THE IMPORTANCE OF HAND CARE

The Importance of Hand Care
by Katrina Orzillo (Guest Author - FIT Advertising) & Dr. Shamil 

Sources: 

https://www.today.com/style/start-anti-aging-hand-care-routine-prevent-aging-hands-t135665
https://www.goodhousekeeping.com/uk/fashion-beauty/skincare-advice/a569223/anti-ageing-tips-hands-prevent-wrinkles/ 

Why should we focus on hand care? 

When most people think of skincare, they often only focus on the face and the neck. However, the hands are one of the first spots to begin showing signs of aging. The skin naturally loses collagen as we age, causing the skin on our hands to look thin and wrinkly. Based on this, on a day to day basis, we should protect our hands just as much as we protect our faces. There are many daily activities that we engage in that could be very damaging to our hands, such as washing dishes, cleaning, using harsh soaps, or simply being exposed to the sun. Adapting a regular hand care routine to coincide with your skincare routine is a major key to fighting anti-aging.

Protecting your hands from the sun

Whether it’s your face or your hands, sun exposure plays a huge role in the anti-aging process. While most people are usually concerned with applying sunscreen on the face and all over the body, the hands are just as important. Although it is very easy to neglect the hands, applying SPF to them is a crucial step to combating aging. Overall, daily our hands are not as well protected from UV rays as other areas of our body are. Putting this into perspective, most of our bodies are covered with clothing, and many people apply makeup and moisturizers to their face that include SPF without even knowing it. Based on this, the hands are an important part of the body that are typically exposed to the sun the most. You can start counteracting this, simply by applying sunscreen thoroughly to your hands the next time you apply it to your face and body. From there, you can even begin to work this step into your daily routine to really give your hands the level of protection that they deserve.

Protecting your hands from daily stressors 

As previously mentioned, there are many activities that we perform daily that could be very damaging to our hands in the long run. Something as simple as washing our hands frequently could even cause damage. Repeated contact with water can ultimately strip the lipids of the skin and damage the skin’s barrier function. This can lead to dryness, which can be prevented with the frequent use of hand lotion throughout the day. Also, washing dishes and cleaning with chemicals are tasks that should not be completed without protecting your hands first. Investing in a pair of rubber gloves to wear during these activities is very important. Naturally, our skin already loses elasticity and collagen as we age, causing them to feel more fragile. There is no reason to assist this process even further by not protecting your hands from potential stressors that could be avoided very easily.

Establishing a hand care routine

Overall, while there are many natural agents that contribute to the aging of our hands, neglecting the hands plays a huge role in this process. Regarding skincare, the majority of people are well aware of the fact that we need to care for our skin daily and take many steps to diminish signs of aging. However, one of the main reasons our hands reflect our age is since we often don’t give our hands the care that they really need. Just like our faces, our hands have their own set of needs that shouldn’t be disregarded. Naturally, our hands have fewer glands that produce natural oils than our faces do, making our hands more prone to dryness. All the stressors previously mentioned could also lead to excessive drying. These ideas illustrate how important is to use hand creams daily, specifically creams that include long-term benefits. During the day, it is best to use sunscreen or hand creams that contain SPF to moisturize. At night, it is important to use protein rich moisturizers that include ingredients such as hyaluronic acid, emblica, and essential oils, which all include anti-aging benefits. The regular use of gloves is also just as important, whether it is rubber gloves to use when cleaning, or gloves to protect your hands from the frigid cold in the winter. Overall, our hands should not be an afterthought in skin care, since they are even more susceptible to aging than our faces are!


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