You look in the mirror and see a refreshed, youthful face staring back at you. Then you look down at your hands and it’s a different story. Just like your face, the hands can shows signs of aging. Unlike the face, many people don’t think to focus on their hands when fighting the signs of aging. The good news is that, with the help of vascular surgeons and vein doctors, you can make your hands look young again. Hand vein treatment is one option for turning back the clock and improving the look of your hands.
Aging Hands and Hand Vein Treatment
What Makes Hands Look Older?
Bulging veins are commonly associated with older hands. As you get older, you start to lose some volume all over your body, including in your hands. When the skin on the hands is thinner, veins near the surface are more likely to be visible. Ropey, bumpy veins can add years to your hands.
Veins aren’t the only thing that makes your hands look older. The skin on your hands also changes with age. Some people develop scaly, dry skin as their body loses the ability to retain moisture as well. A loss of skin volume and a reduction in collagen can make the skin on the hands look crepey and tissue-paper thin. Years of sun exposure can cause the hands to develop dark sports, also known as age spots.
What Can You Do About It?
Fortunately, you don’t have to live with older looking hands. If you’re dealing with visible, prominent veins on the backs of your hands, sclerotherapy can help to reduce the appearance of those veins.
Commonly used to treat spider veins and smaller varicose veins, sclerotherapy involves injecting the bulging veins on your hands with a special chemical solution. The chemicals destroy the veins, so that they collapse and vanish from view. Since the veins near the surface of the hands aren’t essential for your overall circulation, removing those veins won’t have a negative effect on your blood flow or health.
In some cases, an injectable filler can help to improve your hand’s appearance. While a filler won’t remove the bulging veins like sclerotherapy, it can make them less visible, by restoring lost volume to the area. Usually, the results from a filler are temporary, while the results from sclerotherapy can be permanent.
Another way to keep your hands from giving away your age is to apply lotion, particularly lotion that contains retinol or an ingredient that enhances collagen production, to make the skin thicker. Using a product that contains an SPF of at least 30 everyday can also protect your hands from further signs of aging and from the damage caused by sun exposure.
A visit to a vein clinic can help you decide on the best course of action to improve your hands’ appearance. To learn more about your vein treatment options, schedule at consultation at the Vein and Vascular Institute in New Jersey today.