A helping hand for our aging mitts

Tag : titanium block

These days, a face can be an ageless mystery. Botox smoothswrinkles and collagen gives sagging skin the lovely plump of youth.
But hands tell the truth even when the face lies. Blotchy brown agespots, bulbous veins and paper-thin, crinkly skin shatter thesecret of one's years as surely as a tabloid gossip.
Each year, millions of Americans receive youth-seeking injections.But Austin says few clients seem concerned about their hands.
They should be, according to dermatologist Eric Hanson of Portland."Hands get a lifetime cumulative exposure to ultraviolet rays, morethan other places on the body," he says. "But there are simplethings people can do."
Here are Hanson's hand-care tips for those motivated by vanity,health or both.
Why hands age: Besides our face, hands are the part of our bodies that receivethe most year-round sun exposure. Photoaging comes from UVA, whichis always present during daytime even when it's cloudy (and isdifferent from cancer-causing UVB). Hands are nearly alwaysuncovered.
How to slow signs of aging: It's pretty basic. Use sunscreen on your hands, often. Find what'scalled a broad-spectrum sunscreen made with titanium, zinc ormexoryl because they block UVA. Remember that sunscreen comes offeach time you wash your hands.
Moisturize, often. Hanson says nothing's worse for looking old thanvery dry hands. Youthful-looking hands need moisture.
Don't smoke. It ages even hands significantly.
Tap into your inner aristocrat and don some driving gloves. UVArays penetrate windshields and fry our hands as they rest atop thesteering wheel.
What if it's too late for prevention? Buy an over-the-counter retinol cream, or get a prescriptionretinoid. Retinoids are more potent and will lighten sunspots, helpcollagen regenerate and improve the skin's texture.
Try alpha hydroxy acids or a glycolic acid.