It was in May 2024 that New York-based lifestyle influencer Victoria Ortega went viral for a 15-step hand routine. The video, which clocked over 16 million views, unfolds like a beauty-industry fever dream. It starts with a whipped foam cleanse and moves through steam, exfoliation, oil, shaving, masks, paraffin wax, retinol, red light therapy, gua sha and, finally, SPF. You know it’s too much, yet you keep watching. It became the template for a wave of nail and handfluencers. The era of handcare was upon us.
Handcare, however, didn’t explode overnight. Experts say hand hygiene during the pandemic made people notice the damage— and the algorithm did the rest. There’s also spillover from nail culture where a focus on glam nails shifted attention to the hands.
Helping hands
Shahnaz Husain, CMD, The Shahnaz Husain Group, says they have stocked handcare creams and serums for years but there has been a recent uptick. “Hands have been valued for function but with changing aesthetics it has become more about appearance. The focus has shifted to maintaining softness or anti-ageing,” she says. Increased use of hand washes, soaps, detergents and sanitisers, she notes, has led to visible damage. “Now there’s a need for specialised handcare.”
The hands are finally in focus, says Dr Jamuna Pai, Mumbai-based cosmetic physician and founder of the clinic SkinLab. She has noticed a rise in patients seeking targeted treatments. “I have always told my clients that hands age more rapidly than the face as the skin on the back of the hands is incredibly thin. Unlike the face, hands have minimal to no sebaceous glands and very little subcutaneous fat. As we age, we lose that fatty cushion, making veins and tendons prominent, a phenomenon called skeletonisation,” she says.
For years, the face took all the attention; the hands were neglected—until now.
Face –>Palm
The obsession with “hand age” is not new. Tabloids have long “hand-shamed” female celebrities by highlighting the dissonance between “face age” and “hand age”. In the West, the belief that hands somehow give us away when it comes to ageing is driving the facialisation of handcare.
Two years ago, Vogue christened hand creams as “the new status symbol”. They now come with the same premium ingredients as face creams: retinol, vitamin C, hyaluronic acid, collagen, peptides, ceramides and more. Beyond salves, sunscreens and serums, there are LED hand masks and mitts, microcurrent devices and gel gloves. There are also specific clinical procedures like laser pigmentation removal for sunspots, and fat transfer. In 2022, global sales of premium handcare jumped to $724 million, up 23.5% from $586 million in 2019, according to Euromonitor. In India, however, the market remains small.
Dr Vashisht Dikshit, consultant, plastic and cosmetic surgery, Gleneagles Hospital, Mumbai, says the realisation that the hand ages differently and visibly is making people seek clinical help. “Patients who’ve had facial rejuvenation are now noticing the dissonance—a rested, refreshed face paired with hands that look a decade older. That mismatch is driving people to consult.”
The most common procedure is volume restoration through fat grafting, which reduces the prominence of veins and tendons. For pigmentation and texture, energybased devices like Q-switched lasers and intense pulsed light are effective. “Botulinum toxin has a more niche application on the hands, primarily for hyperhidrosis (excessive sweating), rather than aesthetics per se,” says Dikshit.
While there are temporary OTC fixes like paraffin wax and sheet masks, Pai recommends a regimen of sunscreen, retinoids, vitamin A derivatives and moisturiser.
Early days
Manasa Garemella, cofounder of beauty portal kindlife, is seeing the change. “Handcare is emerging as a more intentional category. It is no longer an impulse add-on. The shift is driven by ingredient awareness and exposure to high-quality formulations,” she says. “We are still early in this curve, but the momentum is real.”
Sneh Koticha, director of the RAISE beauty range by Jean Claude Biguine salons, agrees. Their hand cream, with carrot collagen, niacinamide and ceramides, is built around the idea that hands experience mechanical stress, chemical exposure and moisture loss that generic skincare cannot address. “This move towards handcare reflects a change in how consumers, particularly in markets like India, are beginning to define personal care—not as a functional necessity, but as a deliberate, value-driven practice,” she says. The modern grooming consumer is no longer satisfied with generalised solutions: they read labels, research formulations and make purchasing decisions based on what a product does, not on what the packaging promises.
Reel beauty
Social media is accelerating the shift. “A viral format or ingredient can drive immediate spikes in search, saves and product research,” says Garemella. Trends around hand masks, cuticle oils and anti-ageing treatments, while not originating in India, are being adopted here almost in real time.
The rise of ayurvedic beauty is also shaping the category. Astha Katpitia, head of Shankara Naturals, says ayurveda had handcare even before it was trending. Their hand and foot cream is seeing growing interest.
Katpitia says, “Luxury handcare should feel effortless: absorb well, feel elegant and work on the go easily. Consumers expect handcare to perform like skincare.” She says handcare in India will grow, “but we are likely to reach beauty through wellness first”. She adds, “In the West, handcare is more visual, focused on manicures, cuticle oils, masks and beautifully packaged products. In India, consumers are asking a deeper question: What does this product actually do? They want nourishment, repair, softness and long-term skin health.”
Garemella sees handcare on the same trajectory as lip or body care: from functional to routine to specialised. She says, “We are still at an early adoption stage in India, but the building blocks are in place—global influence, ingredient awareness and routine-driven consumption.” She expects the category to become more segmented—such as antiageing handcare, SPF-led hand protection, targeted formulations. Husain agrees that this segment is likely to evolve into a tiered category, remaining a premium niche alongside everyday essentials.
Pai, however, says you don’t need a dozen products: “The same principles of skincare apply: protection, hydration and consistency.” Dikshit agrees: “What moves the needle long-term is far less glamorous: SPF on the hands every single day, a retinoid applied regularly to stimulate collagen and a niacinamide-based cream to address pigmentation. The rest is maintenance and moisture.”
