Five Tips for Beautiful Hands

Are your hands making you seem older than you are? Many women forget that the skin on their hands ages similarly to facial skin. Hands are always front and center. We use them for everything. They are out in the sun (often without UV protection!) in water and used for every chore. Hands are also one of the first things that people see when they see you, so it is important to take care of and rejuvenate them just as you do your facial skin.

Here are 5 tips to keep your hands healthy and looking great:

1. Apply Sunscreen!

Since hands are always exposed to the sun, make applying sunscreen part of your morning routine. After you apply your SPF to your face, apply a sunscreen of at least 30 SPF to your hands. Dark spots on hands are a result of sun exposure.

2. Be Gentle

Skin on the backs of our hands is often very delicate and thin. This means it can damage easily and take longer to heal. Use cleansers that are non-drying and gentle, and wear gloves to protect hands from harsh household cleansers or strenuous work where your hands might be cut or bruised. If you have rough or scaly skin on your hands, you can cleanse them with an exfoliating scrub, just make sure it is a light, gentle exfoliant, and follow with a moisturizer and sunscreen.

3. Treat Hands Like Facial Skin

That moisturizer or treatment product you use everyday on your face will work wonders on your hands. Dark spots and a loss of firmness are two concerns that hands typically develop. Look for a moisturizer or a treatment serum with active ingredients that help to rebuild collagen and improve texture, or a spot treatment to reduce dark spots.

4. Stay Moisturized

Hands can become very dry as we get older. Keep a quality deep-moisturizing hand lotion in your purse, desk or the kitchen; and reapply throughout the day or when your hands have been in water, or after cleaning. Before bed is also a good time to apply a treatment or deep moisturizer to rejuvenate hands.

5. Keep Your Manicure Current

Brittle, uneven or yellowing nails don't help our hands look good. Keeping up on your manicure will look great, and there are many protein treatments that help cuticles and nails stay moisturized and healthy.