11 Ways to Get Beautiful Hands at 50

Treat hands to masks

Specially designated “spa nights” are great but mature hands often benefit from weekly or bimonthly masks to boost hydration. Try ready-made drugstore versions like the Aveeno Repairing Cica Hand Mask with Prebiotic Oat & Shea Butter ($4, ulta.com), Earth Therapeutics Warming Thermal Moisturizing Hand Mask ($8, ulta.com) or simply DIY with an overnight mask. Just apply cuticle oil to nails, slather hands generously with any rich cream or petroleum jelly ointment like Aquaphor Healing Ointment ($10, walgreens.com) and slip on a pair of fresh white cotton manicure gloves like the Gaxcoo White Cotton Gloves for Overnight Moisturizing ($23 for 7 pairs, amazon.com) for a makeover by dawn. If you’re a salon manicure regular, try a paraffin mask. Your hands are dipped in warm wax, which hardens to a shell-like layer, then slipped into heat-retaining mitts for 20 minutes before the cooled wax is cracked off and super-soft hands emerge.

(Left to right) CND Solar Oil Nail and Cuticle Conditioner; Sally Hansen Nail Rehab Oil Cuticle Balm; Deborah Lippmann Exfoliating Cuticle Remover Nail Treatment

Ulta Beauty (2); Sephora

Manage your cuticles

If you pick or bite your cuticles when anxious, cut them with a cuticle nipper or pull/chew at painful hangnails … hands off! Cuticles (the thin ridges of skin that surround each nail) protect nails from bacteria and infection. Pushing them back is the way to keep nails looking groomed, improve polish application and eliminate hangnails. This is easiest when the cuticles are soft and pliable after a bath, shower or nail soak in warm water. First, to soften and loosen cuticles, apply a conditioning oil like CND Solar Oil Nail and Cuticle Conditioner ($13, ulta.com) or Sally Hansen Nail Rehab Oil Cuticle Balm ($10, ulta.com) or a cuticle cream like Deborah Lippmann Exfoliating Cuticle Remover Nail Treatment ($20, sephora.com). Then push using a thumbnail or a cotton-wrapped cuticle stick. And those hangnails? These little strips of torn skin near the cuticle are vulnerable spots. Slather a hangnail with Vaseline or Aquaphor and cover with a bandage until you can neatly snip with nail scissors.

(Left to right) Essie Nail Polish The Wild Nudes Collection in Clothing Optional; OPI Nail Lacquer in Humidi-Tea; Sally Hansen Color Therapy Nail Color in 200 Powder Room; Olive & June Nail Polish in GH

Walgreens; Ulta Beauty; Target (2)

Give hands and fingers a long slender look

We all know that dressing in one color makes you appear taller and slimmer. Well, nude nail polish does the same thing for all hands, but especially for wide or short hands and nails. Choose a low-contrast shade that blends with your skin tone. It can be a full-coverage cream or sheer or even have a hint of pink like the Olive & June Nail Polish in GH ($8, target.com), Essie Nail Polish The Wild Nudes Collection in Clothing Optional or Bare With Me ($9, walgreens.com), Sally Hansen Color Therapy Nail Color in 200 Powder Room ($10, target.com) or the OPI Nail Lacquer in Bubble Bath or Humidi-Tea ($11, ulta.com). Next, address nail shape. In general, rounded nails and ovals slim your hand and fingers, square shapes widen them. Oval or almond-shape nails (the latter has a more tapered tip) suit everyone, are classic and make little gestures elegant. If you have wide/short fingers or hands and prefer the neat look of squares, try a rounded “squoval” (a square-oval hybrid shape) for the best of both looks.

Choose the right bright polish for mature hands

Wearing bold polish is a great way to focus attention on nails (and stacked or statement rings!) and away from hand discolorations. Though dark purple or indigo polish feels edgy, and blue, green or gray polish look trendy, these may not be your best choices. Hands that are ruddy, with red undertones, should head for fiery oranges and reds like OPI Nail Lacquer in Cajun Shrimp ($8, walgreens.com) or Essie Gel Couture Nail Polish in Rock the Runway ($13, target.com) and avoid blue-reds and wines. Those with blue/purple veins and brown spots also benefit from the warming glow of bright reds or vibrant pinks like the Deborah Lippmann Hyper Vibes Gel Lab Pro Color in Can’t Stop the Feeling! ($20, sephora.com). Base coat is essential with a high-pigment one-coat polish. It’s the best preventive for nail stains since it creates a barrier between the pigment and nail bed.

(Left to right) Supergoop! Handscreen SPF 40; Neutrogena Ultra Sheer Face & Body Stick SPF 70

Dermstore; Target

Use a hand-friendly sunscreen every day

UVA rays can target your hands right through car and office windows, even on cloudy, chilly days. “Applying sunscreen to your hands daily is the most important thing to do in preventing further UV-induced sunspots and increased breakdown of dermal support,” says Rossi. Cumulative sun damage shows up as crepey skin, brown spots and (worst-case scenario) skin cancer on the backs of our hands. Choose a formula like the Supergoop! Handscreen SPF 40 ($14, dermstore.com) or Neutrogena Ultra Sheer Face & Body Stick SPF 70 ($10, target.com) that blends in with no greasy, oily residue to mess up your keyboard, cellphone or steering wheel. Reapplication during the day is a must-do.

visualspace/iStock/Getty Images Plus/Getty Images

Consider dermatological treatments

As hands age they lose collagen and their natural cushion of fat, so the skin becomes looser and veins and bones look more prominent. It’s all perfectly normal but there are two dermatological solutions that can provide a fix. “Hyaluronic fillers such as Restylane and Juvéderm work effectively on volume loss. Injected into the dorsum [back of your hands] filler plumps up the skin so veins and tendons are less visible, while lasers — pigment, resurfacing or vascular — address the appearance of photo-aged skin, brown spots, and skin cancer. Both treatments require the experience and skill of a board-certified dermatologist or plastic surgeon,” says Rossi. Hand filler and laser cost about $1,500-plus for each procedure, depending on the doctor and location, and last from one to two years. Beam me up!

(Left to right) Milani Conceal + Perfect 2-in-1 Foundation + Concealer; L’Oréal Paris Infallible Full Wear Concealer; MAC Studio Radiance Face and Body Radiant Sheer Foundation; Tarte Shape Tape Concealer

Target (2); Ulta Beauty (2)

Use makeup for special-occasion camouflage

Disguising brown spots and veins with makeup is another solution. Body makeup sure sounds reassuring and does work, but any face makeup that’s waterproof, transfer proof and crease proof can also do the job. Remember when selecting a shade that your hands may be slightly darker in skin tone than your face. Use a damp makeup sponge to apply and blend in foundation like the MAC Studio Radiance Face and Body Radiant Sheer Foundation ($35, ulta.com) or the Milani Conceal + Perfect 2-in-1 Foundation + Concealer ($11, target.com) all over the backs of your hands for an easy overall blurring effect on veins and spots. Or just cover individual brown spots with a waterproof wand-type concealer like the L’Oréal Paris Infallible Full Wear Concealer ($7, target.com) or Tarte Shape Tape Concealer ($29, ulta.com). Use the sponge tip to dot on and tap blend with your finger or a makeup sponge till the edges disappear.

Lois Joy Johnson is a beauty and style editor who focuses on women 50 and older. She was the beauty and style editor at Ladies’ Home Journal and a founding editor of More magazine. She has written three books: The Makeup Wakeup, The Wardrobe Wakeup and The Woman's Wakeup.