Fade age spots The skin on your hands is often exposed to UV rays. Spots happen.
Strengthen brittle nails Your nails become more prone to peeling and breaking as you age because your body produces less moisture.
T H E R E A L I ST beauty
WHAT TO DO: Boost nail growth, since
a fresher nail equals a stronger one. Dermatologist Elizabeth Tanzi, based in Washington, D.C., recommends taking three milligrams of biotin a day. “It won’t increase the quality of the nail, but it will speed up growth,” she says. Besides keeping nails short to minimize damage, take a break from using drying polish removers: “It’s important to keep the cuticle area moisturized so the nail matrix can continue to deliver blood and nutrients, resulting in a faster-growing nail that’s less brittle,” says Tanzi. One of Engelman’s favorite solutions for brittle nails is Nail Tek II ($6; target.com). “Apply it twice a day—the proteins seal the brittle nail layers together,” she says. NEXT LEVEL: Brittle nails could also signal a medical condition, such as a thyroid disorder. See your doctor if there’s no improvement in three to six months, says Tanzi.
WHAT TO DO: To prevent
future damage, smooth on a dime-size drop of lotion with SPF, or spritz hands with a quick-drying SPF spray, every day before heading outside. For special occasions, try a tinted SPF powder to hide imperfections and protect. Treat existing spots with a lightening cream that has 2 percent hydroquinone or natural brighteners like vitamin C. Try Juice Beauty Green Apple Age Defy Hand
T R E AT H A N D C A L LU S E S You’ve been working hard at the gym or out shoveling snow, and you’ve got hard yellow patches on your palms. “Anytime there’s consistent friction in one area of the hand, the skin reacts by getting thicker,” says Mona Gohara, a dermatologist based in Danbury, Connecticut. WHAT TO DO: Reduce calluses by soaking hands in warm water. Then exfoliate the area with a pumice stone or a paste (see right). You can also apply a moisturizer with urea, a humectant that will break down and soften the callus. Try Excipial 20% Urea Intensive Healing Cream ($12; cvs.com). The only way to truly protect hands, though, is with gloves.
RUB ON A PASTE OF WARM WATER AND SUGAR TO HELP REDUCE CALLUSES, SAYS GOHARA,
TRY SUPERGOOP SUNSCREEN MIST, $13; SEPHORA.COM.
Cream ($12; juicebeauty .com). “Follow with a nightly glycolic exfoliant,” says Joshua Zeichner, a dermatologist in New York City. NEXT LEVEL: Still seeing spots? Ask your doctor about a prescriptionstrength retinoid, like Retin-A. The Yag in-office laser treatment ($250 to $500 per session) works for flat brown spots with clear borders, says Zeichner. For lots of brown or red spots, an Intense Pulsed Light ($400 to $600 per treatment) is a good bet. Or there’s the Fraxel laser ($1,200 to $1,500 per treatment), best for both sunspots and crepey skin.
Minimize veins As we get older, we lose fat in our hands, making veins more noticeable. Exacerbating the problem is sun exposure, which “breaks down collagen and elastin in our hands,” explains Engelman. WHAT TO DO: You can hide the appearance of veins with a heavyduty concealer, like Dermablend Leg and Body Cover ($31; dermablend.com). To stimulate collagen production so skin is less translucent, use a glycolic or retinol cream, such as Hand MD Restorative Duo ($35; buyhandmd.com).
NEXT LEVEL: Apply a prescription-strength topical, like Retin-A (which will also improve skin tone and texture). Talk to your dermatologist about hyaluronic acid fillers (like Restylane and Juvéderm, $750 to $1,000 per treatment), which thicken skin by creating new collagen fibers, and Radiesse ($900 to $1,500 per treatment), a calciumbased filler.
FEBRUARY 2017
P R E V E N T S W E AT Y PA L M S There’s often no known cause for palmar hyperhidrosis, a skin condition in which the sweat glands on your palms excrete extra moisture. WHAT TO DO: “If you apply an aluminum-based antiperspirant to dry palms at night, that will plug your hands’ sweat glands, preventing wetness from reaching the skin’s surface for the day,” says Zeichner. Start with an over-thecounter option, such as Certain Dri ($7; target.com). NEXT LEVEL: Consider asking your doctor for a prescription-based antiperspirant, such as Drysol or Hypercare. Finally, there’s Botox, which prevents nerve signals from reaching the sweat gland. It’s fairly painful and requires 20 to 30 injections in the palms and fingertips, and it needs to be repeated every three to six months (each treatment costs $1,500). “You can experience some muscle weakness, so it’s not a great option for people who use their hands for a living,” notes Rachel Nazarian, a dermatologist based in New York City.
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