It’s easy to overlook solicitously moisturising and protecting your hands.
Yet this lack of attention can stealthily creep up on you – which is why, in our 40s and 50s, many women do a double-take at the crepey skin on the backs of their hands, blotchy brown spots, popping veins and even fingers like little wrinkled elephant trunks.
I was no exception, even though as a beauty editor I should have known better.
Then one day about six months ago, aged 55, I looked down and no longer recognised what were once mitts good enough to do the odd spot of hand modelling (as a beauty director of Cosmopolitan, my hands were at times roped in on photoshoots).
Although skin on the hands is thinner and has less fatty tissue padding it out than the face, there are nonetheless ways to patch up the damage.
Here are the most effective strategies I know of to wind back the hands of time…
Plump for a peptides combo
My suddenly old hands were just another example of my body not matching my mindset (which insists on being 23). So apart from committing to a good hand-care regime, I tried out a new injectable treatment promising to help the skin on my hands to regenerate.
Cosmetic physician Dr Paris Acharya offers ABG Lab’s peptide biostimulators – she recommends a combo of pigment-reducing, DNA-repairing peptide plus one that stimulates collagen and elastin for hands that show multiple signs of ageing.
I looked down and no longer recognised what were once mitts good enough to do the odd spot of hand modelling, says Inge van Lotringen
Inge’s hands with visible brown spots and wrinkles
After testing several techniques, including using injectable moisturiser, Inge’s hands were visibly more youthful
The treatment involves a lot of superficial mini jabs (after numbing cream) in the backs of the hands. I bruise easily and got lots of little bruises that took two weeks to fade. I had the three required sessions, two to four weeks apart.
Results can take at least two months to show and while it’s hard to assess gradual change, I’m pleasantly surprised.
My hands look softer and considerably less crepey. The tone is slightly more even. Single top-up sessions are recommended every six to nine months. The course costs £1600 and £600 per top-up at Clinic Dr Paris (drparis.co.uk).
Reduce crepiness with hydrating jabs
For a quicker yet long-lasting way to reduce crepey texture, the injectable moisturiser SkinVive is good.
It’s a hyaluronic acid-based skin booster similar to Profhilo – administered as a few dozen micro-injections in the backs of the hands.
Its formulation has more staying power than other skin boosters, forming a fine ‘mesh’ inside the skin to help it retain water for up to six months. I’ve had this booster in my face and it provides a glowy, smoother skin texture that lasts for months after a single session.
My skin did come out in bumps for a few days as the product ‘bedded in’. For hands, expect to pay from £500 nationwide; go to skinvive.co.uk for clinics.
Filler to soften gnarled hands
Prominent veins can be ageing. For dramatic and fast improvement, filler injections are the best option.
Dermatologist and cosmetic physician Dr Shin-Young Cho favours a biostimulating filler, Radiesse, ‘which offers reliable camouflage of veins immediately,’ she says.
Over the space of several months, the regenerative ingredient it contains stimulates the skin’s production of collagen, plumping it to smooth texture. A single session often suffices, with results lasting 18 to 24 months. It costs from £600 at London’s Future Care Medical clinic (futurecaremedical.com).
IPL to banish those brown spots
IPL (intense pulsed light) is great for zapping brown spots on the face (as I can testify) – and works just as well on the hands. It breaks down pigmented clusters with sharp – but not very painful – snaps of concentrated light and fades them, while also encouraging collagen production, over three to six treatments.
Widely available and safe for skin tones up to olive and light brown skin that rarely burns, it’s important to choose a medical practitioner who can ensure there are no pre-cancerous lesions that should not be treated with this light.
IPL treatments start at around £150 per session. Darker skin tones are safer with peels and prescription skincare, overseen by a specialist dermatologist, to fight discolouration.
The marigolds and cream regime
Any (real) hand model will tell you they moisturise ten to 20 times a day (especially after hand washing) and won’t do chores without their Marigolds. It’s never too late to commit to this routine.
A daily SPF should halt pigmentation – I now use my SPF50 day creams on my hands. For something hand-specific, No7 Future Renew Damage Reversal Hand Cream SPF15 (£17.95, boots.com) is silky and relies on the same wrinkle and pigmentation-reducing peptide technology as the facial range.
Dr Sam’s Flawless Hand Therapy (£16, drsambunting.com) feels luxe and tackles signs of ageing with niacinamide and bakuchiol.
Klira The Body Special (£99, klira.skin) is a clinical formula designed for the hands and neck. With potent azelaic and kojic acid, this is your fastest topical route to fading age spots and crepiness but you need to give it at least three months to see results.
LED gloves for radiant skin
At-home LED light therapy helps cells function better, encouraging collagen production – and it’s safe for any skin tone. It has to be used very consistently – preferably daily.
Beauty Pie C-Wave Rejuvenating LED Treatment for Hands (£120 or £84 for members, beautypie.com) is a device specifically designed for your hands and is one of the few ways to treat wrinkled, Shar Pei fingers.
Backed by clinical trials, it’s also well-priced. Don’t expect a miracle transformation: in my experience, LED is more of a maintenance strategy.
