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Dear Betsy,
I am always trying to find ways to keep myself looking young.
My skin is good as I really take care of it, but recently I have noticed my hands are not looking so good. Can you offer any tips for keeping my hands looking young?
Naema
Dear Naema,
Our hands can really give our age away. This is what I call the ‘Madonna Syndrome’. Madonna is a perfect example of ageing hands, and the glossies are always picking up on this and showing pics of Madonna’s flawless complexion and close ups of her gnarled, arthritic looking hands.
The very first thing you should do is protect your hands from exposure to the sun, as this will age your hands (skin) quicker than anything else. Try applying a sun screen of SPF 15+ every day. You can use a regular facial sun block although it is now possible to buy hand creams with a built in sun block. Wearing gloves while you are driving can also help as you are still exposed to UV rays through the car windows. Always wear rubber gloves when carrying out household chores such as cleaning or washing up as the chemicals and detergents in cleaning products will severely dehydrate your hands and may cause irritation in some people.
Basically I always advise that you follow the same basic skin care routine for your hands as you do for your face. (It is a pity that Madonna doesn’t seem to have done this!) To cleanse, use non-detergent vegetable-based soaps, for toning, you can use rose water or orange flower water, for exfoliating you can use a regular commercial body scrub or try mixing some granulated sugar with some fresh lemon juice and using this as a natural scrub for hands, nails, arms etc up to your elbows. The natural bleaching action of the lemon will deep cleanse and whiten the skin, as the mechanical exfoliating action of the sugar will remove dead skin cells.
When you are using avocadoes, never throw away the skin. Scoop out the flesh and rub the inside of the skins all over your hands and nails. Avocado oil is a superbly rich moisturiser, is packed with the super-antioxidant vitamin E and you can even use the mashed up flesh as a great hair conditioner mixed with a beaten egg, to combat the effects of ageing on your hair.
Keeping your nails and cuticles in good condition is also important whether you are male or female. Basic good grooming for hands involves clean, neat nails with conditioned cuticles and no hang nails. Hang nails are those bits of dry skin that grow around the nail bed and fingertips that you are severely tempted to bite or pull off. They usually result from over cutting the cuticles and/or neglecting the cuticle and letting it overgrow the nail and split. Massage some olive or almond oil into your cuticles three times a week and push back gently with the towel every time you dry your hands. After Exfoliating using my sugar scrub recipe (which can also be used on the body but NOT the face) you can use a hydrating face mask on you hands. Any commercial face mask for dry skin will serve the purpose.
You can also try massaging in some warmed olive or sweet almond oil and wrapping your hands in cling-film then in towels for 20 minutes or longer, as a deep conditioning treatment. Follow this with a good hand cream. You can also purchase white cotton gloves from the pharmacy and wear these overnight, or when you are at home, after applying your hand cream, for a deep moisturizing effect.
As my granny always used to say, “prevention is better (and easier) than cure” so take care of your hands on a daily basis.
