WebMD health-e head2toe: skin care today
This article is from the WebMD Feature Archive
What’s New for Your Hands and Nails
People can’t help but notice your hands and fingernails. But what do they see when they do?
Your fingernails and the skin on your hands take quite a beating just getting through the day. They’re exposed to water and harsh soaps that can dry your skin. Your hands get chapped or cracked from being out in the weather, from doing yard work, or just puttering around the house.
On top of it all, your fingernails, which are made of keratin, naturally get brittle and ridged with age, and may even turn yellow.
Luckily, researchers have made advances in hand and nail care.
WebMD turned to dermatologists Jeffrey Dover, MD, associate clinical professor of dermatology at the Yale School of Medicine, and Heather Woolery-Lloyd, MD, assistant professor of dermatology at the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine, to get the latest.
Moisturizing Skin Care: Rx for Youthful, Touchable Hands
The most recent line of anti-aging hand creams contain the same advanced compounds used in today’s face creams. And most come in “quick absorbing” formulations so your hands aren’t left feeling greasy.
Your body needs retinol, or vitamin A, a major ingredient in over-the-counter hand creams, to keep tissue, including skin, moist. Peptides, in combination with other ingredients such as B vitamins, relax muscles and stimulate collagen production to keep the skin on your hand smooth. Vitamin C and glycolic acid in hand creams help to reverse the signs of aging, including age spots, wrinkling, and loss of elasticity.
Some treatment creams contain alpha- and beta-hydroxy acids. These gently exfoliate the skin so new skin cells can grow. This gives your hands a younger, healthier look.
In-office collagen treatments by dermatologists can reduce wrinkling, which is a lack of elasticity due to the loss of collagen. But such treatments are expensive. While not as effective, there are hand creams now on the market that plump up the skin, helping make hands look more youthful.
Some hand creams and balms are labeled “intensive.” These products are formulated for extra dry or mature skin and are meant to be applied at night. Some of them contain lightening agents that gradually fade age spots when used regularly. There are even some hand lotions that are formulated to survive hand washing.
Men’s hands have skin that is thicker, hairier, and oilier than women’s. The skin may also be more callused and rough. So there are special hand creams that are formulated to account for those differences.
Hand creams formulated for men are typically richer, and many are designed to prevent cracking skin. In addition, men’s hand creams are often fragrance-free.
Moisturizing Creams Protect Nails as Well as Skin
Just like with skin, it’s important for both men and women to protect the moisture in their nails. Dermatologists recommend rubbing petroleum jelly, vitamin E, or specially formulated cuticle creams into the cuticles at night.
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