Aging Hands

Content Reviewed by AEDIT Medical Advisory Board

Overview

Skincare is important. Moisturizer, broad spectrum uva/uvb sunscreen, anti aging hand cream, lotions with hyaluronic acid or retinoids, and vitamin c or Shea butter creams all claim to reduce age spots, wrinkles, and prominent veins. Unfortunately, however, as you age the appearance of these imperfections is inevitable no matter how much money you invested in your skincare regimen. Sun damage like dark spots and age spots, fine lines, and prominent veins are coming for us all-luckily there are solutions.

How do the hands age?

Think about the body parts that see the most daily use and spend the most time baking under the ultraviolet light of the sun. It’s no wonder the face and the hands are the first body parts to show signs of aging.

Skin is composed of three main layers. The bottom most layer, the hypodermis, is composed of fat and connective tissue. The dermis is the middle layer containing fibroblasts, which produce elastin and collagen. The top layer is the epidermis, and here you’ll find melanocytes for skin pigment, hair follicles, and sweat glands.

Collagen is a critical structural protein that provides the framework upon which the body builds skin tissues. Elastin allows you to have the superpower of snapping back into place without any conscious effort. Both of these proteins degrade over time from use, sun exposure, and other forms of skin damage.

What are the main cosmetic concerns related to aging hands?

So now that we understand why the skin is the amazing miracle it is, let’s figure out exactly what happens as collagen and elastin stop trying as hard, Father Time and Mother Nature catch up to us, and accumulated years of sun worshipping appear.

• Age Spots: These can happen anywhere, but given how much time your hands probably spent in the sun these hyperpigmented (darker) patches are going to come out in force on the back of the hands.
• Crepey Skin: This description is theoretically appetizing, but actually an unfortunate way to describe your hand skin. Thin, wrinkled, and creased hands are a dead giveaway for your age.
• Veins: As the skin thins with age, fat deposits change, and muscles become less muscular veins will naturally begin to appear more prominent. The veins didn’t really change, but everyone else did-kind of meta.

Why do the hands show age sooner than other parts of the body?

How often do you wear gloves on a sunny day? In colder temperatures probably more often, but what about the other couple hundred days of the year? Our hands see a lot of sun, and they also get used everyday-a lot. Collagen, elastin, and other soft tissues get broken down with repetitive movements and UV light from the beautiful fireball in the sky causes persistent and cumulative damage. Honestly, it's kind of a miracle hands even last as long as they do.

Who may wish to seek treatment for aging hands?

No one is immune to nature and time (as far as we know). Men and women of any age or ethnicity will experience the appearance of aged hands in the form of age spots, crepey skin, and prominent veins. Anyone wishing to restore the tight, toned glow of youth will benefit from a hand rejuvenation or vein treatment.

How can someone treat their aging hands?

Now that we’ve covered all the way things go wrong, let’s figure out how to make them right. Hand rejuvenation and vein treatment procedures can be used to even, smooth, refine, and correct the signs of aging on the hands.

For Age Spots:

Laser Hand Rejuvenation and Pulsed Dye Laser are treatments that target and promote healing to the damaged skin that causes the hyperpigmented areas.

For Crepey Skin:

Enhancing and refining soft tissues can restore volume and vitality. Hand Rejuvenation with Fat Transfer, Hand Rejuvenation with Dermal Fillers, and Laser Hand Rejuvenation are possible options.

For Prominent Veins:

Vein Treatments like Sclerotherapy and rejuvenation techniques like Hand Rejuvenation with Fat Transfer and Hand Rejuvenation with Dermal Fillers can reduce vein appearance and augment surrounding soft tissue.

To better understand the treatment options outlined above, check out our guide to Hand Rejuvenation Solutions.