You take great care of your face, but how much attention do you pay to your hands? Applying a hand moisturizer helps but doesn't stop the effect of aging. And in today's pandemic world, you may use hand sanitizers that dry out your skin.
No matter how you care for your hands, they take such extensive daily abuse that they age more rapidly than your face. One day, they suddenly look way too old and you're embarrassed by their appearance.
Whether you wait until you can't tolerate their aged appearance, or you want to take early steps to prevent them from getting that bad, you can depend on hand rejuvenation performed by Rafael C. Cabrera, MD, FACS, at Plastic Surgery Specialists of Boca Raton.
Here's what you need to know about your hands and our innovative hand rejuvenation procedure.
Your hands go through the same natural aging process as the rest of your body. Over time, your skin holds less moisture and loses strength and resilience. These changes lead to fragile, dry skin and wrinkles.
Hands also have unique disadvantages that make them age more quickly than the rest of your body. They’re often exposed to harsh environments and manual work. Hands are also constantly exposed to sunlight.
Sunlight dramatically speeds up aging as it further dehydrates and damages your skin and causes age spots. And most people neglect their hands when it comes to applying sunscreen.
As your hands age, the veins and tendons become more visible under thinning, wrinkled skin. While that’s a grim image, the effect is even worse than it sounds when you see the changes in your own hands.
Don't despair because we have a solution. We offer a two-step hand rejuvenation procedure that combines dermal fillers and photofacial treatments to make your hands look years younger.
We precisely inject dermal fillers under your skin, where they plump up your skin and diminish the appearance of veins and tendons. Several dermal fillers are specially designed for hand rejuvenation. We choose the one that's best for your hands. However, we often use Restylane® Lyft™ and Radiesse®.
Restylane Lyft improves your hands with a safe, natural substance called hyaluronic acid. Your skin makes its own hyaluronic acid, which provides essential hydration by binding with water.
The hyaluronic acid in Restylane Lyft comes in the form of a soft gel that produces immediate results by adding fullness under your skin. Though your body gradually absorbs the gel, the results typically last six months.
Radiesse contains smooth, tiny spheres of calcium hydroxylapatite (CaHA), the same calcium that makes up your bones. The microspheres are mixed with a smooth gel that’s easily injected.
The gel immediately fills the area and lifts your skin. Meanwhile, the CaHA spheres create a supportive structure and stimulate the production of collagen and elastin. Collagen and elastin are the proteins your skin normally produces that give it strength and elasticity.
Like Restylane, your body gradually absorbs the Radiesse components. However, the boost of collagen and elastin creates results that last a year or longer.
After improving hand volume with a filler, we rejuvenate your skin by treating it with intense pulsed light (IPL) or radiofrequency energy. The dark pigments in age and sun spots absorb the energy, then the energy breaks down the pigments and dark spots disappear.
The energy also goes below your skin, where the heat stimulates collagen and elastin production. As a result, the treatment tightens your skin and smooths wrinkles.
Your hand rejuvenation only takes about 40 minutes. You may have mild redness and minimal discomfort afterward, but you can return to your normal activities the next day. The best part? After a single procedure, your hands maintain their youthful appearance for at least a year.
If you have questions about hand rejuvenation, you want to learn more about the process, or you’re ready to schedule your procedure, call Plastic Surgery Specialists of Boca Raton at 561-203-0377 today.
