A woman can look younger than she is, but her hands will always betray her true age.
Our hands tell a story. They sometimes betray our thoughts and emotions, and can even reveal our true age!
Heavily utilised and subjected to numerous aggressions, our hands suffer and dry out faster than other parts of our body as they do not contain sebaceous glands.
Even though we cannot hide them, our hands are often neglected and do not enjoy the same attention as we pay to our face. This is why there is often a discrepancy between the age one would give to a person’s face and the age that their hands reveal.
How the hands age
Our hands play a functional, sensory, aesthetic and social role. The skin on the back of the hands is particularly thin (2mm in thickness compared with 4mm on the palm) and is therefore very delicate and fragile. Once we reach the age of 40, the skin on our hands begins to age and loses an average of 3% of its thickness every year. The skin becomes thinner and we start to notice a loss of volume as well as muscle wastage, which make the veins and tendons more apparent. This is what we call “skeletisation”. Age spots can also start to appear on the skin.
From the age of 50, the bones become more prominent, the skin starts to wrinkle and its surface looks rough.
The hands can be analysed according to various aspects:
- Bone structure, length of the fingers and symmetry
- Trophicity: the volume and appearance of the skin, the visibility of the veins and the nails’ appearance
- Their social and aesthetic function
Hand rejuvenation: the solutions
Nowadays, there are many different ways to make your hands look younger and more beautiful, depending on the problem that needs treating.
1/ Improving the skin’s texture:
Mesolift by revitalisation and microneedling:
This technique involves the topical application of a cocktail of nutrients that are essential for stimulating the fibroblasts: I use NCTP 135 HA® from Filorga Laboratories. This bio-revitalising blend combines non-cross-linked hyaluronic acid with vitamins, minerals, co-enzymes, amino acids and antioxidants to deeply rehydrate the skin and reboot collagen synthesis. NCTP 135 HA® makes the hands softer and visibly improves the skin’s texture. It can also be used as a preventative measure.
NCTF 135 HA® is applied to clean, disinfected skin. The solution is then pushed deep into the skin using an electric pen equipped with several single-use micro-needles. The technique involves making tiny perforations of various depths into the dermis, in order to help the active ingredients to penetrate the skin.
Four sessions are required, with two weeks in between, plus a top-up session every two to three months.
For even more hydration, we can combine the NCTF 135 HA® with MHA18®, a hydrating complex that contains free hyaluronic acid and glycerol. Ideal for very dry skin.
Fractional radiofrequency:
The TriLipo™ MED Maximus©/TriPollar© treatment procedure is a complete anti-aging solution that tones the underlying muscle layer, renews the epidermal layer and makes the dermal layer thicker. TriLipo™ MED can be used on most skin types and areas of the face. The mechanical abrasion of the skin stimulates skin cell regeneration. Plan to have around three sessions for noticeable results.
2/ Making the veins and tendons less prominent:
“Skeletisation” of the hands can be corrected by injecting a filler product to restore the lost volumes, which offers the added advantage of restoring the skin tone and improving its elasticity.
Hyaluronic acid:
The sub-cutaneous injection of a filler product such as hyaluronic acid has the advantage of instantly restoring lost volumes, improving the skin’s trophicity and masking prominent veins and tendons. The injections are made using a micro-cannula under the skin so as not to damage the tissues or cause bruising.
The hyaluronic acid is then deposited in between the fingers. The choice of which hyaluronic acid to use is made according to the skin’s trophicity. Usually, we distribute one syringe of hyaluronic acid into each hand. The results are immediate.
For this technique, I use ART FILLER Universal® from Filorga Laboratories. I like using this product because it is very easy to mould but still gives a good filling effect, which enables me to achieve very natural-looking results. ART FILLER Universal also reboots collagen and elastin synthesis, which is particularly useful for treating skeletal hands, densifying the dermis and improving the skin quality at the same time. The product also has excellent durability: clinical studies have shown that it can last up to 18 months. Patients will need one session per year.
Lipofilling:
Here, it is the patient’s own fat that is reinjected after being harvested from the body, with the aim of rejuvenating the backs of the hands by masking prominent veins and tendons. This technique requires a general anaesthetic.
3/ Erasing age spots:
Pulsed light:
This enables us to correct age spots that appear over time by targeting melanin pigments. This treatment requires three sessions, carried out when sun exposure is at a minimum. The only precaution required: treated areas must not be exposed to sunlight for four weeks after the procedure.
Plexr:
Plexr (Plasma Exeresis) is a new device derived from quantum physics that enables us to carry out aesthetic procedures and treat dermatological lesions without damaging the surrounding tissue. It allows us to “erase” dark marks.
TCA peel:
Trichloroacetic acid (TCA) is applied in layers until the treatment area turns white. The dark marks gradually fade.
All of these techniques can be combined in order to rejuvenate the hands fully, both on the surface and deep underneath the skin.
Their effects can be prolonged with the daily use of dermocosmetics, such as hydrating creams and sun protection.
