Yes, the hands matter.
Why, you ask?
Well, to begin with, don’t you think it’s a bit jarring when you think a lady is in her, say, mid 40s judging from her face and décolleté and then you notice her hands…and then you think she is decidedly NOT in her 40s. Not even close.
This bothers women so much that now they opt for hand fillers to plump up those hands, and laser procedures to get rid of those sun spots.
Why do the hands age so fast?
To keep it short and sweet, here’s a quick list of reasons: 1. No oil glands! (Read: no natural oils to keep hands hydrated and dry skin breaks down quickly) 2. Tons of sun exposure and often people forget to put sunscreen on the hands 3. You use your hands a lot. And unlike the palm which has no pigmentation btw, the skin is thinner, and can’t take the same abuse your palms take.
The Peach and Lily solution?
For starters, lotions are our hands’ best friends. Next, we’re not great about this, but we try to wear at least a light spf if our hands will be sun-exposed more than usual (think, golf, amusement parks, driving).
And…our secret!
Well, having spent half my life in beauty-obsessed Korea, I picked up on an interesting beauty secret. Rubbing the back of the hand with your palm increases circulation on both your palm and the back of your hand and helps to keep skin youthful. The tip was to rub the back of hands when you have some hands-free downtime. Subway rides, (the boring) meetings (keeping hands under the desk so you don’t look too ridiculous), waiting in lines, to name a few. I started doing this years ago and I guess I won’t know until I’m a bit older but so far my hands are looking the same age as my face. I love this beauty tip because it’s free and at the least I’ll have improved circulation in my hands.
Cheers to hand lotion and for those slightly more beauty-obsessed, a cheers to hand-rubbing too!
-Alicia
