Our hands remain painfully honest, revealing at a glimpse unwanted signs of age such as dullness, discolouration, crepey texture, lines and dryness. Most of the damage is caused by sun exposure and constant housework.

YOU can lie about your age, buy expensive moisturisers and colour your hair, but one look at your hands and your true age will be revealed.

The skin on our hands is thicker than the skin on our face and secretes less sebum, so it needs special attention. We might be well used to protecting our faces, but our hands suffer more environmental damage and are more exposed to harsh chemicals.

Our hands are one of the hardest working parts of our bodies and are often abused. Be good to them and they'll be good to you.

Moisturise regularly throughout the day and before you go to bed at night, wear gloves when you're outside in cold weather and household gloves for all chores within the home.

A rich hand cream will help improve the condition of your hands, making it harder for them to reveal your age.

Sufferers of dry skin should try nourishing formulas such as Liz Earle's Hand Repair, £7.75 (01983 813 913/www.lizearle.com), Nails Inc Angel Hands, £8 at Boots, Leighton Denny Best Defence, £8 (0845 004 2053) or Burt's Bees Shea Butter Hand Repair Creme, £9.99 from www.hqhair.com or John Lewis.If you're ready to indulge your mitts, go for Clinique Stop Signs Hand Repair, £13, ESPA White Clay hand cream, £16 (01252 353 230), Ole Henriksen Hands Forward Renewing hand cream, £17 at Harvey Nichols (020 7235 5000), Elemis Intensive Hand Repair, £38.50 (01278 727 830/www.elemis.com), or Aveda Hand Relief, £15.50 (0870 034 2380/www.aveda.com).

Prefer lighter formulas? There's Decleor Beaute De Mains, £11 (020 7313 8780), Champneys VitaMiracle Hand and Nail cream, £6 at Sainsbury's, Lush's Smitten, £4.25, and Laura Mercier Mint Leaf hand cream, £12.50 at Space NK.

Hands which already show signs of ageing will need extra-special attention. Daniele Ryman's Pampering Hand Regime set, £8.49 at Boots, contains rose and alpina hand mask, rescue balm for nails and cuticles and tamarind hand creme.

Others to try include Neutrogena Norwegian Formula anti-ageing hand cream, £4.49, Simple's Anti-Ageing Hand Treatment, from £1.99, and Olay's Total Effects Hand Treatment, £7.50.Pricier purchases include Guerlain Super Aqua-Hands SPF15, £29 (01932 233 909) or Clarins Age-Control hand lotion SPF15, £15.50. For silky soft hands, apply an intensive cream and wear cotton gloves: leave overnight for best results.

Try Crabtree & Evelyn's Hand Therapy, £9.50 (0207 361 0499/www.crabtree-evelyn.co.uk), Endocil Intensive Hand & Nail Treatment, £4.95 from www.beautystoreonline.co.uk, Dove's Regenerating hand cream, £2.29, and Bliss High Intensity hand cream, £18 (0808 100 4151/www.blisslondon.co.uk).