The hands are a record of how we live. The hours spent in the sun, the number of times they were washed, the things they gripped, the length of our sleep. What the face tells through expression, the hands tell through the condition of their skin. That is why the hands, like the face and body, are said to be shaped by the way we live day to day.
In September, hands that have shuttled all summer between strong sun and air conditioning begin to show their fatigue. It is a good moment to review which parts of daily life are weighing on them. That is the purpose of this article.
The lifestyle factors generally pointed to as hastening the ageing of the hands are, besides ultraviolet light, air pollution, smoking, diet, lack of sleep and excessive alcohol. To these we add the burdens specific to the hands, washing, friction and wet work, and arrange the whole under seven headings.
The seven factors
We take them one at a time. Each comes with a small response that lies within reach of the hands themselves.
One: ultraviolet light
The backs of the hands are never covered by clothing, are always exposed to the open air, and are said to receive more sun than the face. The changes in the skin that follow years of exposure are known as photoageing, and they are considered a cause of lost firmness, dryness, dullness and spots on the backs of the hands.
The response is sunscreen every morning and reapplication outdoors. It washes off the hands with every rinse, so reapply roughly every two hours. Sunlight through the car window, the time spent hanging out laundry, the few minutes taking out the rubbish. Even at home, the hands catch the sun more often than we assume.
Two: dry air, heating and cooling
With little sebum and thin skin, the back of the hand takes dry air directly. Winter air and heating, summer air conditioning: all of it is dry. Long hours at a computer in heated or cooled rooms are said to slow circulation, and dullness and dryness tend to follow.
In dry air, moisturising is sustained by frequency. Keep a hand serum on the desk and apply it whenever the hands feel dry. Not a larger amount, but more often.
Three: friction and washing
The hands are washed, dried and put to work gripping things many times a day. Each wash removes the sebum film and upsets the balance between the water in the stratum corneum and the film that covers it. Rubbing with a towel is friction, and friction is a strain on the thin skin of the back of the hand.
The response is to wash well. Lukewarm water, a soap that is not harshly cleansing, a thorough rinse. Pat rather than rub when drying. Then moisturise immediately. Keeping this order intact is what reduces the burden on the hands the most.
Four: hot water and wet work
Hot water strips sebum and breaks down the moisture barrier. Washing up, cleaning and gardening expose the hands to hot water, detergent and soil, and staying wet for long stretches is a strain on both the skin and the nails.
Keep the water temperature moderate, wear gloves for prolonged wet work, and replenish moisture with a hand serum as soon as you finish. Put gloves on only once the hands are completely dry, and choose powder-free or latex-free gloves to reduce irritation.
Five: sleep and diet
Lack of sleep and diet are both pointed to as lifestyle factors that age the hands faster. That the skin of the face responds to sleep and food is widely known; the skin of the hands belongs to the same body.
From a cosmetic standpoint there is little we can state with certainty here. What we can say is that building night-time hand care into the routine before bed turns a few minutes of the evening into time given to your own hands. After washing at the end of the day, smooth a hand serum from the backs of the hands to the nail contours. A form that leaves nothing sticky stays off the bedding, and the fragrance keeps company with the hour of rest.
Six: smoking and excessive alcohol
Smoking and excessive alcohol are also named among the factors that hasten the ageing of the hands. Neither is a matter of the hands alone; both belong to the way the whole body is lived in.
Soie is not a brand that gives lifestyle instruction. But if looking at the hands becomes a prompt to look again at daily life, we consider that one of the roles of hand beauty.
Seven: air pollution
Air pollution is listed as one more external factor. Like the face, the hands are in constant contact with the outside air, and the ordinary habit of washing the hands on returning home carries meaning here as well.
Wash, then moisturise. Including that last step turns the act of rinsing away what was brought home from outside into a habit that also sets the skin of the hands in order.
Seven points of view, three habits
Seven factors may sound like a great deal, but what can be done on the hands' side comes down to three habits. Wash gently, moisturise without delay, and shield the hands from the sun during the day. Repeat them at the turning points of the day.
The lifestyle factors themselves cannot all be changed at once. But the temperature of the water that touches your hands, a bottle kept on the desk, and the morning sunscreen extended to the backs of the hands can all begin today. If a change is sudden, if an area does not alter however much you moisturise, or if any symptom that concerns you persists, do not rely on your own judgement; consult a dermatologist.
Why the hands reflect age so readily is the subject of our article why hands show age first. The full routine is set out in our hand beauty guide.
Soie's view
Soie (pronounced swah; French for silk) has designed its beauty serum only for the hands, starting from the fact that the hands receive external stress without pause and show dryness and the changes of age before anywhere else. The lifestyle factors cannot be removed, but the skin that bears them can be given moisture every day and left smooth.
To handle the hands, as the record of a life, with care: that is what we mean by hand beauty. Enlight Hand Serum is introduced here.
