Keeping Your Hands Looking and Feeling Youthful With Age

Our skin ages as we get older. We start to lose collagen in our 20s. Collagen is the main protein found in our connective tissues. The loss of collagen causes our skin to lose elasticity, lose thickness, make wrinkles appear and show aging.

It makes sense that our hands are among the first parts of our body to show aging. We constantly use them, so they get the most wear and tear. There are some things we can do to keep them looking and feeling more youthful as we age.

Hand Sanitizer: Friend or Foe?

Many people use hand sanitizer to keep germs at bay. It is a quick, convenient way to clean our hands without finding a sink and using soap and water. However, the chemicals in hand sanitizer can cause hands to get dry, lose moisture, and age faster. Alcohol is one of the main ingredients in hand sanitizer and has a drying effect. Don’t use hand sanitizer too much if you want your hands to look and feel youthful.

Don’t Wash Your Hands Too Much

There is such a thing as washing your hands too much. It can cause them to age faster. It might be impossible to avoid if you have a job that requires constant hand washing such as a nurse or a cook in a restaurant. If you do wash your hands a lot, be sure to use an exceptional moisturizer that has natural ingredients, such as shea butter, in it. Avoid using moisturizer that has alcohol listed as an ingredient.

Watch Out for Harsh Soaps

When you wash your hands, use a soap that is gentle on them. Try to use a hand soap that has natural ingredients in it instead of harsh chemicals. Try to stay away from hand soaps with artificial fragrances and colors in it. This will help them look and feel younger.

Be Careful of Too Many Gel Manicures

Stick with a traditional manicure instead of a gel manicure. Gel manicures require that your hands be put under a UV lamp. UV rays, like sun rays, cause hands to dry and look prematurely aged.

Slather on the Sunscreen

You should wear sunscreen on your hands every day. One of the top reasons they look and feel dry and have wrinkles on them is the sun and its damaging effects. By keeping your hands protected with sunscreen, you will help them look and feel more youthful as you age.

Essential Oils

Some essential oils are very good for the skin. Essential oils such as tea tree oil, lavender oil, rose oil, and frankincense oil are all wonderful for keeping the skin healthy. A wonderful idea is to mix a couple drops of these oils into some coconut oil and rub the mixture on your hands every day. This will help keep them looking and feeling younger.

Do Hand Exercises

In order to look and feel healthy, doctors advise us to exercise. Believe it or not, it is also important to do hand exercises to keep them looking and feeling healthy. Sometimes they get stiff, swollen or painful. Doing range-of-motion exercises will help keep them in shape. Exercises will help keep the joints and muscles feeling and looking more youthful.

Take Care of Your Hands

Your hands are among the most important body parts and you want them to be as healthy as possible for a long time. Taking good care of them and watching out for the harmful things you do to them will help your hands feel and look more youthful.