Every day in my practice, I see clients invest in their face and skin. All too often though, I can tell a women’s real age by looking at their hands. Hands are something we tend to ignore or not think about.
In your 40s or 50s, signs of aging can start to appear with discoloration and age spots. If you have a lifestyle that exposes to you a lot of sun (like golfing or sailing) your hands can begin to show signs of aging even earlier. You can also experience volume loss in your hands in your 50s and 60s . When you lose volume, your veins and tendons start to protrude.
Here are some pointers on what you can do to keep your hands looking youthful.
Your first line of defense: Manage sun exposure
Use a broadband sunscreen like MD Elta which has zinc. Zinc is a physical product, covers both UVA and UVB and is a reflector. If you are a very active outdoors, keep sunscreen where it is accessible (in your car, golf bag, boat, at the cottage). Damaging rays can also travel through your car window, so make sure you have sunscreen on your hands while driving. Wear gloves when doing yard work or playing outdoor sports. Golfers should consider wearing a glove on each hand to cover the back of the hands.
Topicals Can Offer Improvement/Prevention
For younger women starting to show signs of aging, topical creams containing AHA’s, antioxidants, hydroquinone, vitamin As, cannot completely reverse signs but can offer improvements. At MD Aesthetics, we provide a lactic acid body toner and mix it with Vitamin A oil. This mixture is ideal to treat aging skin and sun damage on the body.
Intense Pulsed Light Lasers
Photofacials are common treatment to treat sun damage on the face and décolleté. This same treatment can be done on hands. A broad brand light laser can lift sun damage and bring it to the surface of the skin. The spots go darker for about 5 days and as you clean your hands over a period of a week, the spots start to shed. A course of 3 treatments, 3 weeks apart are usually recommended to lift sun damage. You cannot have this treatment if you have a tan on your hands. Most clients wait for the fall or winter to do this treatment.
Hyaluronic Acid
Fillers used to restore volume loss in the face or enhance lips are also used to restore volume in hands. Adding filler into your hands can reduce the appearance of veins and tendons allowing a smoother more youthful look. Usually one syringe in each hand is a good start. The results are instant and usually lasts up to a year.