When we think of aging, we usually think of the skin on our faces, maybe some sagging on our stomach, even our eyelids. What about the backs of the hands?
As we age, the skin on the back of our hands thins, plus the hands have the same decrease in collagen production as the rest of the body. That means the thinning skin has less structural support to keep it plump and firm. The result is tendons and veins that seem to have pushed upward and are far more apparent than even just five or 10 years ago.
Dr. Beaty has a few different options to improve the look of the backs of your hands.
Laser resurfacing
We use fractional CO2 laser treatments on the hands and forearms. The laser makes dozens of microscopic punctures in this skin, penetrating the epidermis (the skin’s outer layer) and slightly entering the dermis (the skin’s second layer). When the laser energy enters the dermis the body assumes there has been a wound. It responds by remodeling the existing collagen and producing new amounts of collagen and elastin to “heal” the perceived wounds. In reality the microscopic punctures heal in just a couple hours, but the body produces new collagen for weeks. This thickens the skin, reduces age spots, and improves the overall texture.
Microneedling with PRP
Microneedling has a similar goal — to trigger increased collagen and elastin production. The microneedling “pen” has nine needles that move up and down as the handpiece is moved over the backs of the hands. The find needles penetrate the skin creating microscopic wounds. As with fractional laser treatments, the body builds new collagen and elastin to heal the dozens of wounds, improving the skin’s texture and thickness. To supplement our microneedling, we apply platelet-rich plasma. Made from a small sample of the patient’s own blood, platelet-rich plasma (PRP) has seven growth factors in addition to the healing properties of blood platelets. These boost the skin rejuvenation. Microneedling enables the PRP to easily penetrate the epidermis so the growth factors can get to work in the dermis.
Fillers
Dermal fillers are very effective on the backs of the hands for adding volume. This is important to plump the skin and lessen the appearance of the tendons and the veins that have become so prominent. Dr. Beaty may use Radiesse, Sculptra, or one of the hyaluronic acid fillers for the hands.
Tired of your hands looking like the host of Tales from the Crypt? Give us a call at (770) 753-0053 and ask about hand rejuvenation.
