Getting More from Your Hand Wash: Sinks, Seasons and Refills

To get the most from our Hydrating Hand Wash with Kalahari Oil, put it at the sink you use most, pair it with the matching hand cream, adjust how you wash as the seasons change, and refill rather than rebuy once you know you love it. The formula does its part on its own: it is real soap, made from organic coconut, olive and jojoba oils, that cleans and still leaves hands comfortable. The rest is about where and how you use it.

Here is what we have learned about making one bottle of hand wash work harder for a whole household.

Start with the busiest sink

A hand wash makes the biggest difference where it is used most, and in most homes that is not the powder room. It is the kitchen sink, the sink by the back door that catches everyone coming in, or the basin in a studio or workshop. Put the 16 fl oz bottle there first.

If a softer soap lives at one sink and a harsh one at the next, your hands get the harsh one half the time. Matching the sinks you use every day, even if it is just two, is the simplest upgrade you can make.

Adjust for the season

Cold months

From the first cold snap through to spring, indoor heat pulls moisture out of skin, and the backs of the hands and the knuckles feel it first. This is when the details matter: keep the water warm rather than hot, lather slowly, pat dry, and follow with our Hydrating Hand Cream with Kalahari Oil while hands are still slightly damp. On weeks when your knuckles feel tight and papery, give the lather a full 30 seconds and be more generous with the cream at night.

Warm months

In summer you wash more often after gardening, cooking outdoors, the beach or the park, and hands tend to feel less dry. One pump and a quick, thorough lather is usually all you need, with cream only when your hands ask for it.

Pair it with its matching cream

The hand cream is the natural partner. It is built on Kalahari melon seed oil, with aloe leaf juice, glycerin and a blend of coconut, sunflower, jojoba, avocado, argan and borage oils, and it sinks in quickly without leaving a greasy film. Set the two side by side and the wash cleans while the cream holds the moisture in.

The Hand Wash and Hand Cream Bundle gives you both in one scent, which is the easiest way to set up a sink properly.

Choose the scent for the room

The wash comes in four of our signature scents, and each suits a different room. Moroccan Fig and Bergamot, our best-selling scent, is crisp and fresh, with apple, grapefruit and plum, and sits well in a kitchen. Rosewood and Litsea Cubeba is bright and citrusy, another good kitchen choice. Violet and Bergamot is a fresh floral for a bathroom. Hawaiian Black Lava is deep, musky and woodsy, lovely in a darker powder room or a guest bath.

For a guest bathroom, The Perfect Guest Bathroom Set matches the hand wash with the hand cream and a room spray in one scent, so the sink, the hands and the room all carry the same quiet note.

Stock up and refill

Once a scent becomes the house favorite, buying bottle by bottle stops making sense. The Hand Wash 4 Pack gives you four 16 fl oz bottles in one scent, enough to stock every sink in one order, for less than four bought singly.

For refilling, the Luxury Hydrating Hand Wash Gallon holds 128 fl oz, the same as eight 16 fl oz bottles, and it is the same wash. Keep one bottle at each sink and top them up from the gallon. It comes in Moroccan Fig and Bergamot, Rosewood and Litsea Cubeba and Violet and Bergamot, plus two limited editions, Almond and White Tea and Oak Moss and Coconut. The gallon is also how restaurants, offices, salons, hotels and rentals keep every sink supplied without reordering constantly.

Questions about getting more from the hand wash

Can I refill my 16 fl oz bottle from the gallon?

Yes. The gallon is the same wash we sell in 16 fl oz bottles, and it is made for refilling.

Which scent works best in a kitchen?

A fresh scent suits a kitchen well: Moroccan Fig and Bergamot or Rosewood and Litsea Cubeba. We like Hawaiian Black Lava and Violet and Bergamot in a bathroom.

Does the hand wash make a good gift?

It does. The Hand Wash and Hand Cream Bundle makes a good housewarming gift, and The Perfect Hostess Gift Set pairs the wash with a room spray and gold under eye masks.