We Thought Hand Sanitizer Was Boring. Then We Tried This

Living in New York City, it's hard for an amateur hypochondriac not to worry about germs. I take the subway all over the place, despite an inner monologue about all of the invisible nasties (saliva! boogers! poo!) that probably cover the poles. This is why I carry a small bottle of Purell everywhere I go — which is effective at fighting germs, but not so great for my increasingly dried-out hands.

But! On set for our punk beauty shoot, makeup artist Theo Kogan introduced me to Jao. After using it, I quickly became a convert, and now I'm telling everyone about it. Yes, it still has alcohol to kill germs, but it also has skin-beneficial ingredients such as aloe, panthenol, and glycerine to keep hands hydrated and protected. Plus, this stuff actually smells good — as you'd expect, since it includes essential oils of lavender, clary sage, tea tree, and geranium. Also? I get such a kick out of the "Not just for hands!" slogan. It's the little things, folks. This stuff is the Cadillac of hand sanitizers, and with winter not really that far away, I'm considering Jao my first defense against gross subway junk...and dry hands, too.