Wearing sunscreen on my hands is one thing that I wish I could go back and get a do-over on. For the longest time, I never thought about it. By the time the brown spots starting showing up, it was too late though I try to put it on to prevent it from getting worse.
When I discovered that City Beauty made Restoring Hand Treatment, I was all in. Fortunately, City Beauty sent me a tube to try out. On the front of the box, it says:
“This rejuvenating cream helps diminish the appearance of aging – dryness, dark spots, and wrinkles – to create an overall younger look”.
It goes on to say that it helps reverse the look of thinning skin, prominent veins and crepey texture. Sounds promising.
The instructions say to apply a dime-sized amount to the primarily to backs of the hands at least twice a day. I’ve been bad, I usually just apply it at night since my hands are in and out of water all day, and this is a pricey hand cream.
When I took a look at the ingredients, they are mostly ingredients that I would expect to see in a hand cream or skin cream: softening, smoothing and hydrating ingredients as well as a few ingredients that were rarer, e.g.
- glycerin and other emollients including shea butter, sweet almond oil and a number of other natural oils
- panthenol for smoothing
- sodium hyaluronate for hydration
- antioxidant rich licorice root extract and vitamin E for uneven skin tone and protection from environmental stressors
- Opuntia Ficus-Indica Stem Extract for firming, smoothing, protecting and hydrating skin
and nutrient-rich brown algae (undaria pinnatifida extract) with polyphenols from antioxidants that protect from environmental stressors, polysaccharides that hydrate, and another component that soothes skin. It also is credited with helping to reduce the appearance of dark spots. The brown algae would be especially encouraging if it weren’t the last ingredient in the list (though maybe it is very powerful like Opuntia Ficus-Indica Stem Extract and not much is needed????).
Ingredients: Water/Aqua/Eau, Glyceryl Stearate, Propanediol, C12-15 Alkyl Benzoate, Isopropyl Palmitate, Undecane, Butyrospermum Parkii (Shea) Butter, Tridecane, Caprylic/Capric Triglyceride, Cetyl Alcohol, PEG-100 Stearate, Allantoin, Panthenol, Prunus Amygdalus Dulcis (Sweet Almond) Oil, Tocopherol, Sodium Hyaluronate, Opuntia Ficus-Indica Stem Extract, Glycyrrhiza Glabra (Licorice) Root Extract, Ruttnera Lamellosa Oil, Watanabea Reniformis Oil, Phenoxyethanol, Dimethicone, Carbomer, Glycol Distearate, Potassium Cetyl Phosphate, Sucrose Palmitate, Butylene Glycol, Sodium Hydroxide, Glyceryl Linoleate, Ethylhexylglycerin, Disodium EDTA, Glycerin, Magnesium Ascorbyl Phosphate, Lecithin, Sodium Ascorbate, Undaria Pinnatifida Extract.
I have been using Restoring Hand Treatment on the backs of my hands once or twice a day for almost a month. Because I didn’t want to “waste it”, I use it only on the backs of my hands and I use my favorite and affordable hydrating and smoothing hand cream from Rituals on the rest of my hands. Restoring Hand Treatment does plump the backs of my hands somewhat and make the skin look less thin for a couple of hours. After that, I need to apply more to recreate the effect.
What I can say is that the brown spots on the backs of my hands have faded a bit, and in certain light, it looks like I have fewer dark spots than before I started using it. Frankly, I would say that the results are similar to using Vitamin C on my face – my small, cute freckles are mostly gone but the larger brown spots are still there. I am a little more than half way through the tube, and I will continue to use it till it is used up. At that point, I will report back if there is any more improvement.
I have mostly come to the realization that if I want to significantly fade my dark spots – especially the larger ones, IPL or laser treatments seem to be the only way.
City Beauty Restoring Hand Treatment is cruelty-free, gluten-free and vegan. It is formulated without caffeine, parabens, phthalates, alcohol, sulfates, or formaldehyde.
