How to Keep Your Hands Young
A lot of women don’t start thinking about hand care until they notice their hands don’t look like they used to. With time, their skin dries out easier and loses its firmness. But if you start while you’re younger, it’s possible to delay premature aging.
In today’s article, we’ll provide natural tips to help you keep your hands young every day.
Nourish on a Daily Basis
You hands can become dry due to many reasons:
- Aging
- Sun exposure
- Lack of good nutrition
- Heavy use of conventional cleaning and body care products
- Smoking
Most women begin to experience the effects of the above factors as they get older, but it’s important to start as early as possible to keep your hands young, hydrated and healthy, just like you would do with the rest of the skin on your body.
If you’re looking for a particular moisturizer for dry skin, we recommend choosing one that’s as natural as possible and made with highly nutritious ingredients like:
- Rosehip oil
- Almond oil
- Olive oil
- Aloe vera
- Shea butter
- Argan oil
Learn more on argan oil: 6 Ways Argan Oil Benefits Your Skin
You can even use these products as a lotion by themselves. This will probably be even less expensive than most lotions, and also 100% natural.
Exfoliate on a Regular Basis
One of the signs that your hands are aging is when you begin to increasingly notice rough skin and texture. The first step to prevent this is to exfoliate them and remove the dead skin cells that are accumulating on the surface, creating that unpleasant rough feeling.
You can use a variety of natural products to exfoliate your skin. This helps prevent the negative effects of stronger commercial products.
- You can use a little sugar or salt to do this. If your hands are very dry, try mixing this salt or sugar with a little olive oil first.
- Massage your hands gently, just as if you were washing them, and then rinse with warm or cool water.
Make sure to exfoliate twice a week: Learn How to Make Natural Oatmeal Soap to Exfoliate Your Skin
Do You have Cold Hands?
Cold hands are a sign of poor circulation. Generally, people who experience this also experience cold feet.
It’s important to address this problem and make sure you’re getting the proper nutrition your body needs for healthy circulation.
A few ideas for treating cold hands are the following:
- Massage them with oil from ginger root or another essential oil to generate heat.
- Eat moderate amounts of spices like cayenne, ginger, etc.
- Alternate soaking your hands in cold and hot water.
- Wear gloves made of wool or other natural fabrics if you need to.
- Drink ginkgo biloba herbal tea from time to time, as it improves circulation in the extremities.
Take Care of Your Nails
Don’t forget that your fingernails are also important. To keep your nails looking beautiful, get regular manicures and make sure you’re keeping a healthy diet.
Any marks or discolorations that appear on your nails could indicate a lack of proper nutrition. The most common signs are white spots or perpendicular lines, or when the nails break easily.
- Don’t forget to base your diet on fresh fruits and vegetables, beans, healthy oils, whole grains, nuts, and seeds.
Watch out for Osteoarthritis
Another major hand health problem is osteoarthritis, a degenerative disease that can greatly deform them and your fingers.
If you have a family history of osteoarthritis or you begin to notice the early symptoms, wash your hands with a clay soap and leave it on for 15 to 30 minutes, until it dries.
There are medicinal supplements like turmeric and magnesium that can help delay the onset of this disease. However, always take them with the advice of your doctor.
Excessive Sweating
Sweating excessively can also damage the appearance of your hands. Also, bear in mind that it could indicate a problem with your nervous system.
To treat this naturally, you can use Lycopodium spores, also known as the sulfur plant. You can buy this remedy at a natural store, and apply it to your hands just like you would with talcum powder.
All cited sources were thoroughly reviewed by our team to ensure their quality, reliability, currency, and validity. The bibliography of this article was considered reliable and of academic or scientific accuracy.
- Juul, S. (2004). Take good care of your hands. CDS Review.
- Judah, G., Donachie, P., Cobb, E., Schmidt, W., Holland, M., & Curtis, V. (2010). Dirty hands: Bacteria of faecal origin on commuters’ hands. Epidemiology and Infection. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0950268809990641
- Casewell, M., & Phillips, I. (1977). Hands as route of transmission for Klebsiella species. British Medical Journal. https://doi.org/10.1136/bmj.2.6098.1315
- Hamman, J., Fox, L., Plessis, J., Gerber, M., Zyl, S., & Boneschans, B. (2014). In Vivo skin hydration and anti-erythema effects of Aloe vera, Aloe ferox and Aloe marlothii gel materials after single and multiple applications. Pharmacognosy Magazine, 10(2), S392–S403. https://doi.org/10.4103/0973-1296.133291
- Lin, T.-K., Zhong, L., & Santiago, J. (2017). Anti-Inflammatory and Skin Barrier Repair Effects of Topical Application of Some Plant Oils. International Journal of Molecular Sciences, 19(1), 70. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijms19010070
- Okubo, T., Kokufuta, E., Nakamuro, M., Yoshinaga, K., Mizutani, M., & Tsuchida, A. (2010). Drying dissipative structures of lycopodium spore particles in aqueous dispersion. Colloids and Surfaces B: Biointerfaces, 80(2), 193–199. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.colsurfb.2010.06.004
- Ruiz, M. A., Arias, J. L., & Gallardo, V. (2010). Skin Creams Made with Olive Oil. Olives and Olive Oil in Health and Disease Prevention, 1133–1141. https://doi.org/10.1016/b978-0-12-374420-3.00124-8
