Fine Lines

www.ascpskincare.com 11 Estheticians understand that if you want to know someone's real age, look at their hands. Most of us tend to take better care of our facial skin than our hand skin, much to the detriment of those hands. Hands are constantly exposed to ultraviolet radiation from sunlight, and to cold, wind, harsh soaps, and, depending on one's profession, many different chemical substances. It's no wonder they're one of the prime areas for skin cancer development, dryness, cracked skin, and potential fissures, calluses, and other issues. Esthetically, neglected hand skin develops many conditions, including mottling (pigmented splotching), chloasma ("liver" spots, which have nothing to do with the liver except they are the same color), solar lentigines (sun freckles), and lighter patches. They develop severe dryness, thickened corneum (making the skin feel rough and hard), and, eventually, collagen and elastin breakdown resulting in wrinkles and a crepey appearance. SPA CARE 1. When examining your hands and applying treatment, your esthetician will look for any raised or sharp-feeling lesions. These may be growths that a dermatologist should see for diagnosis and treatment. Actinic keratoses (precancerous lesions) are raised growth-type lesions that feel rough or prickly to the touch and should also be diagnosed by a dermatologist. 2. Many spas can add a hand treatment to a facial for a nominal fee. Moisture treatments using electric warming mitts or a paraffin hand dip after the application of a rich hand cream will help with product penetration and more effective softening. And they feel amazing. Many spas also offer alphahydroxy acid (AHA) peels for the hands. These gentler peels need to be performed in a twice-a-week series for best results. HOME CARE 1. The real key in improving hand skin is consistent use of a good hand cream. Because hands do not have the sebaceous activity of the face or other areas of the body, they are more prone to dryness. In fact, the palms of hands have no sebaceous glands at all. Therefore, a good hand cream needs to be emollient-laden with moisture-guarding agents such as petrolatum or shea butter, natural oils such as sunflower or rapeseed, and silicones such as dimethicone that help stop transepidermal water loss that causes dehydration. The cream also needs "water magnet" humectants such as glycerin or sorbitol that help attract and bind water to the skin. A cream like this will be a bit heavier than a facial cream. Lightweight hand lotions, in general, are not as effective or as therapeutic as heavier ones. 2. Ceramides are another vital ingredient to restore barrier function to the hand skin. They help on many levels, as repair of the barrier function enables the retention of moisture within the skin and between the skin cells. It also helps esthetically with wrinkles, roughness, and crepiness. Ask your esthetician about ceramides. 3. The hand cream type described above needs to be applied regularly—several times a day—to show results. Be sure to have a small size of your favorite hand cream that can easily fit in your purse or travel bag. 4. Overnight use of a good hand cream and wearing soft cotton gloves increases absorption and speeds up surface skin recovery. 5. A good water-resistant sunscreen should be applied every morning. Facial sunscreens are fine to use on the hands, but most are not very water resistant. If you spend a lot of time outdoors, the sunscreen should be reapplied every two hours. 6. Nightly use of a cream or lotion containingAHAs—such as glycolic or lactic acid—helps remove dead, dried cells and helps improve cell renewal. Better cell renewal enhances the skin's ability to make its own intercellular lipids, naturally improving the ability of skin to retain moisture. Sunscreen is a must-do if you choose a hand cream that contains AHAs, as the treated surface skin can be more susceptible to sunburn. The most important thing to remember with hand care is that it must be consistent to achieve visible and sustainable results. ▪

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