A person might look wonderful after having had a facelift or facial procedure, such as fillers and resurfacing with lasers such as the Fraxel, but it is common to hear the statement that you can still tell a person’s age by looking at their hands regardless of how their face or body looks.
Well, not anymore. There are new developments that can significantly reduce the appearance of aging hands.
The number one cause of the aging hands look is ultraviolet rays from excess sun exposure.
The appearance of advanced aging hands is gaunt, thin hands, revealing the underlying veins and tendons, which become prominent and visually dominant.
Aging hands might have age spots, typical of sun damaged skin, fine lines and wrinkles, and tissue-paper thin skin.
However, all of these telltale signs of aging can be dramatically diminished. Hands do not have to look old.
When we lose the thickness of the dermis and epidermis as well as the underlying fat, hands can look “shriveled up.”
All of these features of aging hands must be treated for the best results.
Optimum treatment includes:
- Skin rejuvenation with an effective product is the first step.
Look for a cosmeceutical grade product(s) that repairs the cells that produce your skin.
The products must have whole food nutrients, fat-soluble anti-oxidants to get into the mitochondria, anti-glycation ingredients, and peptides that thicken both dermis and epidermis.
Anti-glycation ingredients, so important, allow the elastin fibers to tighten, reducing loose skin, and whole food vitamins replenish your skin with nutrients naturally.
Ceramides are important as a natural moisturizer. Other important ingredients are retinol or Retin-A, minerals, and vitamins.
A broad-spectrum sunblock with an SPF of 30 or more, preferably with zinc or titanium, should be used often to prevent further UV damage.
- Fraxel lasers or Hetter (Phenol/Croton oil) or TCA (trichloracidic acid) peels for skin resurfacing. The Fraxel lasers effectively tighten the skin as well. These give the cosmeceuticals a jump start toward rejuvenating the skin and reducing ultra-violet damage.
- Hiding the veins and tendons by plumping the fat under the skin. Youthful hands are not shriveled up, and have the volume of more fat and thicker skin.
The simplest and most effective solution is with injections of a “filler” using a micro-cannula.
This is a needle with a round tip to avoid puncturing any of the numerous veins under the skin on top of your hands.
An excellent alternative is fat transfer to the top of the hands, requiring a minor liposuction to procure the fat.
These are simple office procedures with little or no anesthesia and minimal to no down time that can dramatically reduce the appearance of aging hands.
With little effort you can reverse the notion that looking at hands can reveal a person’s age.
- Ronald Finger, MD, FACS is a board certified plastic surgeon with offices in Savannah and Bluffton. www.fingerand associates.com
