As a beauty editor, I road-test a steady stream of age-defying, SPF-packed formulas—always on my hands first, and almost exclusively on the right. Years of this lopsided routine have started to show: my right hand now looks smugly well-preserved, while the left appears a little more… weathered.
Hands are often the first place ageing shows up. Pigmentation, thinning skin, and that gradual loss of elasticity—much of it accelerated by UV exposure. According to Holly Mason, skin health expert and founder of The Skin Investment Clinic, the issue is less about adding something new and more about correcting a long-standing blind spot. “The hands are chronically underprotected and overexposed,” she explains. “Unlike the face, which most people have incorporated into a skincare routine for years, the hands are almost always bare – no SPF, no antioxidants, no barrier support.”
