With proper attention and treatment, ageing signs of the hands can be reduced

Most women and some men (metrosexual men…) apply facial creams, eye creams and other anti-ageing treatments to reduce the signs of ageing of the face and body. However, hands, that are also an important age indicator, are failed to be addressed by many. Hands are the most exposed body part to ageing elements like water, house-hold chemicals and the sun, major skin ageing inducers that can be dealt with through proper measures. When dealing with ageing of hands, the symptoms include: ageing spots, thinning of the skin, general thinning of hands and protruding veins. The skin in general, including skin of the hands, produces less collagen as we age hence causing thinning of the skin, thus causing the veins to protrude and the hands to look bonier.

With proper attention and treatment, ageing signs of the hands can be reduced and the hands can look a few years younger. For those of you still young with beautiful hands, make sure to take measures to postpone ageing of hands by applying sunscreen to your hands twice a day. It is also important to wear gloves when washing dishes or if handling house hold chemicals. This will protect your hands from dryness and from the harsh effects of cleaners, detergents etc’.

To help with dry skin, apply cream at night and wear cotton mittens over the cream to enhance absorption.
A few technologies and some invasive methods have been introduced to address the different aspects of ageing hands. Combination of technologies will enable a full spectrum of treatment, however it is important to understand these options in order to ensure the correct sequence of treatment protocol as one technology can interfere with the effectiveness of other technologies if performed in an inappropriate order, timing etc’.
Photorejuvination technologies ( IPL and fractional laser) are well established methods for skin rejuvenation. These methods can help with the reduction of age spots and general improvement of skin appearance of the hands due to induction of new collagen growth and removal of age spots. Healing from photo rejuvenation treatments can take a few weeks because the skin is purposefully damaged to cause superficial skin injury, that induces scabbing, peeling and healing.
Dermal fillers, which are normally deployed for facial wrinkles, can be used for the hands too (for example Restylane) in order to restore “plumpness” and improve the general appearance. If you decide to combine dermal fillers with photorejuvination technologies, it is important to undergo the photorejuvination treatment prior to the use of dermal fillers to ensure that you do not interfere with the dermal filler’s action. It is also important to allow the hands to completely heal before undergoing the next type of treatment.
For treatment of protruding veins on the hands, an invasive cosmetic surgery is available where the veins are removed (of course the doctor will asses the blood vessels on the hands to ensure that the surgery does not damage the blood supply). This surgery requires a long healing duration (a few months) and is usually performed on one hand at a time.
A non invasive safe technology for the improvement of hand appearance is TriPollar RF (Radio Frequency). TriPollar RF treatments can be performed during lunch break short  office visits with no down time and with no need for healing. These treatments induce formation of new collagen in the dermis, hence improving skin texture and resulting with smoother, younger looking hands. TriPollar RF treatments can be combined with photorejuvination treatments to enable removal of age spots along with improvements of skin texture. If combining these two technologies, make sure that the hands have completely healed after the photorejuvination treatments before starting the Tripollar treatment protocol.

Voss Andreae sculptures are inspired by his scientific knowledge

The exhibition “Bodies”, that has been circling the planet, takes the integration between science and art a step further and turns science into the art pieces.
However, art and science are further linked by art work that is inspired by biological and physiological structures. Julian Voss-Andreae is an artist that combines his scientific background with his creations. He studied physics at the universities of Berlin, Edinburgh and Vienna and focused on Quantum physics for his graduate research. Voss Andreae has created large sculptures that are inspired by his scientific knowledge. Among his sculptures is the installation Unraveling Collagen.  According to Voss Andreae: “Unraveling Collagen is based on the structure of collagen, the most abundant protein in humans. In this sculpture I placed the initial emphasis on the structural role collagen plays in our bodies. The triangular cut-outs reveal the dominant force lines, reminiscent of contemporary steel construction. Collagen is mostly known for its role in aging: It is responsible for skin elasticity, and its degradation leads to wrinkles that accompany aging. During the creation of the piece, I departed from the actual molecular structure and opened up the intertwining helices towards the top which connects the piece metaphorically with aging.”
It is quite fascinating and symbolic that Voss Andreae chose to create the unraveling collagen rather than “healthy young collagen”, it is the natural process of nature and is actually a truer symbol of life and time line of the living body rather than a perfect intact triple helix collagen fiber.
“Fighting” the aging process of the collagen is the target of technologies in the beauty and aesthetic industry. It is the desire of most ageing women and men too, to slow down the signs of ageing and to repair the damage already done; this is achieved by stimulation of new collagen growth and tightening of the existing collagen hence mending of the “unraveling” collagen.

