Hands Don’t Lie

Dear Amy,
I have seen the Curel light and love that it moisturizes without being sticky. But I have another more specific lotion question. I’m one of those people who started using anti-aging moisturizer by 20 because I figured that it couldn’t hurt and could only help. My face is still in good shape, but I’ve begun to get paranoid about my hands. They say (you know, those people, probably advertising writers) that the hands can be the first to show signs of aging. I’ve looked a bit and haven’t found much in the way of anti-aging hand cream.
Can you suggest anything? I feel like it’s a waste to use my face cream because I’m a scientist and wash my hands constantly. Still I’d feel better knowing that I am doing everything I can to prevent hand-aging.
Thanks,
Kathryn
Oh my God, Those People! They are always finding new ways to mess with our heads. I also seem to hear that “I’m 35, but my hands look MUCH OLDER” lady every time I look at my hands. (So points to the advertisers who came up with that commercial, but then major points deducted because I don’t have a clue as to what product was actually being advertised.)
Anyway, there are a bazillion and one anti-aging creams formulated just for hands. Strivectin, the stretch-mark and wrinkle people, now have a cream and a “NanoExfoliant” (shwaa?) especially formulated for hands. Lancome has its Absolue Hand, which supposedly works wonders on those little brown sun spots women get as they age.
But these are probably a little hardcore for a lot of us. Sure, they can’t hurt, but paying almost $50 for them? Basic preventive care for your hands doesn’t have to cost that much. A nice rich hand cream applied twice a day and sunscreen in the morning will most definitely reduce your chances of getting premature prune hands.
I’m really bad about remembering suncreen, even though I know. I KNOW! It’s pretty much the best way to prevent almost every skin-related problem in the book. (By the way, I’m currently testing out face sunscreens for an upcoming Price Tag Cage Match, so if you’ve got one you love or have always wondered about, let me know!)
For basic hand care, I love the Burt’s Bees Hand Repair Kit — it’s got pretty much everything you need, minus an SPF product. The Shea Butter Repair Creme is also part of their anti-aging line. Burt’s stuff is all natural, so there’s no fancy NanoExfoliant Collagen ReJuvenators or whatever the hell, but I like it. Since you wash your hands a lot, I’d keep a small tube of the Curel handy for a mid-day moisturizing, since dry hands are not going to be pretty hands.
As for the sunscreen, you can go fancy. Like Fresh Sun Shield SPF 30 — which promises all sorts of results through the awesome power of…algae. Or Clarins Sun Wrinkle Control Cream SPF 30, which you could use on your face as well. As long as you don’t wash your hands too soon after applying it, you should only have to use it once a day.
Or you can go cheap, if you don’t really care about all those exotic extra ingredients and just go for the SPF. Aveeno, Coppertone, whatever. Either use something you’ve already got lying around or play with the testers at the store to find something you like. The biggest factor is just USING IT. The specific brand is much less important.
Love,
The World’s Biggest SPF Hypocrite, But She Promises To Be Better