Your hands are often the first place to show aging. The skin on the back of your hands is very thin and generally is quite weak. In fact, it’s actually thinner and weaker than most of your face, except the sensitive skin under your eyes.
Even worse, there is little fat under the skin, meaning that the bones and veins are very close to the surface. Collagen depletion, whether from aging or smoking, has an enormous effect on the hands, causing the thin skin to sag and expose the veins beneath. Hand skin is also heavily impacted by the sun and elements, causing early appearance of dark spots. If you’re not careful, your hands will not only show your age, but will make you look even older than you actually are.
On the bright side, there are ways to bring your hands back from the brink. Here are our recommended treatments:
- Simple and Cheap Moisturizers
If you can’t afford pricier options, a non-scented moisturizer will still help your skin rebuild. Your hands are exposed to a lot of external stressors that cause dryness and need more help than the rest of your body. Moisturizing the skin gives it more volume, making up for, but not replacing, lost collagen.
- Sunscreen
Although sunscreen sounds like a damage control option, it also can help rebuild the skin. For many people, the sun prevents naturally rebuilding of collagen chains. With protection from the sun, your hands can return to their age-appropriate appearance.
- Growth Factor Cream
Growth factors are steroids and proteins that stimulate cells, especially healthy young skin cells, to grow and divide. Growth factor is absorbed by the skin from topical creams and causes new, thick, and strong skin cells to develop. Growth factor cream has been proven to be safe and effective at reducing signs of aging in hands, but can be expensive.
- Skin Lighteners
We don’t always recommend skin lighteners for rejuvenation, as there is less data supporting their effectiveness than we would like. However, some women find that they are effective, and they are still legal in North America.
- Wax Baths
Wax baths used to be an expensive treatment for celebrities, but are now amazingly cheap to do at home. The wax forms a thin layer that protects your hands whole acting as a filler for wrinkles.
- Injectables
Just like facial lines, sagging hand skin can be fixed using injectable fillers. Fillers simulate natural collagen, plumping up the skin and hiding veins below.
- Laser Treatments
Lasers creating microscopic holes in the skin. Instead of causing damage, these holes actually encourage the regrowth of the collagen layer, leading to a lasting rejuvenation of your hands. Concentrated laser application can also destroy the pigments that cause liver spots. Laser treatments are increasingly safe and easy, causing much less downtime than they did even five years ago.
Of these treatments, sunscreen and moisturizers are the most affordable, but the least effective. Lasers are very effective, but are more of an investment. IF you’re looking for a good balance of the two, injectables are an affordable and lasting option! For more information, contact our team today.
