If you have ever stared at your hands and lamented, “They can never guess my age until they look at my hands”, help is at hand. Modern, simple, non-surgical techniques are now available that can go a long way to rejuvenating their appearance, in just a matter of minutes.
What makes our hands look old?
The skin on the back of the hands is much thinner than that on your face, and is extremely delicate, and there is almost no fat under it at all, which also is why the veins are so visible. As a result of aging and sun-exposure, collagen and elastin fibres in the skin break down, the underlying fat atrophies. The skin can thin by 60-70 per cent over 40-50 years. The skin becomes dry, wrinkly and crepe-like; the veins appear to bulge and become more obvious; the tendons also become obvious and ‘guttering’ occurs resulting in a ‘bony’ appearance. Sun exposure also results in surface pigmentation problems such as brown spots (age spots, sun spots or liver spots) that add to the appearance of age.
Protect your hands (Moisturise, exfoliate and protect)
Not only are our hands susceptible to the first signs of aging; very often they age even faster than the face. Our hands are always exposed to the sun and elements, household chemicals and extreme temperatures, yet we often take the care of our hands for granted. A little TLC can go a long way.
We lose moisture from our hands every time they come into contact with water. Use mild pH soap when washing your hands. Use a grainy scrub on backs of hands twice a week to reveal glowing skin. After washing your hands, pat dry and while moist, use a moisturiser on the hands, cuticles, and nails. Use hand cream throughout the day. Wearing cotton gloves overnight to help your skin absorb hand cream better. Applying a barrier cream before hand can protect the hands from drying out during manual or kitchen work. Always wear protective gloves when gardening or during heavy housework. Wear gloves to protect your hands from cold weather. Always protect from sun-damage by wearing sunblock.
Topical serums, and creams, often incorporating hyaluronic acid, tretinoin, pigment regulators and tissue growth factors, can augment the skin’s cell hydration and surface smoothness. These are a useful daily maintenance treatment, before and after procedures.
What effective treatments are there to combat the signs of aging?
Restoring youthful hands is all about improving surface texture and replacing lost volume.
Removing pigmentation and age spots: Intense Pulsed Light therapy, or IPL, utilises a hand piece that emits a bright flash of light to selectively fade pigmentation, and a 70 per cent improvement can be expected. Chemical Peel treatments and Microdermabrasion, exfoliate the skin on the backs of the hand, and improves the appearance of dark spots while smoothening fine lines.
Smoothening wrinkles: Laser resurfacing and fractional laser resurfacing can smoothen wrinkly skin, stimulates skin renewal and improve the thickness and texture of the skin on the back of the hands.
Replenishing volume with Dermal Fillers: Modern injectable Dermal Fillers such as Hyaluronic acid (Restylane/Perlane), Calcium Hydroxylapatite (Radiesse®), poly-L-lactic acid (Sculptra®) can re-plump and replenish volume to the back of the hands to provide a supple and youthful appearance. Placed beneath the skin, dermal fillers raise the skin level so that tendons, joints and veins are less prominent and smoother youthful contours are restored. Fillers like Radiesse not only result in instant ‘lifting’, but also provide a scaffolding for collagen-building, and provide soft, long-lasting results. Sculptra’s action delivers results over time by inducing your own collagen regeneration, and final effects come about in 3 to 4 months that is almost exclusively your own natural collagen. Occasionally, fat transfer can also be effective for restoring volume. This technique utiliSes a tiny syringe to remove a small amount of a patient’s own fat from another part of the body, such as the buttocks or the thigh, for reinjection into the back of the hands and moulded to restore a youthful contour.
Conclusion
Next to your face, your hands are probably the most visible parts of your body. The earliest signs of aging show on our hands, and even with the body and face of someone ten years younger, neglected hands are a dead age giveaway.
We do so much with our hands, yet we often take the care of our hands for granted. Simple, effective, non-surgical treatments are available for Hand Rejuvenation. Youthful looking hands can add so much to our overall appearance, well-being and self-esteem.
For a detailed consultation with Dr. Jonathan Y. Lee, and have a personalised hand rejuvenation program designed for you, Call +65 6440 1200 or +65 6737 1100 for an appointment.
