Naomi van Duijn runs Puur & Mooi in Laren, a holistic skin practice where women come for more than just a treatment. She sees hands. Every day. And she sees what eventually happens to them if protection is lacking.
We spoke to her about something few women truly consider: the silent, cumulative damage of daily UV exposure on the hands. Not to scare, but to inform. So you can make a conscious choice yourself.
SUN IS BEAUTIFUL. AND AGEING.
Naomi is clear: sunlight is not the enemy. The body needs sun for the production of vitamin D, essential for the skin, intestines, and immune system. But there's a difference between beneficial exposure and exposure that quietly accumulates.
"The areas most exposed to the sun, such as the hands, face, ears, and neck, are also the areas that receive UV radiation all year round, even when you are dressed. These areas accumulate damage that you don't see at the time."
That accumulation is precisely the problem. Sun damage is not always acute. It starts at a cellular level, long before you see it, and it doesn't reverse.
"Sun damage at the cellular level cannot heal like bone can. At a certain point, it becomes too much, and then it manifests as pigmentation, or worse."
Naomi van Duijn, owner of Puur & Mooi, Laren
IT STARTS EARLIER THAN YOU THINK.
What Naomi emphasizes is that UV damage is not a matter of age or season. It starts in childhood. Every time skin gets sunburned, even as a child, it's stored in the cells. And those cells remember it.
"It starts when you're a child and get sunburned once. That accumulates and never fully recovers. At a certain point, it becomes too much."
The consequences in her practice are very tangible: pigment spots on the hands that need to be removed. Sometimes with nitrogen, sometimes surgically. And in the most severe cases: skin cancer.
"If they don't catch it in time, it has to be cut out. And then they also remove a piece around it." It's not what you want to hear. But it's what happens in practice.
"What I regularly see in my practice are people with sun damage spots that need to be removed. Sometimes with nitrogen, sometimes they have to be surgically excised."
Naomi van Duijn, owner of Puur & Mooi, Laren
THE HANDS ARE THE FORGOTTEN ZONE.
The face gets attention. Women apply creams, protect, invest. But the hands, precisely the area that is visible every day, are systematically overlooked in the skincare routine.
Naomi sees that difference daily in her practice. The skin on the face is well-maintained. The skin on the hands tells a different story.
Furthermore, UV radiation penetrates glass. Driving, working by a window, a sunny terrace: hands constantly receive UVA radiation, even when you're unaware of it.
The good news: protection doesn't have to be complicated. Good sun protection already makes a difference, says Naomi. Whether that's a cream or another physical barrier, the choice is yours. What matters is the habit.
"The areas that are exposed to a lot of sun, such as the hands, face, ears, and neck, should actually be protected all year round. Because that simply builds up over the years."
Naomi van Duijn, owner of Puur & Mooi, Laren
"And if you do use sunscreen? Don't forget: reapply every two hours, with a generous layer. As thick as peanut butter on a sandwich. That sounds like a lot, but that's the only way it really works. Wash your hands, dry them, rub a little, and the protection is gone. That's difficult to maintain in daily life. That's why I think it's so clever that there are now gloves that make this unnecessary."
PROTECTION AS A HABIT, NOT A MEASURE.
Handsome Skin makes UV-protective gloves for women. Not because hands are the ugliest part of aging, but because they are the most forgotten. UPF 50+ certified, no chemical coating, protection permanently embedded in the fibers. The idea: put them on once, always protected.
Naomi's message and that of Handsome Skin are closely aligned: protection is not panic. It's prevention. And the sooner you start, the more you build up for later.
About Naomi van Duijn
Naomi van Duijn is the owner of Puur & Mooi in Laren, a holistic skin practice focused on conscious women's care.
Website: puurenmooi.nl