Having used my free (free when you return 5 empty black pots to a Lush store) fresh masks on my hands rather than on my face, I was eager to try the new Golden Handshake hot hand mask (recently released into other stores, after being an Oxford Street special initially).

It’s a tiny product, weighing just 20 grams, but I was assured in store that a little goes a long way, and I would end up with loads of mask from this. It’s not the most expensive, at £2.95; and seeing as it’s sold “naked”, just wrapped in a cardboard sleeve, it doesn’t have the “I can’t get the last bits from the bottom of the pot” problem that some of the fresh masks do. It also doesn’t have to be kept in the fridge!

The instructions state:

1. Stand your hand mask stick upright in a bowl which is large enough to fit both hands comfortably. Add enough hot water to cover the product and stir, allowing the treatment to develop and thicken.
2. Plunge your hands into the resulting dreamy, creamy lotion and soak for around 15 minutes (or until the doorbell rings)
3. Alternatively, the melted treatment can be massaged into hands before rinsing off.

Despite the sample in store being made in a tooth mug shaped container, I decided to follow the package instructions…. unfortunately, these instructions leave a lot to be desired. Using a container that I could put both hands into at the same time, I poured boiling water over the product, and stirred. And stirred, stirred and stirred some more.

30 minutes later, I had the consistency of water with lumpy greasy pieces in….

Obviously something was wrong! Some of the reviewers on the Lush site say they put the product in the microwave to melt it…. but I don’t have that option, so I emailed Lush head office to ask how much water they recommend I use.

The person at Lush looked at the photo of my mask, gave me some advice on how he makes up the mask, and very kindly offered to send me a replacement….

---

….the replacement arrived a few days later, so I made sure to find a more suitable shaped container to melt it in. I used a Stewart Sealfresh Screw Top Beaker (£1.95 – not an affiliate link), which turned out to be just the right height to screw the lid on, with the stick still in the pot.

Using the new “instructions”, it should read something like this:

1. Stand your hand mask stick upright in a mug-shaped container. Add enough hot water to cover the product and stir, allowing the treatment to develop and thicken.
2. Transfer the resulting dreamy, creamy lotion into a container you can comfortably fit both hands into.
3. Plunge your hands into the lotion and soak for around 15 minutes (or until the doorbell rings)
4. Alternatively, the melted treatment can be massaged into hands before rinsing off.

I used probably just over 100ml of boiling water to cover the product (to start with I hadn’t added enough, as there was still a lump of it on the stick that wouldn’t melt!).

I chose to massage this into my hands rather than trying to scoop it out and place it in yet another container. Using the wooden stick to spoon some onto my hands, I probably used about a fifth of what was in the pot (screwing the lid on tight, has meant that I’ve been able to use it over the last week without it going off).

Rinsing it off was challenging – just holding my hands under a running tap didn’t seem to work too well, so I used the shower to rinse it off my hands instead. I can’t honestly say my hands felt super smooth after using this, but then my hands are prone to eczema, and as a result they can get very dry and cracked anyway.

This may well be a product I will try again – maybe next time I’ll try transferring it into another container so I can soak my hands in it (or maybe even wrapping my hands in clingfilm might work to keep the product warm while it’s on my skin?).