Helping Hands.(anti-aging; care for the hands)

Byline: Mary Rose Almasi

You dote on your faceonly to have your hands betray your age. Here, the fastest ways to get a grip on youth.

Y ou shake to say hello, clap to show approval, gesture when impassionedand chances are, you also use your hands to reveal your age. In fact, in a study published in the Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery Journal, participants accurately estimated a woman's age just by looking at her hands. "Women spend energy and time making their faces look younger than they are, but they ignore their hands, and eventually there's a disconnect," says Patricia Wexler, associate clinical professor of dermatology at Mount Sinai School of Medicine. Daily sun exposure, constant movement (which wears away fat and collagen), and even just letting hands become dry can exacerbate crepiness, dark spots, and prominent veins. But by starting to pay a little attention to your hands, you can prevent and even reverse some of the damage.

Exfoliate

Gently buff the backs of the hands once every two weeks with a microdermabrasion paste "to help remove dry, dead skin so that moisturizers and active ingredients can penetrate," says Robert A. Weiss, associate professor of dermatology at Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine. (Microdermabrasion scrubs made for the face are fine enough that they won't be irritating.) Then be sure to regularly slather on lotion. "When you exfoliate, you strip away the outermost layer of the epidermis, which is responsible for trapping water in the skin," Weiss says. "To prevent excess evaporation, you need a layer of moisturizer." (We like the potentbut not greasyAveeno Intense Relief Hand Cream, Lubriderm Advanced Therapy Hand Cream, and Ellen Sirot Hand Perfection Complete Day Cream.)

Prevent Sun Damage

"Hands are exposed to the sun practically 365 days a year," and even people who consistently protect their faces typically neglect the extremities, says David E. Bank, associate professor of clinical dermatology at Columbia Presbyterian Hospital in New York City. Over time, sunlight breaks down skin's collagen and elastin, causing wrinkles, a crepey texture, and yellow or brown spots. The best cure is a broad-spectrum sunscreen with an SPF of 30 or higher. "You're already applying it to your face in the morning, so smear it on the backs of your hands, and don't forget your fingers and wrists," Bank says.