Hand Fillers
22 June 2022
Pro tip: If you want to guess a person’s age, don’t look at the person’s face for clues. It may be hard to tell if he/she has had some help in treating their signs of aging. Look at their hands and neck. That’s where signs of aging- wrinkles and fine lines; crepey skin, blemishes and hyperpigmentation; and visible blood vessels- can be seen.
The skin of the hands undergo the same aging processes as the skin of the face, such as loss of volume, collagen and elastin. However, the skin of the hands are often neglected, unlike the face. If you don’t believe me, try recalling when the last time you used sunscreen for your hands was. Most of you would be hard pressed for an answer! The skin of the hands are also constantly exposed to aggressors that cause premature skin aging- UV rays from the sun (especially for drivers), pollution, chemicals and even excessive handwashing. The hands are often unclothed and neglected, so the signs of crepey skin and visible tendons and blood vessels can strike a contrast against a rejuvenated face.
Related blogposts:
Covid-19: How to Treat Dry Hands from Washing
How to Treat Dark Spots and Hyperpigmentation with Skincare
Sunscreen Beyond the Basics: Controversies, Trends and FAQs
My Sunscreen Reviews: the Best, the Worst and the Unsafe Ones
You might know that aging can be accelerated by genetic, environmental and lifestyle factors. Aging in the skin is caused by a combination of intrinsic aging and extrinsic aging. Intrinsic aging is the inevitable and unavoidable aging due to chronological aging,shifts in hormones and the body’s inability to repair itself. Extrinsic aging is due to external factors such as UV exposure, chemicals and smoking.
Intrinsic and extrinsic affect the skin differently. Extrinsic aging affects the epidermis and dermis of the hands. It manifests as dark spots (hyperpigmentation) and solar purpura (purple red bruises). Intrinsic aging in the hands affects the deeper tissues, with decreased skin elasticity, volume and blood vessels. Signs of intrinsic ageing in the hands include wrinkles, lax and thinner skin and obvious veins and tendons.
Related blogpost:
Hyperpigmentation Disorders: Causes, Types, Treatments
Hand rejuvenation treatment undo some of the damage caused by aging for younger, firmer and smoother hands. Hand rejuvenation has previously been overlooked; but in recent years more and more people are taking a more holistic approach to aging or prejuvenation (preventing signs of aging).
Treatments for the skin of the face can be used to address similar signs of aging in the hands. Hyperpigmentation or blemishes in the hand can be treated with Q-switched laser and chemical peels. Dry, wrinkly hands are treated with injectable moisturisers like Skinboosters and Profhilo. Hand fillers are useful in treating skeletal looking hands with obvious tendons and veins. You can see how I do hand fillers in my clinic in Singapore in this blogpost Hand Fillers: Turning Back the Hands of Time. Injection of hand fillers is a safe and effective way to restore volume and hydration in the hands. You can read about examples of US FDA fillers in the blogpost.
Related blogposts:
10 Things to Know Before Getting Laser for Your Pigmentation
The Truth About Chemical Peels
For patients with dry hands and wrinkles, Profhilo is an ideal treatment for intensive hydration and plumping up fine lines in the skin. Profhilo is the newest injectable moisturiser in Singapore that’s giving Skinboosters a run for its popularity. Similar to Skinboosters, Profhilo contains hyaluronic acid molecules which bind to water molecules to amp up the skin’s hydration. However, compared to Skinboosters, Profhilo contains an even higher amount of hyaluronic acid concentration with a unique biochemical structure. These differences allow Profhilo to stimulate the skin’s natural formation of collagen and elastin fibres to undo signs of aging like wrinkles, thinner skin, rough texture and dryness. You can read more about the details of Profhilo- how it works, how long it lasts and side effects…etc in this blogpost Is Profhilo the Injectable Skincare of the Future? Unlike hand filler injections, Profhilo does not fill the space between the tendons and veins to mask their obvious appearance.
Related blogposts:
Skinboosters: All You Need to Know About It
Everything You Need to Know About Hyaluronic Acid
Injectable Moisturisers Explained: Profhilo VS Skinboosters VS Rejuran
5 Cult Favourite Hyaluronic Acid Serums and Moisturisers Reviewed
To undo signs of aging in the hands or age-proof your hands it is important to restore lost collagen, elastin and hyaluronic acid in the skin. There are a few ways of injecting Profhilo into the hands- using needles or cannula. In this example pictured below, I’m using the blunt cannula method to spread Profhilo deep to skin.
Profhilo has high spreadability- meaning that the hyaluronic acid complexes spread easily by themselves, so in the hands and face, only a few injection points are required; vis a vis Skinboosters, which require 50-100 injection points for the hands.
Profhilo injection treatments are generally safe. The side effects of Profhilo are related to the injections itself rather than the ingredients in Profhilo. A study that reviewed the safety of Profhilo injections showed that temporary swelling and bruising were the main issues of discomfort. There were no reported major complications with Profhilo such as arterial occlusion.
The results of Profhilo injections into the skin- increased skin hydration, firmness, reduced wrinkles and increased skin thickness- can be seen in 4 weeks after Profhilo injections.
The skin of the hands are subject to the same processes of intrinsic and extrinsic aging like the face. Unlike the face, the hands are often neglected and unclothed to protect against premature aging from UV exposure, smoking, environmental pollution, chemicals and excessive hand washing.
The signs of aging in the hands- dark spots or hyperpigmentation; dry, thin and crepey skin; wrinkles; visible veins and tendons- can be treated. Some of the treatment options are lasers, chemical peels, injectable moisturisers and hand fillers. The latest addition to this list of anti-aging modalities is Profhilo; an injectable moisturiser that hydrates and thickens the skin and reduces wrinkles in the hands. The biochemical structure of Profhilo allows the hyaluronic acid complexes to increase collagen and elastin fibres in the skin to reverse signs of aging in the hands. For best results, remember to moisturise and use sunscreen on your hands. Prevention is just as important as treatments!
