Our hands do so much! We use them for work, communication, managing the upkeep of our homes, creating, etc. The list of how hands help us is practically as limitless as the human imagination. However, they can become overworked and develop painful issues like arthritis and carpal tunnel syndrome, preventing people from doing day-to-day tasks, working, or engaging in activities they love. Exposure to the sun and natural aging cause visible signs of wear and tear. Fortunately, with some regular, preventative care, you can help keep your hands agile and youthful-looking longer.

What Our Hands Can Do
Can you live without hands? Absolutely, but not without assistance! Your hands are the ultimate workhorse, working from the moment you wake up to when you retire at night. They repetitively grasp, perform various types of grips, hold, manipulate, and form precise movements to help us accomplish multiple functions. Just injure one hand, and you will realize all the things, big and small, that they are capable of. From simple things like turning on lights, brushing your teeth and hair, and getting dressed, to preparing food and driving your car, our hands keep us in tip-top shape. Some people use their hands to engage in more lasting endeavors like building homes, offices, factories, roads, hospitals, schools, airports, and systems that support our communities. Others create beautiful music, art, and literature for all to hear and see. Our hands also enable us to care for others, type, cook, clean up after ourselves, fold laundry, tend our gardens, and pursue hobbies. Once you grasp how important your hands are, we think you will remember to treat them with the care they deserve. Let’s break down the main functions our hands fulfill every day:

At home: Our hands keep our homes clean and tidy, wash and fold laundry, bathe ourselves, our children or pets, write, sew, etc.
Feeding yourself and your family: We use our hands to open jars and bottles to prepare food and hold a knife, fork, or spoon to feed ourselves, our babies, and our elderly parents.
Grooming: We use our hands to steady ourselves as we enter the shower, wash our faces, bodies, and hair, towel off, and apply face and body moisturizer. Then we brush our teeth, apply make-up, comb and style our hair, etc.
Dressing: Buttoning up shirts, zipping up pants, and putting on belts, shoes, and socks are exceptionally difficult without good dexterity.
Hobbies: Holding a book or e-reader, working in the garden, playing sports, knitting, etc., aren’t as much fun as they once were when your hands weaken or feel sore. You can't do the hands behind back pose in yoga if you don’t have healthy hands, any more than you can strum a guitar or use hands for drawing! Keep them flexible and limber, and you may just become the best yogi, guitarist, or artist around!
In school: We raise our hands to ask a question, painstakingly learn how to write our names, tackle penmanship, and take notes. Little did we know how much we have been taking them for granted.

What Our Hands Say
Our hands speak volumes as they are often the visual focus as we communicate. An essential tool for body language, we use our hands to give directions, express ourselves, emphasize a point, or shake hands in greeting. The gestures we make with our hands provide clues to how we feel. Our hands clap and show approval at a play or concert, or we might wave our hands in the air to celebrate or express joy. We also might clench our hands in frustration or anger. Our hands can also serve as a vital sign of youthfulness or reveal the imprint of time with age spots, wrinkles, skin-thinning, or roughened texture. And don't underestimate the power of touch. Holding someone's hand or gently patting their arm shows our caring warmth and reassurance. And, when we caress and feel one another, we express affection and love.

What Our Hands Have Handled
Our hands endure much and are often neglected. While we are busy getting through life, we often forget to manage our hands’ health. Whether you labor in the sun or at a desk, spending too much time on any one task without resting our hands or stretching them is a recipe for disaster. For those with serious hand issues, things like tying shoes and getting dressed can be challenging. With hands-free calling and hands free slip on shoes, staying in touch and readying yourself for the day may be easier, but there aren’t always easy fixes for hand issues. On top of this, we tend to put off our hands’ skin health, too! Throughout our lifetime, the skin of our hands is exposed to extensive sanitizing, environmental stressors, and other damaging factors. Yet, we tell ourselves, “I’ll put on cream later, after I [insert task].”

How To Keep Our Hands Healthy
To help you put your hands’ well-being first, here are tips for proper care to keep them looking and feeling well enough to do whatever it is you want and need to do:

Give your hands a break: When hands hurt all the time, they are telling you they need a break. Listen to them! Put down the phone, nail file, or remote, and let your hands rest on your legs.
Stretch them out: Stretching and flexing techniques can help prevent and ease arthritis and carpal tunnel syndrome. So, if you use your hands all day at work or when pursuing your favorite hobby, remember to stretch them at the end of your shift and when you put down the paintbrush, instrument, or spade.
Brace them: Wear a brace or splint to support and protect weak, swollen hands, wrists, and fingers and keep them in more neutral positions.
Massage them: Massaging can relieve tension and relax your overworked tendons and muscles, taking pressure off your joints.
Ice them: Icing hands after significant use makes all the difference! If your work or hobby involves a lot of gripping, pinching, or grasping, icing hands down afterward will help reduce inflammation, swelling, and pain and speed recovery. With these maintenance measures, your hands can continue to serve you longer.

Keeping Hands Youthful-Looking
When we focus on skin health, the health and appearance of our hands is easily overlooked. But now that you recognize how much they do for you, we know you will want to treat them with extra care. When adorned with rings or wearing the latest nail look, they can be a fashion statement, as well as a sign of pride in your appearance. However, the prettiest ring or new set of nails won’t shine as brightly when the skin on your hands looks dry and rough. Uneven tone and texture, sunspots, age spots, loss of fat padding, irritation, thinning of nails, rough cuticles, dryness, and dehydration are some of the most worrisome symptoms.

Tips for Beautiful Hands:

1. Exfoliate hands regularly with a gentle exfoliating cleanser.
2. Avoid hot water when washing your hands as it can strip away vital moisture, drying them out and making you more vulnerable to germs and illness.
3. Wear an ocean safe sunscreen daily to prevent new wrinkles and dark spots from forming while helping to preserve our reefs and marine life.
4. Tote a travel-size Sulfate free natural skin cleanser with moisturizing lipids to wash hands on the go to avoid drying hand soaps in public restrooms.
5. Make sure to wash your hands well to remove bacteria and impurities thoroughly.
6. When you have a choice, avoid hand dryers to dry your hands.
7. Apply a natural hand cream immediately after washing or bathing. For visible aging hand concerns, a Collagen hand cream with Collagen Polypeptides will smooth and plump, while preserving moisture.
8. For exceptionally parched hands, resist the urge to slather on a skin-thinning Petroleum hand ointment. Instead, choose a hand cream for dry hands with naturally emollient Shea Butter, Safflower Seed Oil, and olive derived Squalane to preserve moisture, expedite repair, and protect your skin against environmental stressors.
9. Wear gloves whenever doing tasks that could impact your hands (cleaning, washing dishes, gardening, painting, etc.
10. Once or twice a week give your hands extra age defense with a Collagen face mask or illuminating Green Apple mask.

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