The plastic tube contains 2 fl. oz./59 ml and is priced at $68 and sold on the City Beauty website. (BTW, if you decide to buy any City Beauty products, you can save 10% by using my code NEVERSAYDIEBEAUTY). You know by now that I am a fan of many City Beauty products and I buy some of them repeatedly. However, their products are expensive, and I have shared my email address with them and I follow them on Facebook so that I know about their frequent sales. I only buy their products on sale, but that’s just me 😉
I think that Restoring Hand Treatment would be worth the splurge for people who just start noticing small, faint dark spots on their hands. If you have more serious dark spots as I do, I’m not sure it’s worth it. It might fade them somewhat, but it most likely can’t get rid of them.
17 Comments
Have you thought about trying an at-home lactic acid peel for the back of your hands? I’ve been using Makeup Artist’s Choice 40% peel on my face weekly and it has definitely lightened the sun damage that I have; I usually apply it to my hands and forearms as well.
Thank you, Paula, for that suggestion! I occasionally use Vitamin C serums on my hands but never a lactic acid peel. I checked out the price, and it sounds like it’s worth a try for me.
I will be curious to se what you think once you finish the tube. This seems like a good product, but with these types of products I find that my real assessment comes after I have finished– which you are doing as well.
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Yes, you’re right, Helen. I don’t think I can judge it completely till I finish up the tube. But I didn’t want to wait another couple of months to give my midway thoughts, I guess
When I put serum on my face at night, I usually rub a drop or two into the backs of my hands as well. It might be retinol (during the winter), niacinamide, or something with licorice root or hydraquinone….anyway, it seems to help. At least until I start going to the beach again! I’m interested in trying IPL for dark spots, though. Have you tried it?
I always forget to do it, but I will try again. I’ve used vitamin C serums, and it helped a little. I would like to try IPL, but you need a few sessions to make a difference and it’s expensive. There’s a place in Newburyport that I’ve had my eye on.
The only thing that has worked at fading is prescription Retin-A and Vitamin C serum. But it’s a constant battle. You must use a sunscreen at all times. As soon as I forget “their” back. They do not fade away completely. It’s the pigment in your skin. 😱
I’m with you about applying at bedtime. I wash my hands so many times a day that I think it’s hard to keep the cream on. I’m currently using City Beauty Dark Spot Corrector on my cheeks hoping that the sunspots will start fading.
I did have IPL on my face and it worked great but now the spots are pretty much back. At the time I got a friends & family discount at the derm but my niece moved out of state so I can’t afford it right now.
BTW what about the scent of this?
My hands are too far gone for this cream I’m afraid. I love City Beauty but I think I need IPL.
I need a cream like this!
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Great to know this is vegan and cruelty-free
I believe that all of City Beauty products are CF, GF and vegan!
Several dermatologists told me that while the sun’s rays may break down the protein in the skin, spots are mostly due to ageing. They recommended using full fat buttermilk on the hands or any place spots start to develop. I use the Bulgarian Buttermilk I buy at my local supermarket and put it on my hands and anywhere else I might find brown spots and this has really helped fade them almost to nothing
Wow, Christina, thank you for that beauty tip! How long did it take for you to start seeing some fading? I’m definitely intrigued by this
I rubbed the buttermilk on the of my hand and fingers and let it sit there for 20 minutes and then rinsed it off with cool water. This was done twice a day for a month and at that time, I saw a significant difference in the appearance of the skin. I continued with this for a few more months. The buttermilk must be “full-fat” and not the “reduced fat” kind. The acid in the buttermilk is what fades the discoloration. I’v reduced the frequency of application and now do this once or twice a week for maintenance. This was done on the advice of my Ukrainian great-grandmother who has the most beautiful hands.
I have had some luck with vitamin C serums fading my cute freckles, but they don’t do anything for my age spots. I was told I needed laser treatments that are expensive, somewhat painful and may not work that well. I don’t usually buy buttermilk, but I will look for some other uses for it and try it on my dark spots. Thank you, Christina, for your great-grandmother’s recommendation!!
Being Eastern European, buttermilk is a staple. I drink it all the time. I also use it in mash potatoes and making a creamy salad dressing. Although I don’t have any spots on my face, I do rub a very thin layer of buttermilk on it and it’s improving the skin texture. I also like to use almond oil, especially on the neck and chest.