We live in a time period where there are endless things—from at-home and day procedures to in-office treatments—that you can have done to your body and face (there are even treatments for body parts like your ears and feet). But when it comes to your hands, they’re lucky if they gets a little hand cream…until now. Hands are finally getting the attention they deserve.

“Patients who have invested seriously in their facial skin are starting to recognize the disconnect,” says Antony Nakhla, MD, double-board-certified dermatologist and founder of Eighth Day. “The hands are visible constantly and in close proximity during conversation. It makes sense that [it] is expanding to include them.”

The aging on our hands is similar to what we experience elsewhere on our bodies. The difference is that our hands might show those signs a lot sooner. “They receive more cumulative sun exposure and less consistent skin-care attention than the face,” says Nakhla. “The structural volume loss beneath the skin also tends to be more visible on the hands because there is less underlying fat to compensate, as well as prominent anatomical structures (like vasculature, bones, and tendons) that become focal points.”

Nicholas Brownstone, MD, board-certified medical and cosmetic dermatologist at Mount Sinai, adds that external factors, such as UV exposure, pollution, smoking, diet, sleep, and alcohol consumption, can speed up those signs of aging. So the ultimate hand-care routine will need the following things:

You Must Use SPF

Brownstone says that dark spots are largely caused by UV exposure and are probably the most common sign of photoaging. To protect the skin on your hands, you must use sunscreen with SPF. “SPF is the nonnegotiable starting point and the most neglected step,” adds Nakhla. Just as you would apply it to your face and other parts of your body, he recommends using SPF every morning and reapplying every two hours if your hands are going to be exposed to the sun.

Use Antiaging Ingredients

According to Nakhla, the same antiaging ingredients that work for your face will also work on your hands. He recommends retinoids, which will help texture and tone while also stimulating collagen production, while peptides and growth factors support skin renewal.

Support the Skin Barrier

Because we wash our hands more frequently than our face and other parts of our body throughout the day, Nakhla explains that the skin barrier on the hands is disrupted frequently. So we need to focus on replacing moisture that we’ve lost and look to ingredients that support the barrier consistently. “It makes the difference,” he says. Look for ingredients that hydrate skin and support the skin barrier, such as ceramides and hyaluronic acid. “[They] keep the skin functional and resilient,” he says.

Avoid Fragrance and Alcohol in Hand Creams

If you have sensitive skin or your skin barrier is somehow compromised, Nakhla recommends staying away from hand creams that are heavy with fragrance, as they might cause more irritation. “Repeated exposure to fragrance ingredients can cause contact dermatitis and chronic irritation that worsens the skin over time,” he says.

He also cautions against alcohol-heavy formulas (these are the ones marketed as sanitizing or refreshing, he says), as those can damage the barrier after repeated use, and creams that use heavy occlusive ingredients that provide only short-term comfort.

Wash With Gentle Soap and Lukewarm Water

Another thing to keep in mind is how you’re washing your hands. As Nakhla mentioned above, exposure to harsh soaps and detergents when washing your hands frequently can strip the barrier and cause damage over time. Also, hot water is more damaging than people realize, he says. So opt for gentle soaps and lukewarm water when washing your hands.

In-Office Treatments

Yes, you can turn to the same face treatments for your hands—and there are many to choose from. “The hands respond well to [in-office] treatment and the results can be significant,” says Nakhla. “They just tend to be an afterthought relative to the face.”

He points to filler, which we all know can restore lost volume, and says it can be one of the most effective treatments for hands where tendons are more prominently visible. IPL and laser resurfacing are great options if you’re looking to address pigmentation and improve overall skin quality (Brownstone likes to use Miria for hand rejuvenation to treat texture changes, wrinkles, and mild pigmentation and skin laxity). Radiofrequency microneedling can help stimulate collagen production and even out uneven skin texture.

So the ideal baseline routine includes using an SPF in the morning, a barrier-supporting hand cream throughout the day, and a retinoid or some sort of treatment product at night. Add some lifestyle changes and incorporate in-office treatments, and you’ll be good to go.

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