I have been told if you want to know how old someone is, just look at their hands. With the advances in technologies, we have a number of tricks and tools—mainly lasers and fillers—that allow us to fight the effects of time on our face and restore a more youthful presentation. With all the attention on the face, the hands have been forgotten and betray the positive changes we have made to our face. Fortunately, all the technologies we have for the face can be used to help the hands “catch up.”
There are three signs of aging that we notice with the hands. First, we lose collagen in the skin, making the skin thin and appear transparent and crepey. There is also the collection of brown spots on the hands, age spots or sometimes called liver spots. Finally, we lose the fat pads in the back of the hands and, as a result, the appearance of the tendons and veins become more prominent. All of these changes conspiring against our hands match our faces. So, how do we use our face procedures to help our hands?
One of my favorite hand treatments is the IPL. It is a simple treatment that significantly reduces the appearance of brown spots. There is no down time and it’s a simple and quick treatment. If crepey skin is your concern, then Fraxel is your answer. Its ability to stimulate collagen production will improve the texture and has a bonus—it also reduces the brown pigment that can age the hands. The final treatment and most dramatic option is the use of filler in the hands. Radiesse is most commonly used here. After mixing the material with lidocaine, the Radiesse is injected under the skin and massaged into the “valleys” of the hand. The resulting fullness goes a long way to restoring a youth full appearance.
If treating your hands is something you’ve been thinking about, or if they are starting to show any of the three signs of aging, feel free to talk to a Dermacare staff member about the best treatments for you. You will be very pleased with the results. I am willing to shake on it.