Hand Care Tips from Ellen Sirot, America’s Top Hand Model

Ellen Sirot is one of the most successful hand models of all time. You’ve seen her hands – and feet – hundreds of times in print ads and TV commercials. They’ve even been stand ins for some A-list actresses, including Sarah Jessica Parker and Hilary Swank. In addition to her modeling career, Ellen is a hand care adviser and CEO of Hand Perfection, her line of hand cream and hand care products.

Ellen,  has been interviewed by major TV shows, magazines and newspapers. You can watch many of these videos on YouTube as I did in preparation for our interview. Ellen is charming, funny and flirty and, in many of the videos, is shown wearing gloves all day long. Of course I ask her about that. Keep reading …

EB:  How did you get your start as a “parts” model?

Ellen Sirot:  Well, I was a guest dancer with Pilobolus, [a dance company known for its imaginative and creative interpretations] and a principal with Pucci Plus.  I toured around the country and did the whole dance thing. Most dancers are doing something else to earn money. I was in a dance company when a casting director asked me to come in to be a ballerina in a Converse commercial. I joined SAG [Screen Actors Guild]. I had head shots done and was told, “There are a million girls who look like you but you have really good legs.” I was told to go to Parts Models, an agency in NY, and they said my legs and feet are good. I went to an audition for Dr. Scholl’s and out of 50 girls, they picked me. That how I started doing feet and legs.

EB:  Can you make a living as a foot model?

Ellen Sirot:  I was making $300 an hour as a foot model. The girls who were working everyday were doing hands. The agency told me to take care of my hands and come back. I became a hand detective. I had to assess what the perfect hand meant. Even skin, no mars, no scars, nothing that’s going to take anything away from the product. Clear nails. I bought every hand product known to man and I’d try them and mix and match. I went back to Parts and they sent me out. Because of the dance training, I was a good hand model. Hand modeling became the priority. Dance makes you very graceful. The top hand models are either dance or musically trained. You have to choreograph with your hands.

EB:  So it’s not just about holding something and having a photographer snap your photo?

Ellen Sirot:  First of all, you need to find the most beneficial position for your hands. You have to find the lighting. The other part of my job is for TV – and that’s all about movement and doing tasks. I’m serving food, or cleaning something.

EB:  What is it about your hands that makes them perfect for modeling?

Ellen Sirot:  Well, it’s my hands and knowing what to do with them. My hands themselves  are hairless, poreless, veinless. You can’t have a lot of muscle in them. They have to be sort of fluid. I already had good bone structure – but I’ve really changed the way my hands look. They are a valuable asset and not have been in the sun for 20 years.

EB:  I read that you have more than 500 pairs of gloves and wear gloves everyday. Short of wearing gloves to work and to bed, what can women do to protect their hands to keep them beautiful?

Ellen Sirot:  I think there’s a lot. Not everyone needs or wants to be a hand model but everyone can have soft, ageless hands. Your hands are a microcosm of the rest of you. Hands that feel dry and are dehydrated hurt people. You look at your hands 99 percent of the day. When it’s reflected back at you, a hand that doesn’t look good is constant negative reinforcement. Hands tell so much about you. We really are trained about how to take care of our faces, but people don’t talk about our hands. They are a huge challenge. We wash them a dozen times a day. They’re out in the elements. And they do things. The skin on our hands is as delicate as the skin around our eyes. You’d never think of washing your face that many times a day. People have thin crepe-y skin when they get older.  But, hey wait a minute, you can take care of your hands. Wear gloves when you’re washing dishes or handling cleaning fluids. Moisturize every time you wash your hands. Put the moisture back in. Wear sunscreen when you’re in the sun. The skin can react really quickly. The care of our hands is simple. People just need to do it.

EB:  But do you really wear gloves all the time? You’re a mom.

Ellen Sirot:  The thing that really deteriorates your hands, especially with babies, is washing them all the time. I wore medical gloves when I could to protect my hands. But sometimes you have to take off the gloves and be a mom.

EB:  They say that hands tell age more than any other body part. Many women notice prominent veins on their hands as they age. Any tips for preventing these and also for minimizing them, if they occur?

