Soie — Hand Beauty

A Mother's Day Hand Care Gift: Gratitude for the Hands That Did Everything

The hand you held as a child, the hands that cooked, hung out the washing and checked your forehead. A Mother's Day hand care gift gives those hands some time of their own. Here is what to give, how to choose a scent, and what to say.

Flowers are the first thing most of us think of for Mother's Day. They are beautiful, and they are gone within the week. More and more people now add, or substitute, something for their mother's hands: a gift that is used every day and lasts for weeks.

A mother's hands may be the hardest-working hands in the family. Washing up, detergent, garden soil, sun. The face may have had its lotion every evening, but the hands were washed, dried and forgotten, for decades.

This page covers why hand care is a fitting Mother's Day gift, whether to give a serum, a soap or both, how to choose a fragrance from the way your mother spends her days, and how to give it, with the right words, whether she lives nearby or far away.

Why a Mother's Day hand care gift means more than it looks

Hands meet water, detergent, friction and sunlight every day and lose their sebum film easily. The backs of the hands have little sebum and thin skin, so dryness and the signs of age appear there first. If your mother's hands look as though they have worked, it is because they have, for the family.

That is why a hand care gift for Mother's Day is not about making hands look younger. It says: these hands have done everything for everyone, and now they can have some time for themselves. Moisture with every wash, fragrance with every application: a small pause that comes round several times a day.

It is also a gift that suits any age and skin type, takes up no space and is used up rather than stored, which makes it an easy thing for a mother to accept. Mothers are often the first to say they need nothing; a bottle at the basin is something she can accept without feeling she has been fussed over.

What to give: a serum, a soap, or both

Choose by where your mother's hands work hardest, and by what she already has at the basin. A quick look on your next visit, or a casual question, tells you more than any list of recommendations could.

For a mother who spends long hours in the kitchen, a soap that moisturises with every wash. The more often hands are washed, the more the sebum film is lost, and a soap that leaves no tightness matters more. One that works on hands and body can be shared with your father.

For a mother who rarely spends on herself, a serum made only for the hands. She may own a hand cream; she is unlikely to own a serum, and "the fine thing she would never buy herself" is the whole gift. A texture that leaves no stickiness means she can use it between chores.

Give both in the same fragrance and you are giving the complete habit, wash then moisturise, in one scent. A habit that begins on Mother's Day carries on into every ordinary day after it. The basics of the habit are set out in our hand beauty guide.

Choosing the fragrance from the way she spends her days

Scent reaches emotion and memory through the sense of smell. Adding a fragrance to a Mother's Day gift brightens one hour of her day a little. Choose it from what she loves and how she spends her time.

For a mother who guards her tea time, LUXURY FLORAL, bergamot and neroli over rose, with the ease of an afternoon at a hotel. For a mother with a feeling for Japanese aesthetics, or one who grows flowers, the calm of SUPREME TEA, green and black tea with herbs, or the lightness of COLOR DROPS, lilac and wisteria. For a mother who enjoys dressing up, ELEGANT TIME, osmanthus and tuberose with a touch of spice. For a mother starting something new, SAKURA, white lavender and cherry blossom, a scent for a first step.

When in doubt, a soft floral citrus or a clean cherry-blossom scent is easy to receive. The notes of each are on our fragrance page, and there is a piece on choosing a Mother's Day scent in our journal.

How to give it, near or far, and what to write

If your mother lives far away, send it in a gift bag with a card that gives one instruction: "After your bath, from the backs of the hands to the edges of the nails." Call when it arrives and talk her through the first application, and the gift becomes something you did together.

If she lives with you or nearby, you have the privilege of handing it over. Put the soap by the basin together. Or take her hands and smooth the serum in yourself. A gift that touches the hands allows this, and the gesture of spreading it becomes the thank-you.

The words need not be long. "These hands have helped me all my life." "From now on, something for your hands." One memory of her hands is enough for the card. There is a longer piece on a mother's hands in our journal.

Frequently asked questions

Isn't hand care a predictable Mother's Day gift?

Hands change every year and the habit continues every day. Flowers last a week; a hand care gift is picked up several times a day and brings the giver to mind each time. Change the fragrance or the combination each year and it never becomes the same gift twice.

Can an older mother use a hand serum?

Yes. A hand serum is designed for any age and skin type, and a gentle formula that sensitive skin can use adds reassurance. Suggest she stop if her skin reacts and try a small amount on the inner arm first; the full ingredient list is on the product page.

How do I choose a fragrance for Mother's Day?

From how she spends her days. A soft floral citrus for a mother who loves tea time, tea and herbs for one drawn to quiet or the garden, osmanthus for one who enjoys dressing up. If unsure, a floral citrus or a cherry-blossom scent is easy to receive.

What should I keep in mind when sending it to a mother who lives far away?

Send it in a gift bag with one line on the card about when to use it, then call when it arrives and talk about the first application. Arrange for it to arrive a little before Mother's Day so she can open it without hurry and start the habit on the day itself.

Is it suitable for a mother-in-law?

Very. It avoids colour and taste, suits any age and skin type, and feels considered without being intimate. Choose a quiet, refined floral citrus or a calm tea scent, and give the serum and the soap in the same fragrance for a gift that looks complete.

Soie's suggestion: wash, then moisturise, for your mother's hands

Soie (pronounced swah; French for silk) makes Enlight Hand Serum, a beauty serum designed only for the hands with EGF and KGF (skin-conditioning ingredients) and five ceramides and peptides (moisturising ingredients), and Moist Fragrance Hand & Body Soap, which moisturises with every wash, each in five fragrances by the brand's dedicated perfumer. The serum leaves no stickiness, so it can be used between chores, and both are gentle enough for sensitive skin and children.

Give them in one fragrance as a complete habit, or mix the scents to suit her day; a dedicated gift bag is available. Think of the years her hands have worked, then choose on our gift page.

Soie products

From the Hand Beauty Journal

All journal entries →