My first memory of wrinkles came in my early 30s listening to Aunt Mary banter with her sister, my grandmother. They joked about each other’s wrinkled necks with my grandmother’s neck being likened to a bowl of chittlins. We howled with laugher. And I never forgot that story. At 70 (older now than they were then), I tend to my “turkey wattle” with lotions by day and shea butter at night.
As if worrying about face and neck wrinkles isn’t enough, I just read an article about hand wrinkles! There are special soaps and moisturizers for hands with a tip to drink lots of water to hydrate the body being top of the list.
I have nothing against soaps and potions to retard wrinkles, except it is one more reminder that our aging appearance is unacceptable. Can those wrinkled hands represent something more? I believe they can.
I hail from a “hand” family. My brother is a cartoonist. My mother drew. My father was a drummer. I’ve always loved my hands, not because my fingers were long and beautiful (my piano teacher told me I could never make the “reach,” so maybe I should find another instrument) but because they brought such fun and pleasure. I played volleyball in high school, tether ball in grammar school, took calligraphy classes, sewed, painted pottery, knitted and other hand driven activities as so many of us did.
Our Hands Our Hearts
Hands are an extension of our arms, which are connected to our hearts. The heart is our spiritual center, our core, the place of love and feelings, which don’t age.
I will continue to hydrate, circulate and stimulate my hands for the sake of health and beauty. On those days when the sun highlights my wrinkled hands, I will smile and remember that despite their age, they can still embrace, connect, pray, wave, hold, touch, gather, pat, hug, reach out, give and receive love.
Below is the list of hand remedies as suggested by celebrated New York physician Robert Anolik, M.D., the dermatologist Kelly Ripa and Olivia Palmero credit with their gorgeous skin, and his thoughts on what science can (and can’t) do to help.
First, the at-home remedies:
- Hydrate! Drink water. Avoid alcohol and caffeine, which can cause dehydration, affect the skin’s elasticity and cause wrinkles.
- Switch to a mild PH soap. The average pH level in traditional soap is 9-10, which can lead to dryness because the skin’s normal pH level is only 4-5. Dove’s Original Beauty Bar restores the pH balance and, as ballyhooed in their advertisements, “it’s ¼ moisturizer” to soften hands. Two other options that also restore the pH balance are Aveeno moisturizing bar and Eucerin Advanced Cleansing Body & Face Cleanser.
- Moisturize regularly, apply hand cream every time you shower or wash your hands to prevent dryness and roughness. I’m a fan of CeraVe Therapeutic Hand Cream for Dry Cracked Hands—it has hyaluronic acid to trap moisture, niacinamide to help prevent redness and it is fragrance free. Avène Cicalfate Restorative Hand Cream and Vaseline Dry Hands Rescue are also good options.
- Exfoliate your hands once or twice a week using a gentle loofah to remove the buildup of dead skin cells. This will allow hand creams and lotions to better penetrate the skin. And remember to moisturize immediately after.
- Use sunscreen. Sun damage is the most common cause of hand wrinkles and sunspots. Select a 30+ SPF broad spectrum sunscreen and apply it every day before going outdoors. My favorite is EltaMD UV Sport Sunscreen Lotion, SPF50. It’s non-greasy and won’t leave your hands looking chalky like some sunscreens. It’s also water-resistant, so good for a day at the beach. If I’m going out, I’ll use sunscreen after I wash my hands instead of moisturizer. Two other recommended sunscreens are Supergoop Play Everyday Lotion SPF 50 and Neutrogena Hydro Boost Water Gel Sunscreen SPF 30.
- Avoid hot air dryers, they cause dryness and can spread COVID-19 germs around. Instead, air dry your hands or use a soft paper towel.
- A retinol cream can boost collagen to assist in wrinkle treatment. Apply it at night and rinse off in the morning. Doris Day MD Retinol Body Serum hydrates, reduces the appearance of sun damage and crepeyness and is effective on the arms, legs, chest and back. (Don’t expect miracles, but you should see some improvement.) Paula’s Choice Retinol Body Treatment and the Josie Maran Whipped Argan Pro-Retinol Body Butter could also assist in wrinkle treatment.
- A non-prescription “fade cream” may lighten age spots, depending on how dark the spots are and how often you apply the cream. Both of these can be used on your face too. Dr. Gross’ Clinical IPL Dark Spot Correcting Serum contains two brightening agents: kojic acid and lactic acid. Neutrogena’s Rapid Tone Repair Dark Spot Corrector contains hyaluronic acid, vitamin C and retinol, all of which help support a brighter appearance. Palmer’s Anti-Dark Spot Fade Cream for All Skin Types is also a good affordable option.
- Next time you’re having a manicure, add a paraffin wax treatment. Paraffin wax traps moisture, feels wonderful and helps your skin to feel softer and more supple.
- Hand masks work much the same way as face masks, smoothing and brightening skin. The best ones are gloves that you wear for about 10-15 minutes, such as Aveeno Repairing CICA Hand Mask, which is packed with oatmeal and shea butter; and Epielle Intensive Repairing Mask, a cost-conscious six-pack with coconut oil and hyaluronic acid to hydrate dry skin; and Earth Therapeutics Anti-Aging Retinol Hand Mask, with many organic essential oils to help moisture.
- Call the dermatologist
If there’s a particularly rough patch on your hands (or elsewhere) a dermatologist can determine if it’s an actinic keratosis — an AK, or precancerous growth. If it is, your doctor might prescribe a cream, or use laser, cryotherapy (freezing) or one of the other techniques described below to get rid of them. “This is a case where vanity — going to the doctor because you want to improve the look of your hands — can help save your life, because we discovered those precancerous cells and got rid of them,” Anolik says.
To get rid of age spots, there are laser and pulsed light treatments that will vaporize pigment-producing cells without damaging the skin’s surface, according to Anolik. They usually require two or three, sessions and your doctor will recommend the one right for you.
- Freezing or cryotherapy involves having your doctor swab age spots with liquid nitrogen for a few seconds. Anolik warns that if this is not done correctly, the liquid nitrogen can destroy not only the age spot, but all melatonin-producing cells, leaving behind white spots in their place.
- Prescription-strength skin-lightening creams, such as Tretinoin or Renova, can help (slowly) fade age spots.
- An injection of fillers or a fat transfer from your own body can restore fullness to bony hands and will last about 6 months to a year.
- Some veins are just too big to hide with a filler or fat transfer. A laser treatment during which your dermatologist inserts a laser fiber into the vein or sclerotherapy during which your doctor will inject a substance into the vein are both options.
Bring back gloves!
Gloves have been worn by workers throughout history. And, ironically, upper-class women wore them for centuries, from the Middle Ages until the 1960s, to show that they didn’t have to work. Gloves also help prevent the spread of germs. So bring ’em back, and not just in the winter, but full-time, and you can forget about all of the above!
Excerpted from Lynn Tips for Pampering Your Hands as They Age. And the at-home remedies that really work by Schnurnberger that appeared in The Ethel, Lifestyle, April 11, 2022.
Whether with designer products, or plain soap and water, our hands are to be cared for, as they are conduits to our heart and vessels of love.