Your Guide to Younger-Looking Hands

At Laser Lights Cosmetic Laser Center, our patients spend plenty of time erasing years from their faces, but many forget a body area that can quickly give away their age: the hands. Our hands age more quickly than other areas of our body for a number of reasons—they’re often exposed to the sun, they come into contact with many environmental agents, and the skin is already so thin that when the hands naturally lose fat with age, the skin wrinkles very quickly. Whether you’re trying to keep your hands looking as young as they do today, or you’ve moved into more of the “damage control” phase and want hand rejuvenation treatments to reverse the aging that has already begun, the tips below can help.

Prevention

• We’ve said this many times about slowing facial aging, but it applies to the hands as well: wear sunscreen every day! The backs of your hands are often forgotten, but even small amounts of sun exposure can add up, so make broad-spectrum sunscreen (at least SPF 30) a part of your morning ritual and reapply throughout the day.
• The skin on the hands tends to be low on natural oils, which can cause it to age prematurely. Besides using lotion at home, try our paraffin wax treatments. They’re designed specifically to keep essential moisture in the hands.
• Wear gloves when you’re cleaning, washing dishes, gardening, or doing other tasks that could bring your hands into contact with harsh chemicals.

Repair

• Laser hand rejuvenation with our Erbium laser can tackle aging hands from multiple fronts by minimizing age spots and helping the skin produce extra collagen for fuller, firmer skin.
• If you’re looking for a quicker solution, our board-certified plastic surgeon Dr. David Whiteman can skillfully inject dermal fillers into the hands. In the same way that they smooth facial wrinkles, these injections replace lost volume and produce younger-looking hands in just minutes with no downtime.
• Chemical peels aren’t just for your face. Several peels are formulated to be effective for the hands, like the TCA Smoothing Body Peel® and the Vi Peel®. By eliminating the damaged outer layers of skin, chemical peels reveal a brighter and younger-looking complexion.

The hands naturally age early, and many of us have one of those moments when we look down at our hands and think, “when did all this happen?” But the good news is that no matter whether you’re in your 30s, 40s, 50s, or beyond, there are ways to restore youth to your hands and slow the aging process. To start discussing how we can help your hands look as youthful and vibrant as you feel, schedule a consultation at Laser Lights. Or, to stay up-to-date with the latest developments in cosmetic treatments, join us on Facebook, Twitter, and Google+.