Keep your hands young!

I know we are always being told this but it's true: hands can really show your age. Look at Madonna. Time goes by so slowly for her is right, but once you catch a glimpse of those bejewelled claws you're left in no doubt as to her "maturity"

Oh Madonna! I say - let no one know your real age! Here are my strategies for keeping hands young and plumped up.

Handcream, handcream, handcream. Leave it beside every sink in your home, on your bedside table, on your desk at work. You will soon notice colleagues sidling up for "a chat" and borrowing an aul slick of handcream while they're there. I will use any old handcream for this purpose (particularly for work, as anything nice I leave on my desk gets nicked.) Look out for 2 for 1 offers in the supermarket, chemists and the Avon catalogue. Vaseline, Nivea and Olay all do good ones.

But what are the best handcreams? Dr Hauschka does a brilliant neem handcream and in fact any of the quality cosmetic companies all do decent ones. (Beware of Gale Hayman handcream though it smells horrible)

Look out for SPF protection as an added bonus to protect against sun ageing. Really raises the price though. So try mixing your handcream with sunblock or high SPF lotion - that's what I do. God I'm so cheap!

If your hands are really dry try this. You know those little cotton gloves you've seen for overnight hand treatments? Well, they work! Slather your hands with cream and put on the gloves. When I first did this I got a terrible slagging from my husband who said it was like going to bed with Marcel Marceau. But don't listen to any remarks like this, because in the morning you'll be thrilled with the effect of your little white gloves.