Your hands are the most valuable tools attached to your body. With them, you can eat, clean, and care for yourself and others. Most people’s hands are constantly working and get very little rest. After everything they go through, it’s little wonder that they tend to age faster than the rest of the body. If your hands are currently betraying your age, here are six ways to help them look more vibrant and youthful.

1. Use Tretinoin Cream

Tretinoin is a prescription-strength gel or cream sold under many different brand names. It is derived from vitamin A and is commonly applied to the skin to improve its texture and appearance. Many adults achieve noticeable benefits after applying this powerful ingredient to their skin on a regular basis. Consistent use of tretinoin products may reduce the appearance of fine lines, wrinkles, and sunspots.

Surprisingly, tretinoin achieves these positive outcomes by irritating the skin. As the skin becomes irritated, its cells go through their life cycles faster. This means that older, lackluster skin cells spend less time making your hands look old. Instead, they quickly die and fall away to make room for healthier, younger cells. This effect can make your hands look smoother and more youthful.

2. Apply Sunscreen

Although moderate sun exposure can boost mental health, prolonged exposure to ultraviolet rays can damage your skin. Spending too much time outdoors without protection can increase your risk of skin cancer. Beyond that, failing to protect your skin from the sun can make you look older. It’s a well-known fact that excessive exposure to direct sunlight can cause wrinkles and sunspots.

Sunscreen is designed to block the sun’s most harmful rays. Many people are careful to apply sunscreen generously to their faces, arms, and legs. But the parts of the body they use to apply the sunscreen are often overlooked. To keep your hands looking young, don’t forget to put sunscreen on them, too. You should also reapply it anytime you wash your hands.

3. Quit Smoking

Smoking is one of the quickest ways to make your hands look old and wrinkled. Nicotine in cigarettes can change the appearance and structure of the skin. It reduces levels of elastin and collagen and can leave the skin slack and hanging. It also inhibits the ability of the skin to repair and heal itself.

Supplementing your diet with collagen may help improve the elasticity and texture of your skin. However, the most effective way to stop the skin-damaging effects of smoking is to quit the habit. As you do, you’ll probably notice a myriad of health benefits. One of those benefits will most likely be more supple, younger-looking skin on your hands and elsewhere.

4. Consider Laser Therapy

Though it may sound scary, most types of laser therapy are very gentle on the skin. They involve applying controlled, therapeutic light to desired treatment areas for various purposes. One of the most popular uses of laser therapy is to combat signs of aging and beautify the skin. The results of laser therapy speak for themselves and are quite impressive. You can look up any laser therapy skin procedure online and see the results for yourself.

If you’re unhappy with the way your hands look, consider talking to a dermatologist about laser therapy. There are different types of lasers and treatments available. Some combat wrinkles while others focus more on minimizing age spots and sunspots. If possible, look for a treatment that helps improve both of these common conditions. For the best results, follow all pre- and post-procedural guidelines from your laser therapist.

5. Wear Hand Protection

Your hands are exposed to so many potentially harmful things every day. Some examples include sunlight, cleaning products, and pollutants. To keep your hands looking youthful as long as possible, wear gloves regularly. This will help minimize skin irritation and may help slow the aging process for your hands.

You can wear gloves while driving to protect your hands from the sun’s ultraviolet rays. Even though car windows offer a degree of sun protection, some UV rays can still come through and damage your skin. You should also wear gloves when you garden and clean your house. Limiting your hands’ exposure to dirt and household cleaning chemicals will help them maintain a more youthful appearance.

6. Manage Stress

Of all the hand-care tips in this guide, managing stress is arguably the most difficult to follow. Stress can never be completely avoided in life, and a little bit of it can be healthy. But excessive stress is all too common these days. When you’re constantly stressed, your body releases more cortisol, which is a hormone that can lead to rapid skin aging. Cortisol reduces collagen in the skin and contributes to wrinkles and sagging.

If your hands look noticeably older despite your best efforts to protect and care for them, take note of your stress levels. Manage excessive stress by reprioritizing your life, engaging in gentle daily exercise, and making time for self-care. You may also find that meditation, breathing exercises, or talking therapy help reduce your stress and cortisol levels.

Everyone ages, but that doesn’t mean you can’t do things to minimize the most obvious signs of aging. If your hands are starting to look excessively wrinkled and old, use some or all of the suggestions above. You may be surprised by how quickly your hands’ appearance can improve when you take better care of your skin.