Why have Hand Rejuvenation?
They say a woman’s hands tell her age. However, with advances in lasers and fillers, hands may not be revealing as they once were. Hands are often a showcase for jewelry, watches, bracelets, and are often on display. Which is why it is best to explore the wondrous procedure of Hand Rejuvenation.
What Happens to Our Hands As We Age
Loss of Hand volume
Older hands tend to have less volume and the tendons and veins are more visible. Younger hands tend to be fuller and more supple.
Hand Wrinkles
Fine lines tend to be present and the skin tends to be thin
Brown Spots
Age and sun exposure can promote brown spots along the hands.
Treating Your Aging Hands
Treating older hands usually takes a multifactorial approach involving adding volume to the hands with laser resurfacing and removal of brown spots.
Adding Volume to the Hand
There are multiple approaches for hand volume and some fillers which work well include Radiesse as well as some hyaluronic fillers such as Juvederm or Restylane. Fillers help to mask the tendons and make veins less visible. Radiesse is often the filler of choice since it is whitish and tends to obscure blood vessels better than hyaluronic acid fillers. Fat transfer can be a good option for patients who desire changes as well.
Treating Fine Lines and Wrinkles
Fractionated C02 offers smoother hands and can help with some brown spots. Fractionated C02 will make the surface of the hand with erythema which is temporary for a few days. Overall, the hands become smoother and less lines are present.
Treating Brown Spots
Brown spots are a common issue with the surface of hands. IPL, particularly the newer IPL systems, are effective at treating brown spots.
Frequently Asked Questions about Hand Rejuvenation
Diabetic patients are not good candidates. Patients with delayed healing or poor blood supply may not be good candidates as well.
Most patients do not need numbing or topical as this procedure is not painful but topical anesthesia is available if patients desire.
Filler seems to last about 6 months to a year depending on the degree of movement in the hands.
The sun will not melt the filler but it will promote aging of the skin and brown spots of the skin of the hands. Patients are advised to avoid direct sunlight on the hands and wear sunscreen if possible.
Moisturizer can help keep skin from getting dry and cracking. Some patients use a series of Retinols as well as hyaluronic acid skin care products to help rejuvenate the hands on a daily basis.
Older female patients seem to request hand rejuvenation and patients who are recently engaged.
There is no standard definition of what a beautiful hand looks like. Ideally the finger to hand length should approximate the golden ratio which is finger/ hand = 1.618. The golden ratio is often called Phi. With age, the fingers can appear longer than ideal and filler can restore the ratio. Too short of fingers can lead to a stubby appearance to fingers and hands. Young hands are marked by soft, supple appearance. Older hands often have visible veins, tendons and loose and wrinkled skin. The ideal female hand does not have hair present which can be removed with our LASER hair removal process.
There are multiple scales to measure hand aesthetics including the Michigan Hand Questionnaire, the Likert Scale, the Visual Analog Scale, the Buck-Gramcko Score as well as others.
How does injecting filler into a hand make my hand look more feminine?
Speak with our physician to determine if you are a good candidate. Every patient will have different physiology.
Female hands tend to have more subcutaneous fat and look delicate. Fraile, bony, veiny hands tend to make patients look older.
Patients can workout the next day after injections.
There may be small bumps and irregularities for a few days but this tends to go away rapidly.