The skin on your hands can age fast from exposure to harsh soaps, chemicals, or UV rays. To prevent this, you should extend your anti-aging skincare routines to your hands. These routines are not just for your face and neck. However, people rarely do this. 

Giving your hands the tender loving care they deserve helps you protect them. You can also turn back the hands of time, keeping yourself looking young. So, how do you develop the best way to keep your hands looking young? Here are a few pointers.

Sunscreen

Your hands can develop age spots and other damage from harmful UV rays. The damage can increase gradually the more you continue to spend time in the sun. Apply sunscreen to your hands to prevent the development of age spots and other damage from UV rays.

Find a sunscreen that works with your skin. Apply it every day, especially when going out into the sun. Ensure you reapply your sunscreen after washing your hands. It will keep protecting them from damaging UV rays.

Using Mild Soaps and Detergents

Use mild soaps and detergents when performing household chores. These will keep your hands looking youthful. It will also prevent irritation and dryness. Harsh soaps and detergents leave your clothes and floors squeaky clean. However, they compromise the lipids and proteins that protect your skin and keep it from dehydrating. Wear gloves and protect your hands if you need to use them.

Harsh soaps may also compromise your nails, making them brittle and prone to peeling and breakage. There may not be much to help when the damage sets in, but you can take a break from harsh soaps. As you do this, your skin and nails may begin recovery and regain their natural moisture and oils.

Moisturizing

There is a need to emphasize the moisturizing of hands. It should not happen only when you feel they are dry. Moisturize whenever you clean them with soap. Do the same in the evening before sleeping and before leaving the house. Carry a small tube of protein-rich hand cream if you can. The soothing extracts and essential oils will keep your hands soft and supple throughout the day.

Get a hand cream containing ceramides. The molecules will help activate a protective layer on your skin that retains its natural moisture. Hand cream with glycolic acid and retinol will also treat cracks and dryness.

Exfoliating 

Exfoliating your skin makes it easy for moisturizer to penetrate. You can use a mild scrub for the usual scrubbing. But if your hands have hard calluses, use a body scrub or pumice stone. Afterward, apply a moisturizer. Those that contain urea will soften calluses since it is a humectant. 

Eating a Healthy and Balanced Diet 

Watch what you eat if you want your skin to glow. Eating a rainbow of fruits and vegetables ensures your body gets powerful antioxidants. These protect your skin from the cellular damage of free radicals. Vitamin C helps in collagen production, and vitamin E protects your skin from photo-aging. Omega-3 in nuts, avocados, and oily fish is a natural moisturizer, keeping your skin supple and elastic.

For more information on keeping your hands looking young, call Texas Plastic Surgery at (210) 981-4490 to reach our office in San Antonio, Texas.