Skin concerns · London

Ageing Hands

You pass someone a glass at dinner and catch sight of your own hand: a little thinner, a few more veins, a spot or two the face never had. Hands respond beautifully to treatment, and a short plan on Wimpole Street brings them back in step with your face.

At a glance

  • Shows as Volume loss, visible veins, age spots, crepey skin
  • Treated at Wimpole Street, London
  • Course 1 to 4 sessions by treatment
  • Downtime None to 48 hours
Price from From £250

What it is and why it happens

Hands age faster than the face, which is why a little attention goes such a long way. Three things happen together.

Volume is lost from the back of the hand, so tendons and veins that were always there become prominent. Sun damage accumulates, producing age spots on skin that has been exposed daily for decades with no sunscreen. And the skin thins and becomes crepey, losing the plumpness that hid the structure underneath.

The result is a mismatch between a face that has been looked after and hands that have been busy, which is the specific thing people notice in photographs and when handing something over.

Hands respond well to treatment, and once they are on the plan, patients wonder why they waited.

Regents Park Aesthetics treats hands at our Wimpole Street clinic, in the Harley Street medical district.

An adult hand wearing a gold ring, veins and tendons visible through the skin
Know your type

Which type is yours?

Volume loss

Tendons and veins prominent

Volume loss

Fat and collagen loss from the back of the hand revealing the structure underneath. Filler or Profhilo restores just enough to soften it, so hands look smooth and natural.

Age spots

Brown patches on the backs of hands

Age spots

Decades of daily sun exposure, and the most rewarding part to treat. Responds fast to a pigment laser, often clearing substantially in one or two sessions.

Crepey skin

Thin, papery, crinkling

Crepey skin

Collagen loss and sun damage. Profhilo and microneedling both thicken and improve it, and the hands respond better than most people expect.

All three together

The usual presentation

All three together

Most hands showing age have volume loss, pigment and crepiness at once. A plan usually runs two treatments rather than one.

How we assess and treat

We look at the back of the hand with fingers relaxed as well as spread, since spreading tensions the skin and hides crepiness.

We assess which of the three is dominant, because most hands have all three and the right order makes every session count. Pigment usually improves fastest and gives the most immediate visible change, so we frequently start there.

Volume is placed with a light hand. The goal is softening the structure so veins and tendons still show gently, the way they do on a naturally youthful hand.

We also share the simplest way to keep the result: daily sunscreen on the backs of the hands, which take as much sun as the face.

Your options

Which treatment for your type of hand ageing?

As a guide, this is how we typically match each type to a treatment. Your own plan is always confirmed at consultation, and where a type is best seen by a specialist, your clinician points you to the right door.

Type
Recommended treatment
Why
Volume loss
Replaces the cushion over the tendons so they stop standing proud
Crepey skin
Bio-remodelling improves skin quality where there is little fat to fill
All three together
Skin quality first, then volume, because filling thin skin alone looks odd

Treatments that address it

Hand Rejuvenation Filler Restores volume to the back of the hand, softening prominent tendons and veins. Placed conservatively, so hands look smooth and natural. £350. Profhilo Hydrates and thickens crepey hand skin with no added volume. Hands are one of the areas it does most for. £320. SkinPen Microneedling Rebuilds collagen through thin hand skin across a course, improving texture and crepiness. From £250.
Practitioner injecting filler into the lips with a fine needle Profhilo product boxes laid out on a white surface
£350 £320 £250
Yes No No
Somewhat Yes Yes
No No Somewhat
1 2 4 to 6

Before and after

The back of a hand before Radiesse treatment
Before
The back of the same hand after Radiesse treatment
After
Hand rejuvenation
After treatment

Volume restored to the back of the hand so tendons and veins sit less proud. Clinical image supplied by Merz Aesthetics. Individual results may vary.

Can you treat it at home?

Sunscreen on the backs of your hands, every day, reapplied after washing. This is the single most effective thing you can do, and it keeps treated skin clear.

Keep a hand cream with SPF by the sink, where you will reach for it every time.

Extend whatever you use on your face to your hands. Retinoids work there and thicken the skin over months, and hand skin tolerates them reasonably well.

Gloves for washing up, gardening and cleaning, because detergents and solvents strip the barrier faster than anything else.

Home care protects and maintains, and the clinic restores volume and clears existing pigment, so the two work best together.

Hand cream being smoothed over the back of the hand
Questions, answered

Frequently Asked Questions

Daily sun exposure with almost no sunscreen, thin skin with little underlying fat, and constant use and washing. Hands simply get less care than the face, which is why they respond so well once they get some.

It depends which of the three dominates. Age spots respond fastest to laser. Volume loss responds to filler. Crepiness responds to Profhilo or microneedling. Most hands need two of the three.

Hand filler £350, Profhilo £320, microneedling from £250.

Very natural, because it is placed conservatively. The goal is softening prominent tendons and veins so they still show gently, as they do on a youthful hand.

Twelve to eighteen months, similar to elsewhere.

Treated spots stay gone. Daily sunscreen on the hands keeps new ones from forming, so it is the one habit that protects the result.

Usually the pigment, because it improves fastest and gives the most immediate visible change.

For barrier and texture, yes, and volume and pigment are treated in clinic. A hand cream with SPF kept by the sink is the most useful version.

Visit our Wimpole Street clinic

Let’s talk about your skin.

A consultation is the first step towards a plan that feels right for you.

Address19 Wimpole Street, London W1G 8GE
Telephone020 7580 4813