If you're concerned about the signs of premature aging showing up on your face, you already know to apply retinol and "anti-aging" eye creams, but the most tell-tale sign isn't always on the face. As my 56-year-old mom always tells me: the hands are the real giveaway, with dark spots, fine lines, and a loss of radiance marking the passage of time on mature skin. Of course, there's nothing wrong with aging—it happens to all of us. But it's understandable if you'd prefer to minimize the evidence, even just slightly.
Until recently, hands were something of an afterthought. Now, in-office treatments like lasers, fillers, and even fat grafting are increasingly popular to help patients look (and feel) younger. A side effect of that boom? The OTC category has surged, and anti-aging hand products—including serums, lotions, and treatments—are now widely available. In my opinion? Hand creams for mature skin are the best place to start and can easily fit into any body care routine.
The skin on our hands ages quickly due to constant, often unprotected exposure to environmental factors such as UV rays and pollution, combined with thinner skin and fewer oil glands. A hand cream with ingredients similar to the products you often use on your face can help boost collagen production and increase moisture, resulting in more hydrated, youthful-looking skin. Want to see the products I use in my own preventative hand care routine, along with the ones my grandmother and mother use to help reverse signs of aging? Here are eight of the best.
Skincare's Gold Standard
As of today, right after SPF, retinol is the most effective anti-aging ingredient because it enhances cellular turnover, resulting in firmer, more elastic skin. On some nights, I apply a small pea-sized amount of my prescription tretinoin, while on other nights, I prefer a dedicated retinol hand cream that offers a luxurious lather and other good-for-my-skin ingredients. I just make sure to apply sunscreen in the AM since the ingredient makes your skin more sensitive to the sun.
A 2025 Best of Skin Award Winner, this retinol-rich formula not only treats fine lines and improves texture, but it also smells delicious and looks stunning on a nightstand.
This retinol hand cream contains 0.25 percent vitamin A (the umbrella term for all retinol derivatives), a low concentration suitable for beginners. Since many people might not have used retinol on their hands before, it's a good place to start.
Face Care as Hand Care
The next batch of hand creams features ingredients that could easily be mistaken for those in my face serums or moisturizers. They often include skin-brighteners like vitamin C, dark spot reducers like niacinamide, and barrier-supporting ingredients like emollients that lock in water to prevent moisture loss, leaving hands super soft and radiant.
You may have seen this next pick go viral on social media due to its silky-smooth texture, which utilizes top-tier ingredients to combat signs of aging. Props to its vitamin C, hyaluronic acid, niacinamide, and bakuchiol—the latter of which is a proven, gentler alternative to retinol.
The newly launched Prada hand cream relies on brightening niacinamide to reduce age spots, biotin to strengthen weak and brittle nails, and shea butter as a rich emollient to lock in moisture.
Drugstore Never Fails
Don't sleep on budget beauty buys. As a beauty editor with nearly six years of product testing experience, some of my favorite formulations come with inexpensive price tags. Hand creams are one of those essentials, and a CeraVe or an affordable French pharmacy brand never misses.
CeraVe is one of those brands that dermatologists consistently recommend thanks to its no-frills formulations. I use this one during the cooler months or when my skin feels extra irritated and dry because of its thick, ultra-moisturizing texture.
French pharmacy icons always perform beautifully, and if you're a fan of the Cicalfate do-it-all moisturizer, you'll also love this one for your hands.
Last Step, Best Step
Aside from the more serious concern of skin cancer, UV damage is one of—if not the—most significant factors in premature aging. While many hand creams boast an SPF, only those with an SPF of 30 or higher will suffice. Plus, my usual sunscreens are often too greasy for my hands, but these are specially formulated with that in mind.
Supergoop! pretty much covers every overlooked area of sunscreen application with a special product, and the Handscreen combines moisturizing hand cream with the right SPF levels of a sunscreen.
Need sunscreen ASAP? Add this broad-spectrum SPF 50 to your cart with Prime shipping. It also features an amino acid profile that helps reduce signs of aging.
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