Introduction
Hands are generally neglected and underestimated areas of the human body with regard to aging and beauty. Aging hands are a normal part of the aging process, and they are the first to show the signs of aging. It is not unexpected given the daily beating hands take, such as from sun exposure, to constant washing, to being in motion continuously. No wonder why the skin on the hands breaks down first. There is an anecdote among plastic surgeons that to guess someone’s age at a party, just look at their hands. So, there is a need to address all the aging signs and improve the appearance of the hands. This is where hand rejuvenation comes to the rescue.
What Is Hand Rejuvenation?
Hand rejuvenation is a collection of procedures that are performed to improve the appearance of the hands. Hands will age faster because of the high functionality, neglect, and sun exposure. The hands lose considerable volume in the process of aging. Constant sun exposure causes hands to look older faster and lose volume. Due to the loss of muscle bulk between the fingers, hands look bony. Hand rejuvenation helps to get back the youthful appearance of the hands. It includes various treatment procedures ranging from fat grafting to injectable fillers and laser resurfacing to soften the appearance of the skin of the hands. All those people who have hands with aging signs that bother them are the prospective candidates for hand rejuvenation procedures.
What Are the Signs of Aging Hands?
There is no surprise that as people age, their body also ages. Some of the visible aging changes occur, especially on the hand, such as:
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Wrinkles - They are unavoidable changes throughout the aging process. The skin of the hand loses its elasticity and fat as people get older, causing translucent skin leading to wrinkles. Hands are most vulnerable to wrinkles when compared to the whole body.
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Dry Skin - Hands are generally dry. Dry and thin, aging skin causes the skin to crack, resulting in open wounds and scabs on the hands.
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Age Spots and Sun Spots - As everybody is aware, the sun’s powerful ultraviolet rays are harmful to the skin, so it is important to protect every part of the body from them. People usually apply sunscreen to their face and body and skip applying it to their hands. Hands, when exposed to the sun, develop black or brown flat, round blotches on the skin called age spots. Age spots commonly occur on the hands along with the face and chest.
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Red, Peeling Skin - As people age, the skin on the hands becomes red and starts to peel. This is associated with dryness and includes symptoms such as rashes, itching, and lesions.
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Protruding Veins - Due to aging, the skin gets thin, making the veins visible prominently. This can happen due to a lack of circulation. Hands with protruding veins give an appearance of less youthful skin.
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Dry and Brittle Nails - Nails get dry, brittle, and stained with aging. This usually happens because of changes in moisture levels and exposure to chemical cleaning solutions.
What Are the Types of Hand Rejuvenation?
Hand rejuvenation includes a variety of procedures that address the hand aging signs and give them a youthful appearance. Most of these procedures are nonsurgically and painless, allowing people to get back to normal life relatively quickly. Some of the common types of hand rejuvenation procedures are:
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Dermal Fillers - This is the most accessible and most commonly used course of treatment. Dermal fillers are usually injected in areas that experience volume loss. They are often used on the face to reduce fine lines and wrinkles, but they can also be used on the hands. Wrinkles on the hands and prominent visible veins and tendons can be hidden with dermal fillers. There are many fillers available that work well for hand rejuvenation. The recovery after dermal fillers is quick and needs to be maintained over time with additional injections.
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Laser Skin Resurfacing - Laser skin resurfacing and IPL (intense pulsed light) help lighten the aging spots and discoloration on the hands. Erbium laser resurfacing is a great treatment for irregularity of skin texture, hyperpigmentation, and sun damage. Erbium laser is the more targeted and narrower procedure when compared to traditional CO2 laser resurfacing. It also has a faster recovery rate and fewer side effects. IPL helps to lighten discoloration and pigmentation due to sun exposure. Laser and light therapies are simple, nonsurgical procedures that give long-lasting results with negligible pain.
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Chemical Peels - Chemical peels are noninvasive procedures that do wonders to lighten the dark spots on the hands. It uses chemical solutions with varying potencies depending on the severity of hyperpigmentation. The chemical solution wears off the superficial layers of the skin to allow new and evenly toned skin to the surface. Chemical peels do not address the problem of prominent and visible veins or thin skin of hands.
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Skin Tightening - People believe that skin tightening is done for breasts, neck, and tummy, but it can also be used for hands. Radio frequencies are used to tighten the existing collagen in the hands and promote the production of new collagen. This results in firmer skin on the hands, giving a younger appearance.
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Fat Transfer - Fat transfer or fat grafting is a surgical procedure and an effective treatment for replacing the lost volume of the hands. It helps gain back years by transferring fat from other parts of the body and injecting it into the hands. By transferring stem cells, this treatment modality also allows them to appear healthy at cellular levels. During this surgical procedure, liposuction of a section of the body with fat to spare is done and then this fat is refined to remove any impurities and eventually reinjected into the tops of hands. There is some associated downtime but once achieved, the results are long-lasting. The main concern with this procedure is that some of the grafted fat is reabsorbed by the body resulting in the need for more than one session for the required result.
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Sclerotherapy - This is another surgical treatment procedure. Sclerotherapy involves the complete removal of the protruding and visible large veins. The patient undergoing this procedure should have good upper arm vein accessibility for IVs (intravenous), and blood draws to be done in the future.
How Long Does Hand Rejuvenation Last?
Depending on the type of procedure a person undergoes for the hands will determine how long the effects will last. Unfortunately, non-surgical procedures do not give permanent results, and hands continue to show aging signs as people grow old. Surgical procedures show promising long-lasting results, but they do have some associated downtime.
Conclusion
Aging is a natural process of life. Unfortunately, science has not discovered any possible way to reverse the aging process yet, but with some new technological advances in non-surgical procedures, the aging process can definitely be slowed down.
