When we look at the back of a hand, the eye tends to settle on the knuckles. They are the most mobile part of the hand and among the quickest to dry. Towards the end of winter, when fine lines seem to gather over the joints, it is the result of those two facts together.
The lines over the finger joints differ in nature from lines on the face. They are the slack the skin needs in order to move, made visible by dryness. So the starting point of care is not to worry about the lines themselves but to give the skin over the joints the moisture it lacks.
This article looks at how the skin of the knuckles works, and at a way of applying a hand serum that gives moisture to fine lines caused by dryness and leaves the skin smooth.
Slack built in for movement
The fingers bend and straighten countless times a day: turning keys, typing, opening packets, holding cups. What makes this possible is the slack in the skin over each joint. When a finger is straight, the skin over the knuckle looks slightly loose. That looseness is the allowance that lets it stretch when the finger bends.
Between a closed fist and an open hand, the area of skin over each knuckle changes considerably. No part of the face is asked to stretch and relax so often. The lines over the joints reflect the scale of that work.
Because of that allowance, fine lines show more readily when the skin is dry. Skin that folds smoothly when it is well moisturised looks creased when it is parched. With age the skin here also tends to slacken, but lines caused by dryness can be smoothed by giving the skin moisture.
Why the knuckles dry so quickly
The back of the hand has little sebum and thin skin to begin with. Within it, the knuckles are stretched every time the fingers move and are the first point of contact with whatever the hand touches: keys, the handle of a bag, a cold door handle. Friction and contact concentrate here.
The area around the joints is also easy to miss when washing, and just as easy to miss when drying. Soap left behind is a cause of roughness, and droplets left behind draw moisture from the skin as they evaporate. Knuckle dryness is the sum of these small omissions.
The back of the hand is also exposed to ultraviolet light throughout the year. Sun is one cause of dryness and dullness, and over many years it is considered a cause of lines as well. Even in winter, applying sunscreen to the backs of the hands on days spent outdoors is advisable.
Applying serum so it reaches the joints
Most people apply a hand serum to the centre of the back of the hand, rub their palms together and stop there. Done that way, little moisture reaches the skin around the joints. For the knuckles, add one step.
Place one or two pearl-sized drops on the back of one hand, bring the hands together and spread it over both. Then take each finger in turn between the fingers of the other hand and stroke it lightly from the base to the tip. As you pass over each joint, bend the finger slightly so the skin is stretched, and the moisture reaches into the lines themselves.
Finish by interlacing the fingers so the serum reaches the spaces between them, and press gently around the nails, where the skin dries most readily. The whole routine takes one or two minutes. No pressure is needed, and the skin should never be pulled.
This way of applying is not only for people concerned about their knuckles. It is the basic method for keeping moisture even across the whole hand. The question of knuckle lines is also answered in our hand beauty Q&A.
Timing through the day
Because the knuckles meet friction so many times a day, a single morning application will not carry them through to evening. After washing or wet work, before going out, and before bed: reapplying at each turning point of the day is the surest way to keep the joints smooth.
Drying deserves one extra step for the knuckles too. After pressing the towel against the hands, close it lightly around each finger in turn to lift the droplets from around the joints. Less soap left behind and less water left behind already changes how the knuckles dry.
A practical rhythm is to use a non-sticky serum alone during the day and, before bed, to layer a hand cream over the serum so that a film of oil seals the surface. Serum first, cream after. Since the hands are still while you sleep, this is when the skin over the joints has the longest uninterrupted time with its moisture.
Soie's hand serum
Enlight Hand Serum is a beauty serum for the hands, light enough to reach the fine creases of the knuckles. It combines EGF and KGF, skin-conditioning ingredients, with moisturising ingredients including five ceramides and peptides, helping to prevent dryness and roughness and leaving the skin feeling supple. Because it sinks in lightly without stickiness, its texture suits the finger-by-finger routine described above.
The formula is designed with the differences between the back of the hand and the palm in mind, and the basic method is to smooth it from the back of the hand to the fingertips and around the nails. The serum in every fragrance is in the hand serum collection.
The lines on the knuckles are also a record of everything the hands have done. Rather than fighting them, hand beauty proposes giving them moisture and leaving them smooth. That is the relationship with our hands that Soie suggests.
