The reason most men never start caring for their hands is not that they see no need. It is that there is no fixed time or place for it. Evenings are tiring; the day is spent in view of other people. Follow that line of thought and what remains is the basin in the morning. Wash the face, shave, sort out the hair. Slip the hands into that sequence and not a single new habit has been added.
This article builds a hand care routine for a man's morning as three minutes that begin and end at the basin. Nothing sticky, nothing strongly scented, nothing long. Those three conditions keep hand care going for anyone, whatever their gender, but they weigh most heavily on a man's hands first thing in the morning.
After shaving, the hands have been washed more than the face
At the morning basin the hands do more work than the face. They lather the cleanser, rinse with hot water, wet the face before and after shaving, wash the razor. The face is washed once; the hands are in hot water and cleanser throughout. The back of the hand has few sebaceous glands and thin skin, and in those few minutes its sebum film is gone.
Most men put something on their face after washing and nothing on their hands, which are simply dried on a towel. Yet what is happening to the hands at that moment is what is happening to the face: the sebum film has been rinsed away and water is about to evaporate. Doing something for the hands for the same reason it is done for the face is where morning hand care begins.
Three minutes, before leaving the basin
- Dry. With the towel used for the face, press the backs of the hands and the spaces between the fingers. No rubbing, no droplets left behind. Ten seconds.
- One drop of serum. Take a single pearl-sized drop of hand serum on the back of one hand, bring the backs of both hands together and spread it to the spaces between the fingers. Thin, in the morning, is the rule. Thirty seconds.
- Let it settle while doing the hair. Anyone who uses no styling product can run their hands through their hair while the serum settles; anyone who does should finish the hair first and then begin. One minute.
- Sunscreen on the backs of the hands. The sunscreen that goes on the face goes on the backs of the hands too, SPF 30 or above, before stepping outside. Thirty seconds.
- Before the watch goes on, look at the backs of the hands once. Any dry patch left? If so, add half a drop. Ten seconds.
The total falls short of three minutes. Nothing has been added to the routine; a few movements for the hands have been slipped between movements that were already happening at the basin.
A bottle kept at the basin can be shared by the household. The morning basin is the most crowded place in the home, and a bottle standing there belongs to nobody in particular; it belongs to the basin. For anyone hesitant about buying something for himself, this is the arrangement that works.
Three conditions for a product that suits a man's morning
Whether the morning routine survives is decided by the nature of what is used.
- No stickiness. Straight after applying, the hands take hold of a bag, a door handle, a smartphone, a strap on the train. A product that leaves a film on the palms has no place in the morning.
- A scent that stays close. Fragrance drifting from the hands on a commuter train or in a meeting room is unwelcome. The morning standard is a scent noticed only when the hand is brought near. For a quieter impression there are options such as SUPREME TEA, built on tea and herbs.
- A short routine. One drop, spread, done. Anything with two or more stages does not last at a morning basin.
None of these is a condition for men alone. But the shorter the morning and the longer the hours spent in company, the heavier the three conditions weigh.
Even the morning alone changes the hands
No evening routine, no reapplying during the day. Even so, one application every morning, kept without fail, changes how the hands feel. The tightness across the back of the hand lessens; the dry feeling over the knuckles eases. Hand care turns less on how many times than on whether there is one application that never gets missed.
Changes in the hands are often noticed by others before they are noticed by oneself: the fingertips handing over a business card, the back of the hand holding a glass. Dry hands are looked at more than their owner imagines.
Once the morning is established, the next thing to add is the wash on coming home. A second bottle in the hallway or the bathroom puts the same thirty seconds into the evening. The whole order of washing, moisturising and protecting is on our hand care page. Hand care for men is not that order with something taken away; it is the same order, made shorter.
How Soie sees it
Soie's products are designed to be unisex, and men use them. Enlight Hand Serum sinks in smoothly without stickiness; one drop spread at the morning basin, and the watch goes on and the bag is picked up straight away. It contains five ceramides and peptides (moisturising ingredients) and EGF and KGF (skin-conditioning ingredients), in a formula gentle enough for sensitive skin. If it does not agree with your skin, stop using it.
At the morning basin, one drop for the hands for the same reason as the face. Hand care for men is not a new habit. It fits inside three minutes that already exist.
