An Easy 5-Step Hand Care Routine To Treat Crepey Skin & Dark Spots

A "hand care routine" may sound extra, but if you care about treating wrinkles, crepiness, dark spots, and dryness on the face and body, there's no reason why your hands can't join the party. 

In fact, the skin on your hands is often the first area to show signs of aging (like the aforementioned wrinkles, crepiness, and lack of moisture), due to their increased environmental exposure and day-to-day physical wear.

Hands are also not typically treated with the same dedication as the face, which makes those concerns even more apparent over time. Hence, a hand care routine becomes significant.

A clean canvas is necessary for all that follows—the rule applies not just for your face but for your paws too. And just like how harsh, sulfate-laden cleansers can strip your facial skin dry, the wrong hand soap can strip your skin of important barrier lipids, leaving it rough, itchy, and scaly. 

Next up, the treatment step: This is the time to really address specific concerns, like fine lines, crepiness, hyperpigmentation, and so on. 

If you can spare a few drops of your favorite face serum (vitamin C, niacinamide, et al.), go ahead and apply it right on your hands. But for those who can't bear the thought of wasting a drop (I hear you!), you can find plenty of specific hand serums meant to fill in microcracks, fade dark spots, and more. 

While the treatment dries down, pick up a cuticle oil to give your nail beds some attention. I love this practical move—cuticle oils have a similar consistency to serums, and it's a great use of time in between steps. Ripped, frayed cuticles can easily take away from hydrated, smooth hands, so it's important to send them the love they deserve! 

Next, seal in all those skin-healthy nutrients with a quality hand cream. The best hand moisturizers contain a blend of humectant, emollient, and occlusive ingredients to ensure the formula attracts and holds water in the skin, supports the lipid layer of the skin, and seals in hydration (respectively). Personally, I haven't found one that I love more than mindbodygreen's postbiotic hand cream; it deeply moisturizes the skin yet sinks in effortlessly. 

Last but not least: Protect your paws with SPF. Of course, you can simply apply your go-to SPF on your hands—or, for a more targeted approach, you can find a sunscreen-infused hand cream.