Have you ever gone to a summer garden party and noticed that one of the younger guests was wearing gloves? She (or he) was probably a professional hand model, someone whose hands show up in TV commercials or glossy magazine ads holding tubes of toothpaste or electronic devices or kitchen cleansers. Hand modeling might sound like a ridiculously effortless career, but if you really think about it, it requires ongoing vigilance (hence the gloves), because no matter how careful we are with our hands, they are going to show the signs of age as aging happens.
This can create a dilemma for the many people who have taken advantage of modern technology and generated a more youthful look for their faces—whether via facelifts, laser work, Botox, or other skin rejuvenators—and who have kept in shape with exercise and healthy diets. If you are looking five—or even ten—years younger everywhere but on your hands, you may be tempted to wear gloves yourself, though not because you’ve suddenly gone into the hand-modeling business! A much easier solution is “on hand” to change your hands to match the rest of you.
Some of the very same products—Restylane, Juvederm, and others, as well as one’s own fat—that are used to rejuvenate our faces can also be used on our hands. These fillers replace volume loss. They plump up the skin and make it look youthful again. The plumping process hides the tendons and veins that often begin to bulge through thinning skin as we get older, and it gets rid of tell-tale crinkles and wrinkles on the skin surface too. Moreover, fillers and injectibles can be combined with laser work to eliminate those age spots that so many life-long sun worshippers are prone to.
If you haven’t heard about “hand-lifting” procedures before, it’s because injectibles themselves are fairly recent, and when their merits did begin to become known, people rushed out to add volume to their lips and cheeks and beneath their eyes. But now that we are all familiar with what fillers can do on our faces, people are starting to consider providing the same benefits for their hands.
Injections for the hands can be done in a matter of minutes. Plastic surgeons don’t need to go very deep, only under the first layer of skin. As a result, most hand lift procedures don’t even require anesthesia, though if you are particularly sensitive to discomfort and minimal pain, you may opt for a local anesthetic. Your hands may be slightly red or swollen for a day or so, but thereafter your hands and face will be a match made in heaven (or whatever you call the place where your cosmetic surgeons do their work).
Once you’ve had work done on your hands, you will want the results to last as long as possible. Moisturizers and sunscreen products are a must. In fact, because we all wash our hands so often these days, it makes sense to carry small tubes of each wherever you go. If your hands are naturally dry, you can even apply moisturizer before you go to bed and wear cotton gloves over it. And be sure to wear rubber gloves when you are cleaning or gardening or participating in other activities that can expose your skin to the elements and/or to any chemicals.
If you’re sitting on your hands metaphorically, because you are unsure how to respond to a particular situation, that’s fine. Take your time. No worries. Best to know you made the right decision. But if you are sitting on your hands because they look older than the rest of you, it’s time to stand up…for your right to look as young as you feel.