At the end of March, in the washroom of a new flat, you arrange the first things you have chosen entirely for yourself. A toothbrush, a towel, a bar of soap. Adding a single bottle of hand serum to that shelf is how hand beauty quietly begins.
A new environment keeps the hands busy. Opening boxes, writing your name on forms, exchanging business cards with strangers, washing again and again in unfamiliar water. Even people with a settled skincare routine for the face tend to leave the hands for later. Yet the hands are said to show age sooner than the face does.
This article is written for anyone picking up a hand serum for the first time, and it keeps the steps to the fewest possible. There are only three things to remember: wash, moisturise, protect. That is enough for the hands to begin changing with the season.
One: wash
Hand beauty starts at the basin. Hot water strips sebum and breaks down the moisture barrier, so use lukewarm water instead. Choose a soap that is gentle on the hands rather than harshly cleansing, wash by wrapping the hands in foam, and rinse thoroughly, because soap left behind is itself a cause of roughness.
When drying, do not rub. Press a towel gently against the skin so no drops remain. This one change alone eases the daily burden on the hands considerably. A soap formulated to moisturise with every wash will also make the tight feeling after washing far less noticeable.
Two: moisturise
Once washed, moisturise straight away. The minutes after washing or wet work are when moisture is lost most easily, so the gap should be as short as possible. For a hand serum, take one or two pearl-sized drops onto the back of one hand. That is a single application.
- Bring the backs of the hands together and spread the serum across them. The backs of the hands have little sebum and dry easily, which is why they are the starting point.
- Work it in with the palms, then interlace the fingers so it reaches the skin between them.
- Finish by pressing lightly around the nails, where the skin dries fastest.
The whole sequence takes under a minute. With a texture that leaves nothing sticky behind, you can pick up a phone or return to the keyboard immediately. If you want a fixed number of times, make it three: after washing, before going out, before bed. Tying it to the natural turning points of the day makes it hard to forget.
If you already own a hand cream
There is no need to throw it away. Smooth in the serum first, then layer the cream on top if you feel you need it. Serum alone for a light feel during the day, serum followed by cream at night or when the air is very dry: that division of roles is the easiest to keep up.
Three: protect
Spring sunlight is stronger than it feels. The backs of the hands are never covered by clothing and receive more sun than the face, yet sunscreen usually stops at the jawline. In the morning, after the serum has settled, apply your usual sunscreen to the backs of the hands too.
Sunscreen comes off the hands with every wash, so on days spent outdoors reapply roughly every two hours. SPF 30 or higher, protecting against both UVA and UVB, is the usual guide. A hand serum has no sun-protective function of its own, which is why the order matters: serum, then sunscreen.
For anyone who does a great deal of wet work, gloves are an ally. Hot water, detergent and soil all dry the skin, so wear gloves for washing up, cleaning and gardening, and moisturise as soon as you take them off. Protection, in practice, comes down to these two habits.
Decide where things live
Habits are shaped, to a surprising degree, by where objects sit. Keep the soap and the serum side by side at the basin, put a bottle in your work bag, perhaps another on the bedside table. If it is within reach, the hand moves before the mind remembers. Settling these places in the first week of a new life is the simplest way to make the routine last.
Spring is also a season in which hands are washed more often, because of pollen and dust, and in which the tension of a new environment tends to dry them out. As a time to begin, it could hardly be better suited.
How to think about the first month
A new habit does not survive perfectionism. Even if you decide on three times a day, there will be days you forget. On those days, one application whenever you remember is enough. Hand beauty is decided by accumulation, not by the size of any single dose.
If you are using a product for the first time, or your skin is easily irritated, try a small amount on the inside of the forearm first. Should you notice redness, itching or irritation, stop using it and consult a dermatologist if necessary. A gentle formula is not the same as a formula that suits every skin.
After a month or so, you will find your hand reaching for the bottle after washing without any conscious decision. Once that happens, hand beauty has become part of your life. More detailed steps and seasonal advice are gathered in our hand beauty guide.
With Soie's hand serum
Soie's Enlight Hand Serum is a beauty serum designed only for the hands. It combines EGF and KGF (skin-conditioning ingredients) with five ceramides and peptides (moisturising ingredients) in a texture that leaves no stickiness, so a phone can be used the moment you finish. The 30 mL bottle is sized to sit comfortably in a new washroom or on a desk.
One new habit for the hands, to mark the start of a new season. Details are on the Enlight Hand Serum page.
