A Round of Applause for the Hand Perfection Anti-Aging Hand Care Line
No matter how intense your anti-aging regimen, chances are you worry about a few of the tell-tale spots on your body that could very well point to your real birth year — among them the neck and, of course, the hands. Though a plethora of collagen-boosting, moisturizing, smoothing and firming face creams have flooded the market over the past decade, few brands have been as aggressive in seeking to combat visible aging signs in the hand area. One exception is, of course, Clinique, which recently launched its Even Better Dark Spot Correcting Hand Cream, which seeks to diminish the appearance of age spots and sun spots, helping to create a more even skin tone while delivering a smoother and more supple texture, protecting the delicate skin along your hands from UV rays and free radicals. Still, this hand cream focuses on brightening the skin tone, making this its primary goal as opposed to, say, boosting elastin production, strengthening the skin’s moisture barrier, or plumping the skin to make veins and other unsightly details less blatantly apparent. Now, if you’ve been reading Sicka Than Average for long enough, then you know that I often gripe about my hands being drier than the Saharan desert. Thus far, I’ve tried a Pathmark’s worth of hand creams and have ultimately only found a couple that delivered astounding results – one being the Clinique Deep Comfort Hand Cream and others including the Lisa Hoffman Spa Hand and Foot Butter, the L’Occitane Shea Buter Hand Cream, and the Jurlique Rose Hand Cream. Still, I’ve always longed for a full-on hand care regimen that included a cuticle oil treatment that could be easily absorbed by hands for on-the-go touch-ups, a day hand cream equipped with SPF protection, and a heavier, buttery but non-greasy night cream that would replenish my often gruff mitts during my sleep hours.
Fortunately, someone else had my same concerns and decided to spring to action. As an in-demand hand model, Ellen Sirot knew that much of her livelihood revolved around keeping her hands looking as smooth, soft, radiant, and refined as possible so that, in addition to being ultra careful about not over-drying, scraping, cutting, or injuring her hands, she also had to fret about fending away harmful UV rays that could translate into unsightly sunburns or even age spots and, perhaps even more overwhelming, she had to take preventative measures to ensure that her hands wouldn’t start looking like something out of Cocoon or Driving Miss Daisy. Sirot decided to partner with CCA industries to develop Hand Perfection, perhaps the only hand care line that bills itself as an anti-aging regimen.
The line includes three key products: the Hand Perfection Nail and Cuticle Treatment ($9.99 at Drugstore.com and Walgreens.com), the Hand Perfection Nourishing Day Cream SPF 15 ($14.99 at Drugstore.com and Walgreens.com), and the Hand Perfection Rejuvenating Night Cream ($14.99 at Drugstore.com and Walgreens.com).
Shaped like a pen with a slanted, sponge-y tip, the Hand Perfection Nail and Cuticle Treatment is an excellent tool for women with extraordinarily dry hands, such as myself, who need constant touch-ups in order to keep hands smooth and hydrated. At the bottom of the pen, there’s a button that can be clicked to dispense the cuticle treatment to the padded tip and then, with a simple swipe, you can smooth the treatment all over the nail surface and on the skin surrounding the nails. You might need to massage the treatment onto your hands for it to be fully absorbed but, unlike other on-the-go cuticle pens, this one doesn’t leave hands feeling oily and greasy. The Nail and Cuticle Treatment’s formula relies on the brand’s proprietary RevitaStim Active Complex (which itself incorporates with Olivem-1000, along with peptides and hyaluronic acid), along with a plethora of nourishing botanical oils — among them olive oil, which is rich in Omega-3, Omega-6 and Omega-9 fatty acids that work to boost elasticity; evening primrose oil, said to deliver long-lasting hydration and to improve circulation thanks to its Omega-3 and gamma-linoleic acid content; borage oil, also rich in Omega-3 and Omega-6 fatty acids; avocado oil, which protects the skin by creating an antimicrobial layer that protects from UV exposure, moisture loss, and irritation, and which boosts collagen production thanks to its high concentration of palmitoleic acid (a type of Omega-9 fatty acid); jojoba oil, which contains both Omega-6 and Omega-9 fatty acids, along with tocopherols, naturally occurring chemical compounds related to vitamin E; lavender oil, said to both hydrate the skin and increase microcirculation; and sunflower seed oil, also rich in a range of Omega-3 and Omega-6 fatty acids.
As a mother, I’m constantly cleaning up after a rambunctious boy, washing dishes, wiping kitchen counters, and washing my hands, which only exacerbates my hands’ dryness and often results in weaker and brittle nails, along with broken cuticles and pesky hang nails. As I said before, hand creams are key but it also helps to have a treatment that can be used at any point in time and which will be readily absorbed by the skin and nails. The Nail and Cuticle Treatment has done wonders in this regard, especially since I can carry it in my purse and take it out whenever necessary.
The Hand Perfection Nourishing Day Lotion with SPF 15, meanwhile, contains panthenol, which increases cell proliferation in order to condition and rejuvenate the skin, along with moisture-locking hyaluronic acid, and softening shea butter, which boosts the skin’s elasticity and leaves it smooth and silky. Other ingredients in the formula include vitamin A, known to increase cellular rejuvenation and to protect the skin from free radicals; vitamin C, which promotes collagen synthesis and brightens the skin; and vitamin E, which protects skin from damaging UV rays. The SPF 15, meanwhile, protects from both UVA and UVB rays.
Though it doesn’t deliver the immediate surge of moisture that you get from, say, Clinique’s Deep Comfort Hand Cream, and it’s completely fragrance free so that you don’t have the sensory delight you experience when you smooth on a L’Occitane hand cream, it does leave hands feeling smoother and it’s absorbed rapidly. I also appreciate the SPF protection it offers since, after all, the sun’s rays can wreak havoc on the skin and few consider that the same precautions we take for our complexions should be taken for our hands.
My absolute favorite product in the line is the Hand Perfection Rejuvenating Night Cream, which I literally used to the last pearl-sized drop. As with all the products in the formula, the night cream contains the Revitastim Active Complex with Olivem-1000, as well as hyaluronic acid, and provitamin B5, but it also contains additional ingredients like hydrolyzed soybean fiber, which boosts collagen synthesis and reduced the appearance of fine lines and wrinkles; rapeseed sterols, which reconstitute the lamellar bilayers of the skin, strengthening the skin’s moisture barrier; stable vitamin C to help repair sun damage and even skin tone; lanolin, which also helps to strengthen the skin’s moisture barrier, keeping it hydrated longer; and both shea butter and aloe vera.
The Hand Perfection Rejuvenating Night Cream feels indulgent as you smooth it onto your hands before going to bed in the evening but the best part is that, in the morning, your hands feel softer and also look more appealing. Over time, you’ll notice that the skin along the back of your hands feels more taut, so that any lines are less visible and even veins don’t seem to protrude as much, while the texture of the skin itself is more pleasing to the touch and more radiant.
