As we age, our hands begin to tell on us. The skin thins and loses laxity, veins become prominent, “age spots” appear, the hands begin to feel and look rough, dry, crepey.
There comes a time when most of us start taking care of our faces. We shield ourselves from the sun; excepting our hands. We wash, exfoliate, hydrate properly as well as receiving professional skin care treatments; excepting our hands.
We drive cars and our hands are placed on the steering wheel, unprotected, while the windshield magnifies the sun’s rays on our unprotected hands.
We wash dishes without wearing gloves, keeping the hands drenched in harsh alkaline dish-washing liquid stripping them of their natural protection and oil. Dish-washing liquids are not the only culprits. The majority of brand name bar and liquid soaps are very alkaline while the skin is slightly acidic. Each time we wash our hands in them we damage them.
We garden, play golf and other sports, do housework with harsh chemicals; protecting everything but our hands.
To save your hands from revealing your exact age:
• Wear a high
• Wear gloves every time you wash dishes, do housework, hand wash clothing, or garden.
• Use mild pH soap when washing your hands. It is the suds that clean and sanitize the hands not the “strength” of the soap.
• Before your hands completely dry, put lotion on them - every time! And, don’t keep your lotion in the car where it can turn rancid and the effectiveness of the chemical sunblocks will diminish.
• Wear gloves to protect from cold weather and the harsh sun.
• Get a hand treatment once a month that would include a good exfoliation, massage and masque to revitalize your hands and keep them supple. I add a personalized paraffin treatment to seal everything in. You can add a hand treatment to a facial. Or, indulge yourself with a half-hour or hour hand treatment that is divine!
