Raise your hand if you’d love to keep your hands beautiful – no matter how young or old you are.
Me, too.
If you’re like most women (of all ages), you probably invest a lot in your face. You put sunscreen on before you go outside. You have your daytime and nighttime skincare routines down pat. Your skin is as hydrated and radiant as you can get it to be.
You’re feeling pretty good. But then you look down at your hands – and it seems like all the dullness and dryness you manage to keep away from your face has found a new home.
Does that sound familiar?
Show of Hands
Our hands have a tendency to show signs of age way before our faces do. That’s because the skin on the top of the hand is a) thinner than facial skin and b) much more exposed to the elements than your face is. Put those two together, and you get a sure-fire recipe for dryness, dullness, wrinkles, sun spots and all the other skin stuff we love to hate.
The good news is, you don’t need to spend a small fortune (or a large one) on spas and treatments to improve the way your hands look. Here you’ll get some easy tips to rejuvenate your hands and keep them looking as smooth and young as possible.
Let’s get into it.
Tip #1: Keeping your hands beautiful means keeping them protected.
I wish I hadn’t used so much sunscreen when I was younger, said no one ever.
The absolute, first, no-way-out-of-it tip for more youthful hands is sunscreen. Some products, like this one from Supergoop, do double-duty by combining hydration with SPF so you don’t need a separate hand cream. Whichever you choose, though, make sure to apply it before you leave and, if you’re out for a long time, every 1-2 hours after that.
That said, you don’t have to worry too much about your palms. The obvious reason is that they’re usually facing down. The less-obvious reason is that there’s a layer of hardened, basically dead skin on the palms that provides its own protection from UV rays.
Tip #2: Exfoliate.
Exfoliation does the same thing for your hands as it does for your face: It gets rid of the dead cells that dull your skin and prevent it from effectively absorbing treatments like moisturizers, lotions and serums.
So how do you exfoliate your hands? You have a couple of options:
- Commercial hand scrubs. There are commercial hand scrubs out there, like the L’Occitane Shea Butter One-Minute Hand Scrub. If you can, ask for a sample in a department store or a store like Sephora so you can see if it (or any other scrub you choose) works with your skin type. Whichever you try, keep an eye on the ingredients. Some scrubs, like this top-rated one from Deborah Lippmann, have AHA and/or BHA, which make your skin more sensitive to the sun. So if you use one of these, make double-sure to use a strong sunscreen.
- DIY hand scrubs. If you’re the DIY type or you just don’t fancy shilling out $30 or thereabouts for two ounces of product, you can make your own hand exfoliator right at home. Mix 1 teaspoon of sugar with the same amount of hydrating oil, like coconut oil. Rub the mixture gently over your hands, then rinse and moisturize.
Which brings us straight to the next tip.
Tip #3: Moisturize like no one’s business.
Every time you wash your hands, you deplete the moisture level in your hands. So keep a mini-tube of hand cream in your pocket if you can. Then every time you wash and dry your hands, you just whip it out and apply.
A great way to keep your hands hydrated is to sleep with beauty gloves, available at just about every drugstore. Before you go to sleep, apply your favorite hand cream. Then slip on the gloves and go to sleep. When you wake up you’ll be amazed at the difference in your hands after the moisturizer has been locked in for a few hours.
Tip #4: Wear gloves when you work.
“Work” doesn’t only mean dishwashing, although that’s arguably the biggest culprit when it comes to dry, dehydrated hands. Other household chores like dusting, raking leaves and cleaning windows also leave your hands exposed to chemicals and the elements. So whenever you can, wear gloves.
Tip #5: If your skin can handle lemon juice it will keep your hands beautiful.
If your hands are really sensitive, don’t try this. But if they aren’t, rubbing them with lemon juice can really brighten your skin and nails. Use fresh lemon juice if you can, and apply it to your hands. Leave it on for as long as you can stand it, or up to 10 minutes. Then wash your hands with a gentle soap and moisturize.
So there you have it: five ways to take care of your hands – and you!
Next time we’ll talk about some fun, inexpensive DIY hand masks you can try right at home. See you then!