One of the most tell-tale signs of aging is also one of the most underrated and least thought about, and that is your hands.
We are all accustomed to taking care of our face (and hopefully throat and decolletage), but many of us forget our hands. Look around and you will see women who've been photofacial'd, injected, lifted, buffed and smoothed and look decades younger than their birth date, but who's hands are wrinkled and spotted and give the game away.
Or maybe they're young but by not taking care of their hands are making themselves look prematurely aged.
Here are tips to keep your hands looking young:
1. Use A Really Rich Handcream, Liberally and Often
One of the key components to keeping your hands looking soft and smooth is to keep them uber hydrated, all the time. Find a super rich handcream with a broad spectrum SPF that is as high as possible.
The SPF will help prevent sun damage, and the emollients in the cream will keep the skin soft and help to fight off free radical damage.
2. Add A Retinol
Using a retinol cream at night will help to keep the texture smooth and even, and also improve skin tone.
3. 86 The Hand Sanitizer
The alcohol in hand sanitizer can be extremely drying to the skin, and can cause irritation to the skin.
Drying the skin also opens it up to more sun damage.
If you are washing your hands frequently throughout the day, this also dries the skin out, so revert to #1
and liberally apply handcream.
4. Wear Rubber Gloves When Doing Dishes
Just as hand sanitizer strips the skin, so does dish washing liquid.
5. Get Regular Manicures
Keeping your nails in good shape and keeping the cuticles trimmed helps make them look younger.
6. Invest In A Good Cuticle Oil
Make a nightly investment in your hands by massaging a quality oil into your cuticles
7. Be Aware Of Sneaky Sun Damage Risks
One of the worst offenders when it comes to sun damage on your hands, is the steering wheel. Wear driving gloves, or make sure you have a strong, broad spectrum SPF on the backs of your hands when you drive.
8. Get A Photofacial
Just as a photofacial can work to remove sundamage to your face, it also works on your hands. Actually there are a myriad of laser options to improve skin tone and texture.
A laser specialist can advise you on the best treatment course for your hands.
9. Get A Filler
Fillers such as
Radiesse, Sculptra and
Voluma can plump up lost volume in the backs of the hands, and even the fingers if your digits are starting to look claw-like. Saggy, crepey skin looks aged, whereas full, glowing skin looks youthful.
