Aging Hands the Dead Giveaway of Age

By Nasrin Mani, M.D.

If you’re looking at your hands and wondering “Whose hands are THESE?!!” you aren’t alone. Most of us spend a lot of time – and money – keeping our face looking young. But we often neglect the one “dead giveaway” of our age until one day we have that moment of truth.

In a study in the U.K., a panel of men and women were asked to judge a group of women’s ages by looking at hands without showing the face.

Result? The average hand-based estimate was an average of
8-10 years OLDER than actual age.

The criteria the estimators judged by were:

• Smoothness and texture
• Color (Spots, blemishes or bruising)
• Wrinkles and Crinkles
• Vein Prominence
• Moisture Levels

Since none us want any part of our bodies to look older than we really are, what to do with “Cruella de Vil” hands?

• Sunscreen – Start today and apply every day several times
  –especially if you’re in the car a lot!
• IPL takes away a lot of sun spots, as does Thulium laser
• Radiesse is an instant hand “re-plumper” to fill in the valleys and diminish vein prominence
• Super saturating hand creams in addition to sunscreen restore moisture
• Water – drinking water helps keep hydration levels up
• Proper vitamin intake to prevent bruising

You can turn old hands into younger hands with some fairly minimal action. Radiesse lasts about 18 months. IPL or Fraxel’s pigment laser will kick out the brown spots relatively quickly and Sunscreen will protect your pretty new hands from getting spotty again. Ask your doctor about vitamin supplements if you find you’re bruising easily. For some, a Vit K supplement works well, but should not be taken if you are taking RX blood thinners.