Get the Hands of Your 20-Year-Old Self Back

 

Full disclosure, you cannot get the hands of your twenty-year-old self back, unless maybe you are twenty-five or have a time machine. Your skin is aging every day, and your hands are doing the heavy lifting. They are exposed to sun and chemicals and harsh cleansers, and over time all that punishment inevitably shows up as age spots, wrinkles, dryness, and crepey texture. 

 

You should consider these things a badge of honor for all travels and travails that have made up the years of your life. The stories written, the work produced, the projects completed, the miles logged, the meals cooked, the dogs walked, the gardens tended, the family herded and loved.

 

But no one will blame you if you’d like to erase a little of the evidence. Here is your four-point plan for a return to younger-looking hands.

 

 

Nourish while you cleanse. Gentle Cleansing Milk is formulated with antioxidant grape seed oil to hydrate and protect skin from free radical damage and aid in cell repair. Use it daily in place of soap to soothe and nourish dry hands. You can add Buffing Grains to the mix once a week to remove dead skin and help boost collagen production (not recommended for delicate skin). 

 

Tone. Can you use a toner on your hands? That depends, do you have skin on your hands? The answer is yes and yes. Just like on your face, a toner will clear away cellular debris from the backs of your hands and prep the skin for better absorption of the active ingredients in your corrective cream. Skin Nourishing Toner’s antoxidant and moisturizing blend of mandelic acid, green tea extract, niacinamide and rosehip oil targets discoloration while protecting against environmental stressors and signs of aging.  

 

Night time repair. The award-winning formula in Vivant’s Clear Body Therapy combines antioxidant and cell regenerative vitamin A with gently exfoliating and hydrating lactic acid to smooth and soften rough skin, stimulate cell turnover, kick-start collagen production, and lift excess pigment. It will also help to firm up loose skin on the back of the hands. Use it before bedtime nightly for more even tone and texture. For added softness, you can wear cotton gloves over the top of the cream. Clear Body Therapy is best used at night since vitamin A can make skin more sensitive to sunlight. Start with every other night for the first week, then move up to nightly application. Don’t use between the fingers.

 

Use sunscreen. Most of the issues you see on your hands are the result of UV exposure. Probably much of it happened when you were younger, and even if you were diligent about using sunscreen, we often forget the backs of the hands. It’s not too late to repair and protect. Use Vivant’s Day Treatment Lotion SPF 15 every morning before you head out for the day. Even while you’re driving in your car, you’re exposed to UV radiation. Use a heavier SPF if you’re going to be outside most of the day.