By the end of June, when the sun suddenly sharpens, almost no one forgets sunscreen on the face. But look at the back of the hand that just smoothed it across your cheek. Is it wearing the same protection? Checked honestly, the answer is often no.
The hands are not covered by clothing, and they meet the open air all year round. Unlike the face, they are washed many times a day, so the sunscreen applied at breakfast is usually gone before lunch. When we think about hand beauty in summer, ultraviolet light is the largest factor and, at the same time, the one most easily overlooked.
This article looks at where the backs of the hands catch the sun, then at how to choose and reapply sunscreen, the role of gloves and parasols, and finally how to settle the hands when you come home in the evening.
The back of the hand sees more sun than you think
The changes that come from years of UV exposure are called photoageing. The hands are said to receive more sunlight than the face, and besides a loss of firmness and a dull tone, this is the main origin of the dark spots that appear on the back of the hand. Most of those spots are caused by the sun and are considered one of the most common signs of photoageing.
Exposure does not happen only on a day at the beach. While driving, the backs of the hands on the wheel sit in sunlight through the glass for the whole journey. The handlebars of a bicycle, a few minutes hanging laundry on the balcony, taking out the rubbish, walking the dog. Even on a day spent mostly indoors, the hands step into the sun again and again. It is this accumulation that shapes how the hands look in later years.
SPF 30 or higher, and every two hours
The basic rule is the same as for the face and body: apply sunscreen to the hands every morning. The usual guide is a broad-spectrum product of SPF 30 or higher that protects against both UVA and UVB. Spread it from the back of the hand along the fingers and around the nails, with the same attention you give your face.
Outdoors, reapplying roughly every two hours is recommended. For the hands there is a second rule: reapply after washing. Assume that each wash has taken the sunscreen with it, and keep a small tube by the basin or in your bag so that the habit takes care of itself.
- In the morning, apply to the backs of the hands and the fingers in the same motion as the face.
- Outdoors, reapply every two hours and after every hand wash.
- Before driving or cycling, glance at the backs of your hands.
The places most often missed are the backs of the fingers, the skin around the nails and the wrists. Do not stop at the back of the hand; work along each finger in turn and down to the wrist. Giving the hands the same care you give your face is, in the end, the whole of the method.
Gloves and parasols: shade as a second layer
Applying is one approach; shading is another. A parasol casts its shadow not only on the face but on the hand that holds it. For long drives or bicycle rides, thin gloves cover the backs of the hands completely. Summer gloves sound uncomfortable, yet in a breathable fabric they are far less of a burden than expected.
The hand on the steering wheel, the hand holding a phone, the hand wrapped around a cup on a terrace. In summer the hands are nearly always holding something, out in the light. When you choose a parasol or a hat, think of the backs of your hands as well. That alone extends the hours in which they are shaded.
Combining sunscreen with shade gives you more leeway between reapplications. The aim is not perfection but a gradual subtraction of the minutes your hands spend in direct sun. Hand beauty is largely built from small subtractions of this kind.
Back home: wash, then moisturise
At the end of the day, you wash off the sunscreen and the sweat. How you wash also affects the skin. Hot water strips sebum, so use lukewarm water instead. Work a gentle soap into a foam, enclose the hands in it, rinse thoroughly, and press the towel against the skin rather than rubbing.
Then moisturise straight away. After a day in the sun, the hands are more prone to dryness and dullness. Moisturising from the back of the hand to the fingertips and around the nails helps restore the balance of water and lipids lost during the day. In summer, more than in any other season, the order of wash, then moisturise, matters.
Where Soie's hand serum fits
Soie (pronounced swah; French for silk) makes Enlight Hand Serum, and it has no UV-protective function. When you go out during the day, please apply your own sunscreen to the backs of your hands. Where the serum belongs is the step after washing, at home in the evening, when its five ceramides and peptides (moisturising ingredients) and EGF and KGF (skin-conditioning ingredients) give summer hands their moisture back.
Because the texture leaves no stickiness, sunscreen can go on top of it in the morning without slipping. Serum then sunscreen before you leave; serum alone to close the day. We hope this becomes a summer rhythm. The full routine is in our hand beauty guide, and seasonal questions are answered in the hand beauty Q&A.
When you apply sunscreen to your face, give the back of that hand the same few seconds. Summer hand beauty begins with no more than that small noticing. The modest goal for the season: that in autumn, when you look in the mirror, your hands and your face are telling the same story.
