Soie — Hand Beauty

Wrinkles on Hands: The Three Kinds, Where They Appear, and the Habits That Prevent Dryness Lines

Wrinkles on the hands are not one thing. Fine lines raised by dryness, creases etched by years of sunlight and folds that come with age all share the word. Telling them apart shows which ones daily habits can help prevent.

There is a moment, usually in flat daylight, when the backs of the hands seem to have gained a set of fine lines overnight. On another morning the knuckles look more deeply creased than they did. We tend to file wrinkles on hands under age, but the single word covers several things with different origins.

This page sorts wrinkles on hands into three kinds, by dryness, by sun and by age, and explains why they look different on the back of the hand and over the knuckles. It then sets out the daily habits that help prevent the dryness kind, and what prevention can do about the other two.

No cosmetic removes a wrinkle that is already there. What daily habits can do is make the hands slow to gain new ones, and that is the subject here.

The three kinds of wrinkles on hands: dryness, sun and age

The first clue to what kind of wrinkle you are looking at is when it shows.

Dryness lines appear after washing or in a dry room, as a fine network over the backs of the hands and fingers. The stratum corneum is short of water and the surface texture of the skin has become uneven.
Sun lines develop on the backs of hands that have spent years in daylight, alongside a loss of firmness. As a change in the skin this is called photo-ageing, and it tends to advance together with spots.
Age lines come as the structures that keep the skin firm diminish and the fat beneath the skin thins, leaving slack in the skin of the back of the hand that settles into folds.

The three are not independent. Dry skin is more vulnerable to sunlight, and sun-exposed skin loses water more readily, so daily moisturising and sun protection end up touching all three. Why the hands show age before the face is explained on our page about aging hands and age-appropriate care.

Back of the hand, knuckles, wrist: why the lines differ by place

The back of the hand has few sebaceous glands and thin skin. With so little sebum to shield it, dryness lines surface there first; the fan of fine creases that opens when you cup the hand is mostly dryness.

Knuckles and finger joints

The fingers bend and straighten hundreds of times a day, and the skin over each joint carries slack to allow the movement. When that skin is dry, the slack reads as lines, and with age a little looseness joins them. When moisturising, stroke each finger lightly along its length so the moisture reaches into the creases.

Wrist and the base of the thumb

The inside of the wrist and the base of the thumb take friction from watch straps and bag handles. Friction disturbs the stratum corneum and brings out fine lines of its own. These are also the places most often missed, so carry the moisturiser from the back of the hand down to the wrist in one movement.

Daily habits that help prevent dryness lines

Of the three kinds, dryness lines answer most readily to habit. Keeping the water in the stratum corneum and the sebum film over it in balance is, in itself, the prevention.

Turn down the water. Hot water strips sebum. Wash in lukewarm water and pat dry without rubbing.
Moisturise as soon as you dry. Wet hands lose water in the minutes it takes them to dry in the air. Apply moisturiser the moment the towel is put down.
Back of the hand to fingertips. Take the product on the back of one hand, bring the hands together to spread it, interlace the fingers, then press gently around the nails.
Give the evening time. At the end of the day, work into the creases over the joints and down to the wrist. On very dry days, add a cream and sleep in cotton gloves.

By day, choose something that leaves no stickiness so that reapplying after every wash becomes effortless. If the hands are already rough, our page on dry and rough hands sets out the full routine.

Sun and age: what prevention can and cannot do

Sun lines are the sum of exposure, so prevention means reducing what is still to come. Every morning, apply sunscreen to the backs of the hands at the same moment as the face, and reapply roughly every two hours outdoors. Because the hands are washed so often, put it on again before stepping outside. Driving, hanging out laundry, the walk to the shops: short exposures repeated daily add up to long ones.

Age cannot be halted, but keeping the surface of the skin supple stops dryness from compounding it and making every fold look deeper. It helps to separate changes beneath the skin from changes in the skin, and to keep doing what the skin side allows.

The hands reflect how you live

Beyond sunlight, smoking, lack of sleep and heavy drinking are among the lifestyle factors said to hasten ageing of the hands. Like the face, the hands show how the days are spent. If a rough patch does not change with moisturising, or any symptom persists, consult a dermatologist.

Frequently asked questions

Are wrinkles on my hands caused by dryness?

Some are, and others come from sunlight or age. The fine network that stands out after washing or in a dry room is mostly dryness: the stratum corneum is short of water and the surface texture has become uneven. This kind is the one daily moisturising habits can largely help prevent.

Why do the creases over my knuckles look deeper?

The fingers bend hundreds of times a day, so the skin over each joint carries slack to allow movement. When it dries, that slack shows as lines, and with age a little looseness is added. Stroking each finger lightly as you moisturise carries moisture into the creases.

Which habits help prevent wrinkles on the hands?

Wash in lukewarm water, pat dry and moisturise at once. Spread the product from the back of the hand to the fingertips, into the joint creases and down to the wrist. Give the evening time and add a cream on dry days. By day, apply sunscreen to the backs of the hands and reapply outdoors.

Does the sun cause wrinkles on the hands?

Yes. Hands that have spent years in daylight develop lines alongside a loss of firmness, often together with spots; this change is known as photo-ageing. Prevention is a matter of reducing the exposure still to come, with sunscreen every morning and reapplication outdoors.

Can a hand serum be used for wrinkles?

It can be used to prevent dryness and keep the skin of the hands supple. It does not remove lines that are already there. Apply it after washing and before bed, from the back of the hand to the fingertips and into the joint creases, as a daily way of keeping dryness from bringing lines out.

Soie's hand serum

Soie (pronounced swah; French for silk) makes Enlight Hand Serum, a beauty serum designed only for the hands. Five ceramides and peptides (moisturising ingredients) support the sebum film that holds water in the stratum corneum, while EGF and KGF (skin-conditioning ingredients) keep the skin in good condition. It sinks into the backs of the hands and the knuckles, where dryness lines show first, and leaves nothing sticky behind.

That lightness, we believe, is what lets a dryness-prevention habit survive the dozen washes of an ordinary day: under sunscreen in the morning, and worked slowly into the creases at night. Further questions about wrinkles on hands are answered in our Hand Beauty Q&A.