Why a 44-Year-Old Writer Finally Started Using Dish Gloves
I’m a woman of a certain age. And while I guess that’s technically been true my entire adult life, it’s now the kind of thing I announce with a somewhat pejorative affectation before offering an explanation for the rituals I’ve adopted in my 40s. For example: “I’m a woman of a certain age, so of course my room needs to be a crisp 61 degrees Fahrenheit for me to sleep through the night.” “I’m a woman of a certain age, so I slather my face and neck with Vaseline before bed.” “I’m a woman of a certain age, so I always wear gloves when I wash the dishes.” Okay, that last one is a lie. But I’ve been trying really, really hard to make it a true statement, because no matter how much sleep I get (not enough) or how young my face looks (younger than 44, if I do say so myself), if my hands are even a little bit dry, they don’t just give away my age—they look like they belong to someone much older.
The disconnect here is that I’ve been pretty diligent about skin care and sun protection from the neck up since my early 20s, but I’ve never regularly used hand lotion and only started putting SPF on them in the last couple of years. I also don’t regularly subject my face to scalding hot water and detergents like I do my hands every time I wash dishes without gloves—which, until fairly recently, had been daily.
The Real Reason Behind the Gloves
I admit I first started using dishwashing gloves to preserve the life of my pricey manicures, but I quickly realized that—when combined with simple skincare and sun protection—the gloves help my hands look less crepey and feel much softer. Well, as long as I keep up with everything, that is. And it took switching up my system (and my gloves) to make donning dish gloves a habit.
Finding Gloves That Actually Fit
I’ve tried so many different dish gloves and most have been bulky and unpleasant to wear. Fancy, cotton-lined ones often have too much room in the fingers and wrists, and while the thicker rubber created a better heat barrier between my hands and the hot water, the extra material—especially when combined with soap—made it hard to grip dishes, and I definitely lost a few pieces of delicate glassware to the bottom of the sink. Then I picked up a few pairs of cheap HDX Green 11 mil Reusable Nitrile Gloves in my size (medium) at a hardware store and haven’t gone back. The thinner material makes it easy for me to feel what I’m holding and the textured grip ensures nothing will slip out of my soapy, gloved hands. Yes, I can feel super-scalding hot water through them, but hey—at least it’s not hitting my hands directly like when I wasn’t wearing gloves at all. I also tried Moxie Large 2-Count Embossed-Grip Nitrile Reusable Cleaning Gloves.
Keep Gloves Visible at All Times
As much as I try to reduce clutter on my kitchen counter, I’ve learned that if my dishwashing gloves are out of sight, they’re out of mind. Now, I keep my gloves draped over the faucet or the ledge of the sink so I always remember to put them on. A bonus of the cheap, thin gloves is that they drape easily. If you’d like a more formal (or less conspicuous) arrangement, there are glove holders for that.
Reward Hands with Luxe Handcare
When the dishes are done, I take off my gloves, drape them over the faucet to dry, then reward myself with two little treats for my hands. The first is Naomi After-Cooking Hand Scrub followed by a luxe lotion that I keep next to the sink. Currently I’m using Flamingo Estate Sage Rich Cream for Hands & Feet, but Weleda Skin Food Original Ultra-Rich Body Cream is great too.
Emily, a Senior Commerce Writer at Bon Appétit and Epicurious, has been writing about food and home decor for nearly 20 years, and shopping online just as long. She rigorously tests and writes about cooking, cleaning, decor, cocktails, and more. This article was published July 27, 2026.