Sunscreen adventures - don't forget to SPF your hands!

I got a sunscreen stick to try recently - it was an SPF50 one by Avene, €17, but you've probably seen them in the offerings from many other brands too. I've never bothered with sunscreen in a stick format before, but I had a bit of a eureka moment while looking at it and realised how, er, handy it would be for use on the backs of my hands.

Literature on sun protection is always telling you not to forget the backs of your hands when applying sunscreen and it's easy to see why. Like our faces, our hands are almost always exposed to the sun and particularly when doing something like driving. I've only started driving to work recently, and on the sunny days (yes, there have been a few this year) I've been concerned about the exposure my hands get.

While you can apply sunscreen to your face in the morning and feel safe for the day, it doesn't work the same way with your hands as they're constantly being washed. But I have a weird aversion to the feel of sunscreen on my fingers and palms if I apply a cream and I definitely don't want to be leaving sun cream smudges all over the steering wheel and gear stick.

Enter the genius of the sunscreen stick and my "why did I never think of this before?" moment. They're designed for localised application to particularly sensitive areas and are very handy to carry around if you have moles you're concerned about, for example. I've been carrying mine in my handbag and a couple of swipes over the backs of my hands as needed gives them the protection they need in a few seconds.

Unlike creams, I don't have to worry about a tube leaking in my bag and the little stick weighs next to nothing. Just make sure you don't confuse it with your lip balm!