Posternak for images.
As for the product, Hand Cream uses a revamped version of Glossier’s You scent and is packed with ingredients like meadowfoam seed oil and coconut fruit extract for nourished and non-greasy hands. The packaging has a click-to-close cap for easy application and is recyclable.
Glossier Hand Cream is available at Glossier.com for $18.