[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]When I look down at my hands, I see my mother’s hands. Not in a bad way. But I see her aged hands with the sunspots on them and thinking they were old hands. And now, her hands are mine.
After the face, hands are the second most visible, tell-tale sign of one's age. In a
2006 study, people examined unaltered photographs of female hands and were asked to estimate the women's ages, i.e., younger than 20 years, 20 to 30 years, 30 to 40 years, etc. The study suggests that most people can accurately tell a person's age by viewing only their hands.
This is no excuse for quiet quitting on hand care. Take matters into your own hands by doubling down on self-care strategies to keep your hands looking younger, hydrated and vibrant.
A Guide to Hand Care in Winter
Opt for a lower water temperatures
While temps drop around us, you may be tempted to turn up the water temp a notch. It’s soothing in the moment, but it’s quite tough on the skin. Using very hot water can cause your skin to lose moisture more rapidly, leading to dryness. This is because the lipid barrier, the moisture barrier located on the outermost layer of your skin, melts away under hot water. Cold and lukewarm water averts this fate.
Bonus tip: Remember to use lukewarm or cool water when you do other chores like washing the dishes. Lukewarm as opposed to hot water can be just the difference your skin needs to avoid dryness.
Wear gloves
The nippy air and cold winds can dry out hands. If it’s cold enough for a hat, it’s cold enough for gloves, which will protect your hands from harsh exposure. Keep a few pairs of gloves in your car or by the front door, so you always have a pair at the ready.
Bonus tip: Use rubber gloves when doing housework. Use gloves when cleaning with chemicals and washing dishes. Overexposure to hot water and chemicals can strip your skin of its natural oils making them look dry and chapped.
Use a humidifier
Hands tend to get drier when the environmental humidity is lower. The dryness can create small cracks in the skin which cause even more moisture to escape. Slathering yourself with moisturizers can help, but that thin layer of lotion will only get you so far when dry air is constantly pulling water from your skin. Humidifiers restore the humidity levels in the air, providing skin with the moisture it needs, even in the driest of climates.
Bonus tip: Remember, humidifiers won't replace your skincare routine. Use a humidifier in conjunction with a rich moisturizer to get the most benefit.
Exfoliate
Exfoliation keeps skin smooth by sloughing away dead skin cells. In winter, your hands accumulate a lot of dead skin cells that appear as rough patches. Find a gentle but effective hand scrub for the task and use it once a week or as needed. You can also use your favorite facial exfoliant. Another perk of exfoliation is that it allows your moisturizer to penetrate better.
Bonus tip: Try
Hand in Hand Sugar Scrub Sweetgrass, made with shea butter, organic coconut oil and sugar, to get smoother skin. $13, vitacost.com
Apply sunscreen
Your hands may be the last place you think of to apply SPF, but they need it just as much as your face and neck. Your hands are a telling marker of sun damage. Even in winter, your hands get a lot of sun through day-to-day activities such as driving and walking outside. This cumulative sun damage is reflected in the development of dark spots and textural changes on our hands, especially on the back where the skin is thinner. The back of the hands is a common location for skin cancers, so it's doubly important to apply SPF.
Bonus tip: Acure Seriously Soothing SPF 30 Day Cream, made without parabens, sulfates, silicone, formaldehyde, and mineral oil, is gentle, non-irritating hand cream that is also hydrating and protective. $20, vitacost.com
Be sparing with sanitizer
The pandemic turned many of us into zealous hand sanitizer freaks. While hand sanitizer is useful in killing germs, it can have side effects. Hand sanitizer overuse can lead to dry, cracked skin as well as redness, discoloration, and flaking. Beware of overdoing it. Try to sanitize only as necessary—like at the doctor’s office, or when there is no running water to wash your hands.
Bonus tip: In some cases, added scents can make formulas drying instead of hydrating. This
All Good hand sanitizer is unscented, plus it has hydrating ingredients such as aloe, chamomile, and calendula. $4, vitacost.com.
Moisturize lavishly
Choose a really thick hand cream and apply generously. Give yourself a fresh dollop when you get out of the shower, before you go to bed, and any time you do something that causes moisture loss, like after washing your hands or doing the dishes.
Bonus tip: Opt for a tube, which is more hygienic than a tub that you repeatedly have to dip your fingers into. This
Weleda Hand Cream Sea Buckthorn contains precious, biodynamic sea buckthorn oil to form a protective barrier on the skin while it undergoes its processes of repair and renewal. $11, vitacost.com
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