Ellen Sirot:  We see veins for several reasons and there are a few things you can do for them. Look for a product with hyaluronic acid that plumps the skin. That will really help if you’re already there. Veins move blood through our system and the veins, at times, get plumped up more. If you keep your hands down, the veins get plumped up.  Salty foods increase volume of veins. Raise your hands above your head to drain them. Salty foods increase volume of veins, limit your salt intake and drink lots of water.

EB:  I can totally see how that would work. My hands swell when I walk for long periods outdoors. This is a great tip.

Ellen Sirot:  If you walk outside, or are outside in the sun at all, remember that the hands are one of the top three spots for skin cancer. Not wearing sunscreen shouldn’t even be an option anymore.

EB:  What’s the best way to make fingers look longer and more graceful?

Ellen Sirot:  You want the skin of your hands to look the best, first of all. Minimize washing as much as you can. Use gloves when you wash. If there’s a choice of scrubbing with a long handled brush instead of scrubbing with a sponge, go with that. Don’t wash more than you need to wash. Harsh soaps are going to eat the skin away. Use a sulfate free cleanser. Also think about the antibacterial stuff. Ones with alcohol are tough on our hands. Moisturize several times during the day, especially after washing. Find a good heavy duty overnight moisturizer. Do a gentle exfoliant, once a week. I use a 1/8 tsp of olive oil and 1/8 tsp sugar or salt – and gently exfoliate. Use an SPF outside. You also want the nails to look their best. I like an elegant nail – a little bit of length and a nice shape. Hydrate nails. I like oils for nails. Vitamin E oil or a nice cuticle oil. Rub it once a day into cuticles. My cuticles don’t need to be trimmed because mine are healthy and lying where they need to be. When you wash your hands, gently push them back with a towel or one of those manicure tools.

EB:  As a hand model, you must know of beauty trends when it comes to nails. What’s the ideal length for nails?

Ellen Sirot:  I think it’s when just the slightest bit of the white shows – not short to the quick  and not dragon lady nails. Just about an 1/8 of an inch of length. It’s the most flattering and easiest to care for.

EB:  What about nail polish? Do you do your own nails for a shoot?

Ellen Sirot:  When I go to a shoot, they tell me what they want. With the light reflection we often use a sheer polish like Sugar Daddy or Mademoiselle. For real life, I think a healthy vibrant natural nail is the most attractive. I’m not anti-polish at all but I prefer to use it as an accent, like eyeshadow.

EB:  How do you decide on what shape to wear your nails?

Ellen Sirot:  I like the bottom curve to be reflected in the top curve.

EB:  Who does your nails?

Ellen Sirot:  Well, I have one manicurist who I’ve trained. I usually do it at the top of the week. I really suggest that if you go to a manicurist you bring your own instruments and your own polishes. Otherwise, it’s like licking a lollipop. The tools are being shared with a lot of people you don’t know. Also, you want a really good top coat to make the polish last longer. Orly is one I like.

EB:  Tell me about Hand Perfection?

Ellen Sirot:  Hand Perfection is the first clinically proven, anti-aging hand care brand, dedicated just to anti-aging for your hands. It’s changed the marketplace for hand care and has given people the opportunity to care for their hands the way they care for their faces.

EB: What’s in Hand Perfection that makes it different from anything else on the market?

Ellen Sirot:  It has high-end, anti-aging ingredients like you’d want for your face and it’s designed to stay on through multiple washings. There’s a product for daytime and another for  nighttime. They work on replenishing and revitalizing your skin.

EB:  Any final handy tips?

Ellen Sirot:  Hands are sexy and everyone can have soft ageless hands. You just have to take care of them.

Look for Ellen’s Hand Perfection Kit for holiday gift giving.  It will sell for about $19.99 and contains a 30 day supply of day cream, night cream and cuticle cream.  To learn more about Ellen, Hand Perfection and her hand care tips, sign up for information on Ellen’s Facebook page and follow her on Twitter.  You can also sign up for emails on her website.

Ellen is also coming out with a line of sungloves that are a fun, cute, sexy accessory. And, with SPF 50, they’ll protect your hands from the sun too.