Charlotte dermal fillers
Dermal fillers are the second most popular anti-aging treatment on the market. Most people know fillers as a treatment for the face. They can be used to reduce the appearance of deep grooves and wrinkles, or to replace lost volume in the face (such as in the cheeks, which tend to lose volume as we age).
However, fillers have other uses, as well. One of them is in the hands. What happens to the hands as they age? Why might someone choose to get fillers placed in their hands?
How do the hands age?
The hands age just like the face does. In fact, while many people use face lotion or makeup that contains sunscreen on a daily basis, it’s much less common to put sunscreen on the hands daily. As a result, the skin of the hands tends to experience aging (which is largely the result of sun damage accumulating over time) even more dramatically than the face. They accumulate “age spots,” wrinkles, and skin that’s saggy or droopy.
In addition, the hands tend to lose volume over time (just as other parts of the body do, such as the cheeks). This causes the structures of the hand, such as veins and tendons, to become more visible. The hand often begins to acquire a bit of a “skeletal” appearance.
Those who take great care of their faces often find that, as they get older, the face remains fairly youthful, but the hands “give away” their age. Once they start to notice this, people may become interested in anti-aging treatments for the hands.
How can fillers help?
Dermal fillers can be injected into the backs of the hands in order to restore lost volume. (In fact, this is one of the specific uses that fillers are FDA-approved for, although cosmetic medicine professionals on the cutting edge had been using fillers “off-label” for this purpose for years before the FDA officially approved it.) Fillers are typically injected into the regions between the tendons of the back of the hand. This helps to bring back a more youthful fullness and disguise the veins, tendons, and other structures that may have become too prominent.
A few different fillers may be chosen for use on the back of the hand. Hyaluronic acid fillers are popular. One advantage of hyaluronic acid fillers is that they can be dissolved if the patient doesn’t like the results or experiences complications (although, with a skilled injector, this is rare). Hydroxyapatite fillers are longer-lasting; they are often used after a patient has already had a hyaluronic acid filler, enjoys the results, and wants to maintain those for a longer time.