Trend Spotlight: Hand rejuvenation

Hands are exposed to the elements and UV light as regularly as the face, so what can be done to rejuvenate and protect tired mitts?

Mr Lorenzo Garagnani, an orthopaedic hand surgeon, shared some of his knowledge on the subject and commented on why the appearance of hands may be important to patients.

“The hands are our most exposed body part,” says Mr Garagnani, “Not only can other people see them, but we also see them all the time.”

According to Mr Garagnani, hands are our “business card”, and their appearance has “functional and social significance.” He believes that hand rejuvenation popularity may have increased as patients who undergo facial aesthetic procedures have noticed a “discrepancy between facial appearance and hand appearance.”

On options for treatment, Mr Garagnani expresses that hand rejuvenation “depends on the indication, as either skin rejuvenation or hand contouring is required. For skin rejuvenation, appropriate skin care regimes, chemical peels, laser treatments, microneedling, mesotherapy, and skin booster injections can be used based on the patient’s characteristics, the specific indication for the condition requiring treatment and the patient-specific aesthetic goal. For hand contouring, dermal filler injections can be performed.”

His preferred technique includes an association of skin booster injections for skin rejuvenation and deeper dermal filler injections for contouring. “The advantage of this technique is that it addresses different aspects simultaneously, achieving a more balanced final outcome. However, some patients only require either skin rejuvenation or contouring in isolation, hence a thorough clinical assessment and detailed pre-operative consultation are always required. There is no such thing as ‘one size fits all’.”

Mr Garagnani added that the complications from hand treatments are similar to those of the face, but there is “also a potentially higher risk of nerve, tendon, muscle, ligament, and articular damage than in the face due to the hand’s unique anatomical intricacy, with the presence of several structures within a limited space.”

His clinic, SE1 Medical Aesthetics, uses Manisafe UPF 50+ gloves to help reduce swelling and protect results post-treatment. Manisafe founder Candice Quinn comments, “Freshly injected fillers and skin boosters’ ingredients can be degraded by excess exposure to Ultraviolet (UV) radiation from the sun or artificial sources of UV, like nail lamps, which can reduce the effects of the treatment. In addition, UV light exposure can irritate your skin as it reacts to the treatment during the healing process.”

Manisafe can also help prevent the need for hand rejuvenation, with Quinn sharing that “up to 80% of signs of visible skin ageing are caused by exposure to the sun and other UV rays”. The dermatologist recommended gloves can be used to prevent photo-ageing, by reducing the amount of deep-penetrating UVA rays reaching the skin.

A less invasive form of hand rejuvenation treatment is Hydrabody Hands. It uses Hydrafacial’s original three-step cleanse, extract, and hydrate process to rejuvenate and soften dry hands.

In a post-pandemic world, Lauren Gibson, Hydrafacial director of training and education for EMEA, says: “The impact of regular handwashing, exposure to harsh chemicals in sanitisers and household cleaning products all play a factor in speeding up the ageing process.”

Hand treatments are also a good upsell for clinics, as they can be offered as part of combination treatments.