Naomi van Duijn runs Puur & Mooi in Laren, a holistic skin clinic where women come for more than just a treatment. She sees hands. Every day. And she sees what eventually happens to them when protection is lacking.
We spoke to her about something few women truly think about: the silent, cumulative damage of daily UV exposure on the hands. Not to scare anyone, but to inform. So that you can make a conscious choice yourself.
SUN IS BEAUTIFUL AND AGING
Naomi is clear: sunlight is not the enemy. The body needs the sun to produce vitamin D, which is essential for the skin, the gut, and the immune system. But there is a difference between exposure that does you good and exposure that silently accumulates.
"The areas that are most exposed to the sun, such as the hands, the face, the ears, and the neck, are also the areas that receive UV radiation all year round, even when you are dressed. They build up damage that you don't see at the time."
That accumulation is precisely the problem. Sun damage is not always acute. It starts at the cellular level, long before you notice it.
"Sun damage in the cell cannot recover the way 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 begins as early as childhood. Every time the skin burns, even as a child, it is stored in the cell. And that cell remembers.
"It starts when you are a child and get a sunburn. That is stored and never fully recovers. At a certain point, it just becomes too much."
The consequences look very tangible in her practice: pigment spots on the hands that have to be removed. Sometimes with liquid nitrogen, sometimes surgically. And in the most serious cases: skin cancer.
"If they don't catch it in time, it has to be cut out. And then they also remove a piece of the surrounding tissue." It is not what you want to hear. But it is what happens in practice.
"I regularly see people with sun-damaged spots that need to be removed. Sometimes with nitrogen, sometimes it has to be cut out."
Naomi van Duijn, owner of Puur & Mooi, Laren
THE HANDS ARE THE FORGOTTEN ZONE
The face gets attention. Women moisturize, protect, and invest. But the hands, precisely the place that is visible every day, are systematically skipped in skincare routines.
Naomi sees that difference daily in her practice. The skin of the face is well-maintained. The skin of the hands tells a different story.
Moreover, UV radiation penetrates glass. Driving, working by a window, sitting on a terrace in the sun: the hands are constantly receiving UVA radiation, even when you aren't aware of it.
The good news: protection doesn't have to be complicated. Good sun protection already makes a difference, says Naomi. Whether that is a cream or another physical barrier, the choice is yours. What counts is the habit.
"The areas that are heavily exposed to the sun, such as the hands, the face, ears, and the neck, should actually be protected all year round. Because that just builds up over the years."
Naomi van Duijn, owner of Puur & Mooi, Laren
"And if you wear sunscreen? Don't forget: reapply every two hours, with a thick layer. As thick as peanut butter on a sandwich. That sounds like a lot, but that is the only way it really works. Washing your hands, drying them, rubbing them, and the protection is gone. In daily life, that is hard to keep up with. That is why I think it's so clever that there are now gloves that allow you to skip that."
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. Certified for UPF 50+, no chemical coating, protection for the hands. The concept: putting them on is protection.
Naomi’s message and that of Handsome Skin are very similar: protection is not panic. It is 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 clinic focused on conscious women's care.
Website: puurenmooi.nl