Give Yourself a Hand

With most women’s skincare energies (understandably) focused on their faces, they very often forget that the thing that can often give away their age – sometimes prematurely – is their hands. While we may be unrelenting about putting sunscreen on our faces and necks, how often do we all walk out the door with sunscreen on the backs of our hands? Probably seldom to never. Then we’re encouraged to repeatedly wash our hands to stave off cold and flu germs, we slather bacterial gels all over them and we wipe them down with sanitizing wipes. These harsh drying habits are further compounded by winter weather, during which many of us cast aside our gloves because we can’t use our touch screens with them on. At best, then, we’re exposing our hands more and moisturizing them less. They take quite a beating, especially this time of year.

If you only have dryness, you can consider yourself fortunate, and begin to take preventive measures now, such as using a handcream with an SPF of at least 15 every day, and yes (I know it’s a hassle) re-applying after you wash your hands. If you’re not so lucky and you’ve started to see even the faintest brown spots (they come out more when you get a little sun), there are a number of products at different price points that can help reduce their appearance, as well as some at-home remedies such as lemon, or prescriptions such as hydroquinone.

I’ve seen a couple of brown spots crop up on my hands – no doubt from my carefree youth dousing myself in baby oil beginning the first day of spring like all my friends – and have had to remind myself again and again to protect my hands before I leave the apartment. One thing that’s made it easier is I just put a little of my face cream (Kinerase Daily Defense Cream - specifically designed to protect and heal sun-damaged skin) right on my hands during my morning routine. Any kind of sunscreen you can use on your face is suitable for your hands.

But many companies now make great products specifically for this particular challenge. One of my favorites is Clarins’ Age Control Hand Lotion. Non-greasy, with natural ingredients and a fragrance to die for, it makes you want to reapply just to smell it again and again (although the price makes you think twice about doing that). On the more affordable end, Dove’s ProAge Hand Cream sports an alpha hydroxy acid (AHA) content to support cell turnover in the skin. Even better on price, and SPF, Neutrogena’s Age Shield Hand Cream at $5.99 with an SPF of 30 is such a great buy and so small and cheap you can afford to keep one at home and drop one in your bag!