Image from Sciton. Before and After of hands after treatment with photo rejuvenation BBL laser.
If you count the rings on a tree, you can estimate how old the tree really is. The same thing is true with your hands, in the sense that this area of the body really betrays your age to the entire world. Until proper gloves come back into fashion year round, you, like all of us, will keep spending a small fortune every year on manicures. But what does it matter if your nails are fresh and youthful if your hands are aging? If you want to rewind the clock, don’t neglect your hands. Youthful looking hands are essential in showcasing a beautiful manicure. Show off those gel nails by giving your hands a makeover.
Every Season Takes a Toll on Your Hands
Not many people remember to put sunscreen on their hands during the hot summer months. Putting sunscreen in your hands to apply to your body doesn’t count, unless you tend to walk around with your palms facing heavenward. After spending a day outside bike riding, gardening or lounging by the pool, your hands take the brunt of the damage. Your skin, even the skin on your hands, loses elasticity from the natural aging process. After years of harsh sun exposure, you’ll start to develop telltale signs on aging on your hands, like wrinkles, freckles and sunspots.
If the fall, the weather turns cool, crisp and dry. This can make your hands itchy, cracked and calloused. Combine this with moisture from hand washing or rain and they become chapped easily. Winter is fall, times ten when you factor in the snow. By spring your hands are so beat up that you wonder if your snow mittens would look cute with a floral skirt.
Reverse the Aging Process on Your Hands
One remedy is, of course, to put sunscreen on your hands and use tons of moisturizer. But sometimes even if you do everything right you think you just can’t stop the natural aging process. If you can reverse time by using medical spa products and services on your face, then it makes sense that you can do the same for your hands. Why not? Using a multi-tiered approach, just like you would for your face, you can reverse the aging process on your hands.
Skin Care Products for Youthful Hands
When dealing with sun damage and wrinkles, vitamin C (L-ascorbic acid) and hyaluronic acid are key in reducing fine lines and maintaining healthy skin. The same products you apply to your face you can also apply to your hands, in the morning and before bed.
Tip #1: You don’t have to use another complete application, either. After applying your products to your face with your fingertips, swipe the top of each hand with the residue or use a miniscule pump to cover both hands.
Tip #2: Wear spa gloves on your hands while you sleep at night to really hydrate the skin and prevent the product from wiping off.
Tip #3: In the morning, apply your moisturizer with SPF to hands using the same method as Tip #1.
Recommended Products for Hand Care:
Vivier™ HYDRAgel contains pharmaceutical grade hyaluronic acid to restore the skin’s moisture barrier function leaving it hydrated, reenergized and radiant…[ read more ]
Vivier™ C E Peptides formulated with pharmaceutical grade vitamin C (L-ascorbic Acid USP)…helps reduce the appearance of fine lines and wrinkles and helps reduce further signs of aging… [read more]
Vivier™ Sunscreen Lotion SPF 30 pharmaceutical grade water-based facial sunscreen provides true broad-spectrum UVA/UVB and SPF 30 protection in a light, sheer formulation that absorbs quickly into the skin… [read more]
Dermal Fillers for Hand Wrinkles
At PAW, we like to remind our patients that they can use dermal fillers for their hands. A small amount of filler smoothens wrinkles on your hands, making them appear supple and more youthful. The filler can last four months to two years depending on treatment area and history of treatments.
BBL, or Phototherapy and Laser Resurfacing to Reverse Signs of Aging in Your Hands
The BBL, or phototherapy laser is an excellent treatment option for eliminating sunspots and damage done to the skin by harmful UV and UVB rays. You see results a few weeks after treatment.
Laser Resurfacing is a more aggressive option if you not only want to reduce sun damage but also eliminate wrinkles quickly and effectively.
Our hands are really the most used and abused part of our bodies. Read this great article on hand care from hand model Ellen Sirot to get more information about taking care of your hands. As Sirot succinctly puts it, “Your hands are a microcosm of the rest of you. Hands that feel dry and are dehydrated hurt people. You look at your hands 99 percent of the day. When it’s reflected back at you, a hand that doesn’t look good is constant negative reinforcement. Hands tell so much about you. We really are trained about how to take care of our faces, but people don’t talk about our hands.”
Ready to give your hands a hand? Stop by Plaza Aesthetics & Wellness for a complimentary consultation and we can talk about your plan for gorgeous hands!
