Tips for Pampering Your Hands as They Age

When I was in my early 20s, a photographer friend called me. “My hand model didn’t show up today,” he said. “Do you think you could fill in for her?”

I’d never done any kind of modeling, but I did have long, sinewy fingers and I’d been told that my hands were lovely. I arrived at the shoot and learned I’d be modeling for an insert in The New York Times. A manicurist filed and painted my nails cherry red. Then I was told to squat down next to a toilet, extend my pointer finger, and press down on the toilet’s padded seat, to show that it was cushioned.

I proceeded as directed., forgot about the photo shoot until a couple of months later when my mother called, all excited, with this: “Lynnie, isn’t that your finger in The New York Times??

God bless her — my mother could spot my finger out of a sea of ads! And now, I can spot my mother’s fingers, her whole hand really, every time I look at my aging paws.

Ever since I was 26 and went for my first facial, I’ve religiously cleansed, moisturized and used an SPF 30+ sunscreen on my face. (In the last decade I’ve added injectables to that list.)

But my hands? Until a few years ago, nada, nothing. That is, until I noticed that—due to sun damage and the loss of collagen and elasticity that comes with aging—my hands looked wrinkly and bony, and I’d developed age spots. 

And, trying to stave off COVID-19 through excessive handwashing and frequent use of hand sanitizer over the past couple years, there’s added dryness and grooves. My editor has written a wonderful essay about how she likes seeing her weathered hands because they’re proof that she has lived, worked in the garden and played with her kids at beaches — and also, that they’re a tender reminder of her mom. Then again, a friend called recently to say, “We should fly to Las Vegas. I’ve found a doctor who’ll remove the veins in our hands.”  

My attitude about dealing with my hands is somewhere in between. Celebrated New York physician Robert Anolik, M.D., the dermatologist Kelly Ripa and Olivia Palmero credit with their gorgeous skin, shares his thoughts below on what science can (and can’t) do to help.

First, the at-home remedies: