You’re forever young, of course! But, lately, your hands have been showing some signs of aging. Never fear! We have five tips for you to apply right now!
You know that saying, “I know it like the back of my hand?” Have you ever wondered how that makes any sense when most of us don’t pay attention to that area of our body?
Our hands are something we often take for granted — until they start to look older.
Because of the thin skin over this part of our body, it’s one of the first places we begin to show signs of aging. We use our hands for almost everything we do, so they wear down faster.
Once you start to see things like wrinkles or spots on your skin, they can seem like glaring problems. You can’t unsee them! But you can do something to slow down the aging process, no matter where you’re at in your life.
Use these tips to protect your essential appendages and reduce the appearance of age in your hands.
1. Start With Protection
source: ucsf.edu
Preventative care is always the best policy, no matter what you’re trying to protect. Avoiding damage to your hands starts with covering them up.
As much as you can, find ways to defend your sensitive hands against the elements. They do a lot for you, so a little bit of precaution on your end isn’t the end of the world.
Use gloves when you wash your dishes or use chemicals. The harsh temperature of hot water is not good for your skin, and neither are toxic chemicals.
Going outside is a part of life, but this affects your hands every time you do. When you are in cold or dry air, gloves protect your skin’s moisture and prevent painful cracking. Add sunblock to your hands and any exposed skin before spending time in the sun.
These small preventative measures add up to years of younger-looking hands.
2. Moisturize and Exfoliate
source: pinterest.com
Like the thin skin on your face, your hands need TLC, too.
The skin is your body’s largest organ, and it consists of about 64% water. When you expose skin to the air, it dries out. When you don’t drink enough, it dries out.
Moisturizing your skin helps to lock the water inside the cells where it belongs. You can use an unscented moisturizing cream without toxic chemicals multiple times a day. It’s crucial to lather up some lotion on freshly washed skin. This takes advantage of the water on the surface before it evaporates.
Your skin cells rejuvenate regularly as they sustain damage and die. Much of the dead cells stay on your skin and clog it, though. An exfoliating treatment sloughs these off and brings up fresh, young skin.
Exfoliate once or twice a week, depending on the product’s instructions and how your skin responds.
3. Get Treatment for Age Spots
source: medicalnewstoday.com
Once you start noticing age spots on your hands, you have some options to help lighten or get rid of them.
There are some professional over-the-counter or prescription anti-aging cream you can try. These, of course, take time to see results. Anything that promises immediate miracles is probably not legit.
If the anti-aging is really bothering you, and you want fast results, talk to your doctor about your medical options.
These could include:
- Cryotherapy – In this treatment, the body or a specific area is exposed to significantly low temperatures. This cold treatment reduces inflammation and increases antioxidants in the skin.
- Laser therapy – Also called “resurfacing,” this therapy uses beams of light to remove layers of unwanted skin. It’s a common treatment for warts, wrinkles, scars, and enlarged pores.
- Chemical peeling – Chemical peels use acid to exfoliate the skin. Specialists use them to treat acne, scarring, redness, and other conditions at the top two skin layers.
- Microdermabrasion – If sun spots, hyperpigmentation, and wrinkles are aging your hands, microdermabrasion is a potential treatment for you. An abrasive applicator gently scrubs away thick, dead skin cells, letting fresh skin shine through.
Dermatologists in your area may offer some or all these treatments. There are pros and cons to each one. Talk to a specialist to learn more about any that interest you.
4. Quit Bad Habits
source: webmd.com
It’s not always about what you need to start doing. When it comes to your body’s aging processes, what you should stop doing is often the culprit.
Your bad habits could be causing your hands to look older.
If you’re guilty of any of these common skin-aging problems, quitting might be your fastest way to improve your hand health:
- Smoking, since the chemicals in nicotine starve your cells of oxygen
- Not getting enough sleep for your brain to do the restorative care your body needs after a long day
- Too much alcohol, which dehydrates your skin
- Taking hot showers and not moisturizing afterward
Good habits are essential to healthy skin, but bad habits can counteract all your hard work.
5. Treat Yourself
source: npr.org
Self-care in the form of some hand pampering is never a bad idea! But those spa days can be costly, and who has time, anyway?
If you don’t want to leave the house, it’s okay! Spa treatments don’t only have to happen at the salon.
Start with a basic manicure, easily done with a simple kit. If you don’t want to do your own hands, invite a friend over for a mutual mani-pedi session.
Give yourself a treat with an inexpensive hand and foot bath. Follow it up with relaxing paraffin wax and an exfoliating scrub. End your pamper party with a moisturizer, a glass of wine, and a movie!
Conclusion
Most of us don’t think about the daily damage done to our hands. Over time, this adds up, and the skin in these areas shows signs of aging.
These five tips explore at Live Enhanced your hands staying young and healthy-looking far into your golden years!
[Author bio]
Janey Ha, Business Manager at Mariposa on 3rd, has over eight years of experience in property management. She has a strong background in hospitality and is a local to the Koreatown/DTLA market. Mariposa on 3rd is a stylishly designed boutique apartment community at the threshold of LA’s budding metropolis, located within the hip neighborhood of Koreatown while just moments from DTLA.
