It didn’t take me long to realize that my hands have taken a beating over the years. Cold or dry weather, not wearing sunscreen on 
them, weight training, and using household chemicals contribute to premature skin aging. So now it’s a run against the clock for me, as I’m trying to correct all the mistakes I made a number of years ago.
Skin on our hands is very thin and has only a few oil glands, and as a result it gets dry very often. It also produces wrinkles quicker than skin on our faces and the rest of the body, so we have to be extra-careful with how we take care of it.
Now I try to always wear sunscreen on my hands, moisturize them after almost every washing and exfoliate with a scrub once or twice a week. I’m not a big fan of hand masks (get bored after couple of minutes), but if you are, here’s a good moisture-zapping one: combine equal parts of olive oil and honey, mix well and put on your hands for 10-15 minutes. Then rinse and apply lotion. This helps to get rid of dryness really quick.
If you feel the need to brighten the skin on your hands or get rid of some spots (not sun pigmentation), I find that rubbing my skin with half of a lemon for a few seconds helps a lot. Then I rinse my hands with warm water and enjoy the results.
I also try to use heavier and more concentrated moisturizer before bed to soften my hands by the time morning comes. Check out my earlier post ’3 Hand creams I like’ where I talk about my favorite hand potions. The one from Clarins is good for outside, because it has an SPF in it, Clinique cream is a pleasant any-time moisturizer, and La Mer is perfect as an overnight hand remedy.
