Another reason to hate on January: new research reveals that having dry hands ages us by a whopping nine years on average.
Yes, a specific study asked members of the public to estimate the age of people based solely on photos of their hands, where half were ādryā and the other half ānot dryā, and 69% of respondents guessed above the subjectsā actual age when looking at the drier hands.
Two even guessed the dry hands of a 28-year-old to be aged 80, while ā on average ā healthy hands were seen to be one year younger. Pretty harsh stuff.
It all comes courtesy of the company Harvey Water Softeners, who are keen to point out that soft water equals softer skin and hair ā which can often be the case.
Extreme though the results of their marketing may sound, it does serve as a reminder of the merits of a good old hand cream.
However, itās important to note that itās not only dry skin that serves up ageing effects on our hands (should you care), but sun damaged skin too. Therefore your hand cream of choice should always feature SPF. Even in January.
Read more about this study here.
