We live in a time period where there are endless things—from at-home and day procedures to in-office treatments—that you can have done to your body and face (there are even treatments for body parts like your ears and feet). But when it comes to your hands, they’re lucky if they gets a little hand cream…until now. Hands are finally getting the attention they deserve.
“Patients who have invested seriously in their facial skin are starting to recognize the disconnect,” says Antony Nakhla, MD, double-board-certified dermatologist and founder of Eighth Day. “The hands are visible constantly and in close proximity during conversation. It makes sense that [it] is expanding to include them.”
The aging on our hands is similar to what we experience elsewhere on our bodies. The difference is that our hands might show those signs a lot sooner. “They receive more cumulative sun exposure and less consistent skin-care attention than the face,” says Nakhla. “The structural volume loss beneath the skin also tends to be more visible on the hands because there is less underlying fat to compensate, as well as prominent anatomical structures (like vasculature, bones, and tendons) that become focal points.”
Nicholas Brownstone, MD, board-certified medical and cosmetic dermatologist at Mount Sinai, adds that external factors, such as UV exposure, pollution, smoking, diet, sleep, and alcohol consumption, can speed up those signs of aging. So the ultimate hand-care routine will need the following things:
You Must Use SPF
Brownstone says that dark spots are largely caused by UV exposure and are probably the most common sign of photoaging. To protect the skin on your hands, you must use sunscreen with SPF. “SPF is the nonnegotiable starting point and the most neglected step,” adds Nakhla. Just as you would apply it to your face and other parts of your body, he recommends using SPF every morning and reapplying every two hours if your hands are going to be exposed to the sun.