Still, as beauty concerns become micro, there’s a move towards ritualistic handcare. It’s another routine added to a long list of selfcare. Are consumers ready to be hands on?
Handcare, however, didn’t explode overnight. Experts say hand hygiene during the pandemic made people notice the damage— and the algorithm did the rest. There’s also spillover from nail culture where a focus on glam nails shifted attention to the hands.
Helping hands
Shahnaz Husain, CMD, The Shahnaz Husain Group, says they have stocked handcare creams and serums for years but there has been a recent uptick. “Hands have been valued for function but with changing aesthetics it has become more about appearance. The focus has shifted to maintaining softness or anti-ageing,” she says. Increased use of hand washes, soaps, detergents and sanitisers, she notes, has led to visible damage. “Now there’s a need for specialised handcare.”
The hands are finally in focus, says Dr Jamuna Pai, Mumbai-based cosmetic physician and founder of the clinic SkinLab. She has noticed a rise in patients seeking targeted treatments. “I have always told my clients that hands age more rapidly than the face as the skin on the back of the hands is incredibly thin. Unlike the face, hands have minimal to no sebaceous glands and very little subcutaneous fat. As we age, we lose that fatty cushion, making veins and tendons prominent, a phenomenon called skeletonisation,” she says.
For years, the face took all the attention; the hands were neglected—until now.
Face –>Palm
The obsession with “hand age” is not new. Tabloids have long “hand-shamed” female celebrities by highlighting the dissonance between “face age” and “hand age”. In the West, the belief that hands somehow give us away when it comes to ageing is driving the facialisation of handcare.
Two years ago, Vogue christened hand creams as “the new status symbol”. They now come with the same premium ingredients as face creams: retinol, vitamin C, hyaluronic acid, collagen, peptides, ceramides and more. Beyond salves, sunscreens and serums, there are LED hand masks and mitts, microcurrent devices and gel gloves. There are also specific clinical procedures like laser pigmentation removal for sunspots, and fat transfer. In 2022, global sales of premium handcare jumped to $724 million, up 23.5% from $586 million in 2019, according to Euromonitor. In India, however, the market remains small.
Dr Vashisht Dikshit, consultant, plastic and cosmetic surgery, Gleneagles Hospital, Mumbai, says the realisation that the hand ages differently and visibly is making people seek clinical help. “Patients who’ve had facial rejuvenation are now noticing the dissonance—a rested, refreshed face paired with hands that look a decade older. That mismatch is driving people to consult.”
The most common procedure is volume restoration through fat grafting, which reduces the prominence of veins and tendons. For pigmentation and texture, energybased devices like Q-switched lasers and intense pulsed light are effective. “Botulinum toxin has a more niche application on the hands, primarily for hyperhidrosis (excessive sweating), rather than aesthetics per se,” says Dikshit.
While there are temporary OTC fixes like paraffin wax and sheet masks, Pai recommends a regimen of sunscreen, retinoids, vitamin A derivatives and moisturiser.
Early days
Manasa Garemella, cofounder of beauty portal kindlife, is seeing the change. “Handcare is emerging as a more intentional category. It is no longer an impulse add-on. The shift is driven by ingredient awareness and exposure to high-quality formulations,” she says. “We are still early in this curve, but the momentum is real.”
Sneh Koticha, director of the RAISE beauty range by Jean Claude Biguine salons, agrees. Their hand cream, with carrot collagen, niacinamide and ceramides, is built around the idea that hands experience mechanical stress, chemical exposure and moisture loss that generic skincare cannot address. “This move towards handcare reflects a change in how consumers, particularly in markets like India, are beginning to define personal care—not as a functional necessity, but as a deliberate, value-driven practice,” she says. The modern grooming consumer is no longer satisfied with generalised solutions: they read labels, research formulations and make purchasing decisions based on what a product does, not on what the packaging promises.
Reel beauty
Social media is accelerating the shift. “A viral format or ingredient can drive immediate spikes in search, saves and product research,” says Garemella. Trends around hand masks, cuticle oils and anti-ageing treatments, while not originating in India, are being adopted here almost in real time.
The rise of ayurvedic beauty is also shaping the category. Astha Katpitia, head of Shankara Naturals, says ayurveda had handcare even before it was trending. Their hand and foot cream is seeing growing interest.
Katpitia says, “Luxury handcare should feel effortless: absorb well, feel elegant and work on the go easily. Consumers expect handcare to perform like skincare.” She says handcare in India will grow, “but we are likely to reach beauty through wellness first”. She adds, “In the West, handcare is more visual, focused on manicures, cuticle oils, masks and beautifully packaged products. In India, consumers are asking a deeper question: What does this product actually do? They want nourishment, repair, softness and long-term skin health.”
Garemella sees handcare on the same trajectory as lip or body care: from functional to routine to specialised. She says, “We are still at an early adoption stage in India, but the building blocks are in place—global influence, ingredient awareness and routine-driven consumption.” She expects the category to become more segmented—such as antiageing handcare, SPF-led hand protection, targeted formulations. Husain agrees that this segment is likely to evolve into a tiered category, remaining a premium niche alongside everyday essentials.
Pai, however, says you don’t need a dozen products: “The same principles of skincare apply: protection, hydration and consistency.” Dikshit agrees: “What moves the needle long-term is far less glamorous: SPF on the hands every single day, a retinoid applied regularly to stimulate collagen and a niacinamide-based cream to address pigmentation. The rest is maintenance and moisture.”
Still, as beauty concerns become micro, there’s a move towards ritualistic handcare. It’s another routine added to a long list of selfcare. Are consumers ready to be hands on?
