Hands often look older than the face, and there is a straightforward reason: they get the same sun exposure and almost none of the protection.
Why hands age visibly
Sun exposure without sunscreen. The backs of the hands are exposed year-round — on the steering wheel, on a desk by a window, walking — and are the area people most consistently forget to protect.
Thin skin with little fat underneath, so structural change shows sooner.
Very few oil glands, so the barrier is weaker to begin with.
Constant washing, which strips what little there is.
Of these, sun exposure accounts for most of what people mean by aged hands: the pigmentation spots, the crepey texture, the visible thinning.
The step that outperforms any cream
Sunscreen on the backs of your hands, daily.
It costs nothing extra — you are already applying it to your face. Extending it to your hands is a two-second addition that does more than any anti-age hand cream, because it prevents the damage rather than treating its appearance.
If you drive regularly, this matters more; car glass blocks UVB but transmits UVA, and the driving hand shows it over years.
What the cream realistically does
- Hydrates, so texture looks smoother and lines less pronounced
- Improves comfort and reduces roughness
- Makes the skin more resilient day to day
What no hand cream does: remove existing pigmentation spots, restore lost volume, or reverse crepey texture. Those are structural and sun-related, and the honest answer is prevention plus, for established spots, a dermatologist.
Using it
Apply after every hand wash, and generously at night — overnight is when a rich texture is practical. Backs of the hands, between the fingers, nails and cuticles.
Cotton gloves overnight increase the effect if hands are rough.
Realistic timeline
Comfort and texture: two to four weeks. Everything else: prevention from here forward.
The full composition is in the Faberlic catalogue. For sun protection in detail, see the skincare section.