The hands are said to be the hardest-working part of the body. They grasp, touch, cook, care for children and carry out our work. They labour all day without rest while being exposed to water, detergent, friction and cold air. Yet for all that work, they are seldom cared for as attentively as the face.
December is the month in which they work hardest of all. End-of-year cleaning multiplies the contact with detergent, the cold tempts us to turn the tap hotter, and outside the air is dry and sharp. As the year closes, the hands show their most tired face.
This article is a set of evening steps for thanking the hands that have worked for a whole year.
What December asks of the hands
First, detergent and water. Deep cleaning and the busy kitchen of the holidays mean long periods in contact with cleaning products. Each wash removes some of the lipid film on the skin's surface, and the balance between the water held in the outer layer of the skin and the oil that covers it is gradually lost.
Second, water temperature. Hot water feels comforting on a cold day, but it strips away lipids and makes it easier for the skin's moisture barrier to break down. Every hand wash and every pan scrubbed adds a small burden.
Third, the air outdoors. Winter air is dry, and the backs of the hands meet the cold wind uncovered. With little sebum and thin skin, this is where the strain appears first as roughness.
Paper and cardboard are easily overlooked. Sorting and tidying at the end of the year means long stretches handling dry paper, which draws the oil from the surface of the skin and hurries the fingertips towards roughness. After paperwork as much as after cleaning, the hands want moisture.
Small protections during the day
Before turning to the evening, here are three ways to lessen the daytime strain. One: wear gloves for long sessions of washing up or cleaning. Put them on only when the hands are fully dry, and choose powder-free, latex-free gloves to keep irritation low.
Two: do not let the water run too hot. Wash in lukewarm water, and when drying, press the towel against the skin and leave no droplets behind.
Three: replenish moisture after wet work. Once the hands are dry, smooth a non-sticky hand serum from the back of the hand to the fingertips. Choosing something that can be used many times a day makes the habit easy to keep. There is more on this in our note on protecting hands from wet work.
The intensive evening routine
The care that thanks the hands for a year's work takes place at night. Whatever is smoothed on before bed remains on the hands through the night. Because it is not washed away as it would be during the day, this is when moisturising is given the longest to work.
After a bath, or after the last wash of the day, place one or two pearl-sized drops of hand serum on the back of one hand. Bring the hands together and spread it over both, work it in with the palms, and interlace the fingers so it reaches the spaces between them. Stroke each finger lightly in turn so that moisture reaches the skin around the joints. Finish at the nails, pressing softly around each one, since this is where the skin dries first.
On December nights, add one further step. Once the serum has settled, layer a hand cream over it so that a film of oil seals the surface. The order is always serum first, cream after. When roughness is severe, moisturising and then sleeping in cotton gloves can make a noticeable difference to how the hands feel by morning.
Partway through the routine, rest a palm against your cheek or neck. If a hand that was cool has grown slightly warm, moisture has begun to spread. Checking progress by touch rather than by sight is another way of making this time richer.
Not hurrying is the heart of this routine. Spend a minute or two on nothing but the hands. Those few minutes are the most honest thanks you can give to hands that have worked all year.
Closing the year with scent
Adding fragrance to the evening routine brings it closer to a ritual. The scent that rises as the serum is smoothed in reaches you with a different density from anything smelt during the day. A warm fragrance rising from the hands on a cold night can be enough to loosen the tension of the day.
Soie's fragrances are designed to be enjoyed close to the hands, so they are never too strong for bedtime. For the last nights of the year, composed scents such as ELEGANT TIME, with its osmanthus and spice, or SUPREME TEA, with its tea and herbs, suit the mood especially well.
Scent can also mark a boundary in the rush of December. Once the cleaning is done, the hands are washed and the fragrance rises from the serum, the day's work is over. Decide that in advance, and the evenings grow quieter.
How Soie sees it
Soie considers washing and moisturising to be the two foundations of hand beauty. Looking after the hands is recommended even when they are not rough, and reviewing them at the end of one year is also a way of preparing them for the next.
Enlight Hand Serum is a beauty serum made for hands that have worked all year. It contains moisturising ingredients including five ceramides and peptides, and because it leaves no stickiness it serves equally well after wet work during the day and in the intensive routine at night. Common questions about hand care are answered in our hand beauty Q&A.
You worked well this year. Smooth the serum in slowly on one of the last evenings of December, as if saying exactly that to your hands.
