Hands up
It’s time to start taking care of our mitts
Our hands take a hammering on a daily basis, from dry chapped skin to ragged and stained nails (Guilty – Beauty ed Tara). Here are a few simple ways to turn your claws into paws.
Get scrubbing
We scrub our face and body, so why do we neglect our hard-working hands? Next time you’re in the shower, use a little body scrub on your hands – all over, front and back – and glory in your newly soft mitts.
Our pick
Make your own. Mix a little olive oil with a little brown sugar to a paste and rub all over your hands. If you want smell lemony fresh, swap the brown sugar for white and add 10 drops of lemon essential oil.
Sunsafe
Age spots, liver spots, sun spots: whatever you call them, they reveal our age much quicker than the skin on our face and neck, which we lavish gorgeous creams on. These flat gray, brown or black spots are due to the over production of melanin in the skin and can vary in size. Prevention really is the best solution here by using a sun screen on your hands every day.
Our pick
Time and again we return to Roger & Gallet’s range of hand creams and the Crème Sublime with nourishing Shea butter and protective argan oil has an SPF 15. (€6.50)
For existing age spots, look to Clinique’s EVEN BETTER DARK SPOT CORRECTING HAND CREAM SPF15. Brightening actives such as Vitamin C and Liquorice extract help to fade the spots and the discolouration, while still moisturising. (€29.50)
Mask the signs
Now that they are silky soft, why not treat them to a little pampering? Next time you are applying a face mask, cover your hands too.
Our pick
Opt for something hydrating or rejuvenating like Super Facialist Rose Hydrate Intense Moisture Mask. From Irish facialist to the stars, Una Brennan’s mask will drench your skin in moisture and White Willow extract, known to enhance skin cell turnover, will leave them looking radiant.
For a little overnight attention, a slick of Liz Earle Superskin Hand Serum with antioxidants, Vitamin E and omega-3 will leave hands strokeably soft.
Hands down
There are now a slew of anti-ageing products created solely for our hands with targeted ingredients to make them look and feel younger.
Our pick
Clarins age control hand cream (€20) is a lightweight lotion that uses mulberry and grape to lighten liver spots, soothe dry red patches and protect against further damage, thanks to an SPF 15.
Upping the ante, Gatineau’s Age Benefit Hand Treatment Cream (€52) not only corrects age spots thanks to red algae extract, hyaluronic acid and Hawaiian algae extract promise to smooth out wrinkles.
Beauty ed’s pick
The balm has been a runaway success since its launch and now La Roche Posay has created Cicaplast Hands (€7.50) with 30 per cent glycerin to nourish and protect. It acts like a barrier and lasts up to three washes with water and resists up to six successive dryings. As impressive as we’d expect.
Needing just one application a day, Vichy NutriExtra Hands (€6) is a fast penetrating, intensely nourishing and repairing hand cream that reaches the deepest layers of the skin with no greasy residue.
A good choice for those on the go, Australian Bodycare Hand Cream (€8.99) has anti-bacterial Tea Tree oil while Shea butter and argan oil keep you soft and smooth. Paraben- and perfume-free, ideal for sensitive types.
The hardest-working hands need special attention and Organic Gardener’s and Harsh Conditions Hand Cream from The Burren Perfumery will take care of chapping and redness. (€15 from www.burrenperfumery.com)
On the job, Kiehl’s Ultimate Strength Hand Salve (€22) was created with certain industries in mind and this heavy duty emollient forms a glove-like barrier that the likes of nurses, hairdressers and gardeners will appreciate. Deliciously scented thanks to the blend of avocado, eucalyptus and sesame seed oils, this sinks in super fast with no oily after effect.
Sensitive issue
Sally Penford, Education Manager with the International Dermal Institute tells us how to look after sore and sensitive hands.
“Your skin produces its own natural oils and moisture to keep it protected from dehydration and invasion of external aggressors. This protective barrier has an acidic ph which must be maintained for healthy skin. Most soaps have an alkaline ph which strips the skin’s protective barrier, leaving it vulnerable to moisture loss and sensitivity and redness. Look for an acid balanced cleanser that will leave your skin intact. It may even be worth looking at a creamy facial cleanser for a while until the skin heals. Get into the habit of using a non greasy hand cream immediately after every wash. Look for vitamins like B5, A and E to help repair the skin and soothe irritation while supporting the skin’s natural barrier. In addition pop on a thick layer of the cream before you go to bed at night to allow really great regeneration to take place. And do try to wear rubber gloves wherever possible when washing up or gardening to keep hands protected.”
As you’d expect from the skin expert’s, Dermalogica’s MultiVitamin Hand and Nail Treatment has all of the key ingredients like vitamin C, high levels of algae extract, panthenol and allantoin all designed to deeply condition the skin.
Want to put yourself in the hands of the experts? Kate Verling of Mink Hand and Foot spa explains how a salon treatment goes that extra step.
“We use really high quality waxes with concentrated essential oils that penetrate deep into the skin. Your hands are immersed into the hot wax until it forms almost a glove like film on the skin. We then pop your hands into heated mittens to further allow the oils to reach the skin. This is excellent for boosting circulation, especially in the winter months. Once removed, skin feels incredibly soft, nourished and smooth. Our Rose Petal and Mint Manicure (€55) will include a paraffin treatment, and many clients have this as an add-on treatment to their weekly manicure or file and paint for just €10.” Mink, Ballsbridge; Tel: 01 636 2100; Donnybrook: Tel 01 260 3076; www.mink.ie
