Amlactin lotion for the dryness. I have heard of miracle cures for age spots but have never seen one IRL.

Because I work outside doing manual labor, my hands are horrible! I also used to have eczema, so I have quite a collection of moisturizing products.

My latest great is Gold Bond Ultimate....there was one kind, but now there are 20, which is annoying, but I think the newest I bought was aloe. They are probably all the same, lol.

I no longer have the eczema, but I had to use Cetafil for that, because most everything else had alcohol(which burns!), or fragrance(which irritated).

I use the exact same lotions and potions on my hands as I do on my face and neck. While my skin is pretty darn good for my age (I am 60) I do notice my hands look older than my face. I think it has to do with volume loss more than skin issues. I have read about fillers but am too scared to try them.

My hands turned into my grandmother 's hands a few years ago. Papery skin that stays in a peak when you pinch it. I remember doing that to my grandma's hands. I suppose dark spot removers would eventually fade the spots, or have them frozen off by the dermatologist.

I wish I could help you with the name of a great hand cream but my fav was discontinued many years ago and I still haven't found one comparable ;) I must have a half dozen kinds at my vanity right now ranging from drugstore to department store and all will help with consistent use. I'm not easy on hands...garden, housework, home repairs and lots of washing with this cold and flu season.

I've been trying to be more careful and wear gloves outside and in, whatever is appropriate for which chore I'm doing but hands are one place I've never been good about sunscreen. I had the freckles and age spots lasered several years ago - it took one treatment followed by one touch-up treatment 2 weeks later. Magic, they were gone and it wasn't terribly expensive. (I did look like I'd had a fight with the cat for 4-5 days, some red angry marks)

Lately I've noticed a lot more freckles & age spots & yeah, my hands are looking older. At least they're soft.

I try to always wear gloves for cleaning & chores, & Burt's Bees makes a wonderful salve for gardeners that made from olive oil & beeswax. I make my own version & it works better than anything else I've ever used...

I'm 45 and my hands look way older than the rest of me. No spots but my skin is thin, wrinkly and veiny.

I know I don't take care of my hands like I should. I've never been good at wearing gloves when washing dishes, cleaning or working in the garden. Plus, I lift heavy weights, so my palms have gnarly calluses.

I guess I'll never fool anyone into thinking I'm an aristocrat!

I can't stand to wear gloves for chores, gardening. etc. But - what Rose said!! Use retinol, vitamin c, moisturizers, scrubs, and SUNSCREEN on your hands too. It will make a difference.

Darn! Now I'm looking at my hands! I keep a moisturizer and/or petroleum jelly at each sink and try to use it a couple times a day. I also use a drop of Shaklee's C&E at bedtime which is pricey but that's what I believe keeps the age spots at bay. I have two younger sisters with way more spots than I have, and that's how I judge. The REAL secret is to actually use whatever it is you have. Vasoline is the best, imho. I try keep a "lip" tube handy. The trick is to remember that nothing works if you leave it in the jar.

Re. Lasers for brown spots: one treatment on my face with co2 heavy duty laser did nothing. Two different lasers were tried...nearly no results. I'm probably an anomaly, but do advise you to get a gaurentee in writing, and take your own before and after pics.

My hands have always looked ten years older than my face....big veins don't help. Ah well.

Asked the dermatologist about my hands a few years ago. She said we should ALWAYS wear sunscreen on them - we drive and drive and drive some more, with the sun blaring down on our hand(s). Makes sense to me. fwiw, I have old lady hands too. I hate them. I'm not sure drinking more water will even do the trick now. At least I don't have age spots on them (yet), just wrinkles.

Ugh, yes, should've worn sunscreen. Story of my life. I have so much sun damage. My face does look better than my hands, probably thanks to sunscreen. I wash my hands so often, I can't imagine sunscreen would make any difference.

Maybe gloves will come back into fashion? :-) Thanks for the tips. More water for me!

I have awful old lady hands too. Thin skin, prominent veins and loss of volume. Nurses love my veins because it's so easy to find one! I had some brown spots, but my derm froze them off, and for the most part they haven't reappeared. I really wish that I had used sunscreen on them when I was younger, as I have always done on my face.

A couple of years ago I had a filler injected (Restalyne). It did help, but it's not permanent. I'm thinking about doing it again. I'll probably have to do it every year or two for maintenance. What I don't understand is why it's so hard to find hand cream with sunscreen in it! I just bought Jergens new BB hand cream, which has SPF 20 in it, and I keep a small tube of sunscreen in my car and apply that when I think of it.

For a recent Roaring 20's theme even I went to I wore long above the elbow fingerless gloves. It was so great to have most of my hands covered!

For softness, you can't beat Neutrogena hand cream...better than vaseline. DH, esp in winter, used to get horrible cracks in his thumbs that were very painful, but now he religiously uses the Neutrogena and no more cracks.

For age spots, cut the carbs and eat anti-oxidants, things that fight the free radicals. You're getting carmelized...glycation...just like sugar does when you heat it.

Oxidative stress

I had a friend who was an avid golfer. She wore a golfing glove on one hand. The difference in her two hands was dramatic. The gloved hand was unwrinkled and spot free. The other hand was a different story. The sun really damages our skin. I am part of a sun worshiping generation and have a fair number of spots. Sun protection is so important. That's a message for anyone young enough to still be undamaged .

Dedtired, that test you do, where you pinch the skin and it stays in a peak briefly - I've heard that is an indication of dehydration, when your skin stays in the peak momentarily.

Dedtired - I soooo agree with you! I used to be a sun worshiper and I have always spent alot of time outside. I have two (younger) friends who have that beautiful, porcelain skin. Unblemished. Both of them avoid the sun. They do get outside but never without protection, sunscreen, beach umbrellas, etc. Their skin reflects the care they have taken.

I'm 61 and my face is very good because I have always taken good care of it. I have never enjoyed being in the sun during the summer. I always wanted to sit under a tree while at our swim club and was miserable without a beach umbrella when we were at the beach.

My hands are another story! I don't have age spots yet but tissue thin skin and prominent veins. To top it off several months ago I had terrible pain in my right index finger. Several days into the pain I noticed a small bump on the side of my fingertip joint, I assume it is the beginning of arthritis!