Collagen is mostly known for its role in aging

Aging is unavoidable fact of life – everyday we are all getting older. However, it is not age itself that bothers us, but the visible signs of aging that can make us feel old despite the fact that we feel young and vital. The health and look of our skin – whether on our face or on our body – plays a significant part in how old we feel and is seen as the most common indicator to others of our age. Facial wrinkles,  neck décolletage and hands are one of the most visible signs of skin aging. Over time they tend to get more visible. Wrinkles aren’t an illness! But wrinkles can alter the way we look, and this may change the way we feel about ourselves. Wrinkles usually start as fine lines. They tend to get deeper over time. Wrinkles are often noticeable on the face. Lines tend to form on the face in the places our skin folds when we smile or make other facial expressions.
 

The aging process of the skin occurs in two different ways, (Intrinsic and Extrinsic skin aging). Intrinsic aging is what we get from our parents and is inevitable and pre-determined. The skin will become thinner, less elastic and essentially dryer as a consequence of skin aging. This is a direct result of a reduction in the overall production of collagen. This decrease combined with gravitation will lead to sagging of the skin.
Skin will become dryer as a consequence of aging because the dermis is stripped of its ability to retain moisture. In addition, the process will lead to a substantial reduction in the sweat glands and sebaceous glands, all of which ordinarily lead to moist, plump skin.
Although the extent of the process will vary, skin aging will predominantly become apparent at age 30.
Extrinsic aging is associated with exposure to various toxins and environmental elements. The foremost and most detrimental element is the sun. UV sun rays associated aging, often known as ‘photo aging’ will cause a number of fine lines on the face, wrinkles, age spots, freckles, enlarged pores, broken capillaries and rough, uneven skin tone.

Infrared (IR) radiation

 Infrared (IR) radiation is a form of electromagnetic radiation whose wavelength is longer than that of visible light. The name means below red. Visible red light is the color of the longest wavelengths of visible light that we can see with naked eyes.

IR radiation is divided into 3 different bands according to wavelength:

• IR-A: 700 nm–1400 nm (Near-infrared)
• IR-B: 1400 nm–3000 nm
• IR-C: 3000 nm–1 mm

Infrared radiation is popularly known as “heat” or sometimes “heat radiation”, since many people attribute all radiant heating to infrared light and/or to all infrared radiation to being a result of heating.

Infra Red Laser Skin Tightening
In the last 10 years various non-invasive and non surgical treatments modalities have been developed for aging skin. Most of the advanced dermatology clinics are using lasers, radiofrequency (RF), IR lasers and a combination of the above to treat aging skin. All these methods are aiming to heat the deep skin layer in order to shrink redundant or lax connective tissues through the mechanism of collagen denaturation.

How does Infra-red laser work on aging skin?

Infra-red laser utilizes infrared light to heat the dermis well below the skin’s surface by heating up the water content in the skin. This heating can cause immediate collagen contraction by the denaturization of collagen. During the procedure, the outer skin’s surface (epidermis) must be protected through continuous cooling by means of active cooling. After the procedure, new collagen growth results in further tightening and the development of a more youthful, complexion with less fine lines, folds or looseness of the skin. People with dark skin should avoid the treatment.
  

Who should not undergo this procedure?

There are various contraindications which are similar to other light based technologies such as:
Women who are pregnant or breastfeeding are not suitable candidates.

Since the treatment heats the tissue under the skin’s surface by Infra-red light, dark skin absorbs most of the energy in the uppermost skin layer, which can cause burns. In such cases RF procedures are optimal since RF is considered as ‘color blind’ technology which is suitable also for dark skin type and color.  
Large areas of loose or redundant skin, such as after massive weight-loss may be better suited for TriPollar RF treatments or for surgical approaches in severe cases.
 
Also, until further studies have been carried out it is advisable not to have treatment directly over dermal filler products.
 

 
What sort of practitioner can perform this treatment?

Only suitably trained medical professionals should perform infrared laser skin tightening procedures.  

For more information see also: Titan™ skin tightening review