What Is Hand Rejuvenation?
The hands are exposed to the sun and the elements almost as much as the face. Many people are troubled by the wrinkles, frown lines and sun damage to the face, but hands can also show signs of wear and tear.
Wrinkles, prominent veins, sun spots, age spots: All of these cosmetic defects can affect the hands. As a plastic surgeon and hand surgeon, Dr. Jacobson specializes in helping his patients feel young by helping their hands look young.
How Is Hand Rejuvenation Done?
Hand rejuvenation can encompass a number of procedures that target the signs of aging,including dermal fillers, fat grafting, vein therapy, laser therapy and chemical peels.
Dermal Fillers
Dermal fillers treat wrinkles of the hands. As people age, their skin thins and takes on a loose, papery appearance and feeling. However, a number of injectable fillers can restore to the hands and restore their youthful appearance.
- Fat grafting: Fat grafting is one of the most effective ways to rejuvenate and fill out aging hands. It uses fat taken from elsewhere in the patient’s body, usually from around the bellybutton, the thighs or the buttocks. The fat is processed and the injected back into the hands at the wrist.
The injected fat fills in wrinkles, resulting a much more youthful appearance to the hands. Because autologous fat (fat from your own body) gets reabsorbed easily, most fat grafting overfills the hands so they may initially look swollen. Swelling will go down in a matter of days. Results can last for many years.
- Hyaluronic acid: Hyaluronic acid is a naturally occurring substance in the body. It’s an important ingredient in articular cartilage and joint (synovial) fluid. It’s also a major component of skin moisturization and helps repair damage from ultraviolet (sun) exposure. Hyaluronic injections can improve skin contour and fill in wrinkles, with results lasting up to six months.
Chemical Peels
Chemical peels treat photoaging: freckles and brown spots that are also known as age spots or sun spots. A chemical peel uses acid to strip away the top layer of the skin, including the discoloration. Redness in the area is a common side effect, and you need to be particularly vigilant about using sunscreen or avoiding the sun.
Vein Therapy
Vein therapy is used to reduce the appearance of prominent veins in the hands. Also known as sclerotherapy, it uses an injection into a vein to close it off with scar tissue (sclero- means “scarring”). The blood that travels through these veins will be rerouted to other, smaller blood vessels, and the large and prominent veins will eventually disappear.
If you’d like your hands to look more youthful, request an appointment with Dr. Jacobson. He’ll explain your options and design a treatment plan that’s right for you.