Health FAQ

When dealing with the natural effects of aging, which often includes wrinkled hands and arms, avoid the temptation to feel your current beauty issue isn’t treatable and reach for a bottle — or jar — of cream that is formulated for your skin. While any lotion certainly helps, those targeted toward replenishing and protecting mature skin while adding a supple appearance are just what you need for healthy, glowing hands and arms.

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Packed with Nutrients and Natural Ingredients

• Particularly if you have a penchant for all things natural, organic or botanic based, reach for a cream for your hands and arms made out of nature’s finest ingredients. Look for nutrients, such as vitamin E, known for its healing abilities. As for the moisture, seek out lotions and creams that use natural oils and butters, such as cocoa butter, shea butter and jojoba oil. These ingredients have the ability to moisturize your skin while protecting it. Products packed full of petrolatum will create a barrier over your skin to keep existing moisture in, but they will not add the moisture natural oils and butters can.

Sunscreen Based

• If you’re currently dealing with wrinkles on your arms and hands, help stop new wrinkles from forming while preventing other signs of aging, such as dry skin and discoloration, by opting for a hydrating cream that also includes an SPF. Use creams specifically made for arms and hands that include an SPF rather than just reaching for the tube of sunscreen you use for the beach. The specialty creams have a much more pleasing consistency and scent, and you’ll be more likely to use them on a daily basis.

Includes Retinol

• For a serious attempt at reversing fine lines and wrinkles on arms and hands, purchase a cream that includes the ingredient retinol. This Vitamin-A based ingredient works by promoting cell turnover and an increase in collagen production. A cream created for your hands and arms with a potent concentration of retinol is one of your best bets for decreasing wrinkles. However, retinol can cause redness and a burning sensation, so discontinue or cut back on use if it bothers you. Also remember to use sunscreen on a daily basis while using retinol.

Firming and Moisturizing

• Search for anti-aging body creams that include ingredients known for their skin firming abilities. These lotions are all formulated to moisturize as well, so you will receive hydration and a tightening effect that will help your skin look smoother. Ingredients such as shitake complex are known for their firming properties. When gravitating toward firming creams, look for those that mention "anti-aging" on the package for a formulation that targets mature skin for the best possible results.

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If you want to frame the face, a perfectly groomed and exquisitely arched eyebrow is essential. In fact, for any woman older than 50, a fuller and perfectly manicured eyebrow takes years off the face. If you over-tweezed or over-plucked your eyebrows in your youth, the best eyebrow liner will help to fill in sparse brows and add a professional polish to your everyday eye makeup.

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About Eyebrow Pencils

• Eyebrow pencils are commonly used to fill in and define brows because, in comparison to eyebrow powder and eyebrow crème, they are the easiest to control and apply to the brow. An eyebrow pencil has a waxier and thicker consistency than other eye makeup pencils, which helps it to adhere to the brows and last longer. The best eyebrow pencil for the mature woman glides softly across the eyebrow hairs and deposits color easily without tugging or pulling the skin.

  If you have sensitive skin, the American Academy of Dermatology (AAD) recommends you use highly pigmented and wax-based eyebrow pencils instead of liquid eyeliners to fill in your brows. The latex found in liquid eyeliners could cause allergies by irritating latex-sensitive skin types. Unlike some liquid makeup eyebrow products, pencil liners are also water-soluble, so they are easier to remove from the skin.

Types of Eyebrow Pencils

• To perk up aging eyes without going under the knife, paint on the pretty with an eyebrow pencil. Eyebrow pencils come in two formulations — wood and mechanical. You control the point of the wood pencil by sharpening the tip with a makeup pencil sharpener. To apply the product smoothly and expertly, sharpen the eyebrow pencil before each use. On the other hand, a mechanical pencil does not need sharpening. You release the makeup by twisting the base of the pencil to extend the product up and out. If you have oily skin, choose a waterproof eyebrow liner to achieve a long-wearing finish that doesn’t flake or smear.

Fill In the Blanks

• As you mature, your natural eyebrow hair color fades and brows get sparser. To pencil in the perfect color for your older than-50 brows, pick an eyebrow pencil that is one or two shades lighter than your current hair color. If your brows are gray or silver, choose a charcoal or soft taupe eyebrow pencil; brunettes look best in a dark-brown eye pencil; blondes shine in taupe-colored or hazel-hued pencils, while redheads look their prettiest in copper or sable pencils that are one to two shades lighter that their natural brows.

How To Fill In Your Aging Brows

• When applying color to your brows, the goal is to enhance the natural shape of your hairs. Strong and penciled-in eyebrows also draw attention up from under-eye bags and away from wrinkly eyelids. After tweezing and combing brows, apply the pencil to the brow hair using short strokes. Angle the mechanical or wood pencil in the same direction as your hair’s growth. Blend the pencil into your brows using a stiff, angled eyebrow brush. For longer wear and complete coverage, apply a clear brow gel to set the hairs.

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If you wave goodbye with less enthusiasm than you used to, the problem could be your flabby arms. Upper-arm flab is caused by a number of different factors, such as lifestyle, fitness, diet and nutrition, genetics and the aging process. But you don’t have to resign yourself to wearing long sleeves if you make a few changes in the way you eat, exercise and protect yourself from the sun.

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Skin

• Aging skin sags from loss of elasticity. In a Cornell Center for Materials Research Q and A, Mark Witmer, Ph.D, explains that during aging, skin connective tissues — collagen and elastin fibers — "become looser, thicker, clumped and even crosslinked to other fibers." These changes lead to brittle, sagging skin. According to Witmer, genetics plays a major role in how your skin ages, but exposure to ultraviolet rays can hasten the aging process. While skin aging is not the only factor leading to flabby arms, the use of sunscreen can help protect you from premature loss of upper-arm skin firmness.

Weight

• Weight loss can be a cure or a cause of flabby arms. Excess weight combined with slack skin can lead to saggy upper arms. But loss of weight reduces the plumping factor of fat, leaving loose skin hanging when you raise your upper arms. After rapid weight loss, it can take up to two years for skin to tighten to fit your new shape. And if you are past your prime, your skin might have lost too much elasticity to tighten up sufficiently to alleviate upper-arm flab. Ben Greenfield, in his article for HuffPost Healthy Living, recommends losing no more than 1 to 2 pounds per week to help prevent loose skin.

Exercise

• Lack of exercise can lead to diminished muscle tissue and loss of muscle tone, leaving your arms flabby. Reducing flab and shaping upper arms requires exercising both the triceps and the biceps. Exercises such as pushups, triceps extensions and dumbbell kickbacks work the triceps muscles in the backs of your upper arms, while biceps curls, dips and shoulder presses build mass in your biceps. Incorporate both cardio and strength-training exercises into your fitness program for best results.

Diet

• In an article for "Shape," Charlotte Andersen says eating colorful fruits and vegetables can add shape to your arms. Along with adequate hydration, your body needs essential nutrients to keep your skin elastic and your muscles strong. Andersen recommends foods high in vitamin C, fish oil, calcium, magnesium, B vitamins, vitamin D and vitamin E. These nutrients are found in fish, fruits and vegetables, nuts, whole grains, lean meat, fortified milk and dairy products.

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