Hands tend to give things away. You can take great care of your face, but your hands are still out there every day, exposed to sun, weather, and constant use. Over time, they can start to look thinner, more lined, or more spotted than you’d expect.
Aging hands are extremely common and completely normal. For many patients, treating the hands is about bringing them back into balance with the rest of their appearance, not making them look “done.”
Hands often age faster than the face
Volume loss, spots, visible veins, crepey texture
Hands that match the rest of your appearance
What Are Aging Hands?
Aging hands refer to the visible changes that occur in the skin and structure of the hands over time.
These changes can include:
There is very little fat on the back of the hands, and they’re constantly exposed to the sun. As we age, we naturally lose fat in our hands and the skin loses collagen and elastin. The combination of these factors may lead to your hands aging faster than your face.
Why Hands Show Age More Quickly
Hands are constantly exposed and rarely protected as consistently as the face.
Sun exposure: Sun damage is one of the major causes of aging hands. Many people take the time to apply sunblock to their face and neck daily but forget about their hands. Years of unprotected sun exposure leads to pigmentation, texture changes, and accelerated aging.
Very little natural fat: There is very little fat on the back of the hands to begin with. As we age and lose what little fat exists, veins and tendons become more prominent.
Collagen and elastin loss: Like the face, the hands lose collagen and elastin over time. But because the skin is thinner here, these changes become visible sooner.
Frequent washing and environmental exposure: Constant hand washing, exposure to chemicals and cleaners, and daily wear and tear all contribute to skin damage.
Reduced oil production: As we age, the skin produces less oil, leading to dryness and crepiness.
Over time, these factors lead to changes similar to those seen in aging skin, but often more pronounced due to environmental exposure.
How Aging Hands Can Affect Appearance
Are your hands making you look old? Aging hands can create a noticeable mismatch between the hands and the face.
Patients often say their hands:
These concerns are very common. Addressing aging hands is usually about restoring softness and improving skin quality — bringing them back into balance with the rest of your appearance.
What to Expect During a Consultation
A consultation at Lazaderm is focused on education and thoughtful planning.
During your visit, your provider will:
You’ll have time to ask questions and decide what feels right for you.
Setting Realistic Expectations
Treatments for aging hands provide improvement, not permanent change.
What to understand:
The goal is hands that look smoother, healthier, and more consistent with the rest of you.
The most effective approach depends on which changes are most noticeable — whether that’s volume loss, skin texture, or pigmentation. Many patients benefit from combining treatments for comprehensive results. BroadBand Light, Halo, MOXI, Vivace, and filler treatments have all been used successfully on the hands.
If you’re going to take the time and spend the money on treating your hands, make sure to protect your investment.
Daily sunscreen: Apply broad-spectrum SPF 30+ sunscreen to your hands every day — not just your face and neck. We prefer the EltaMD line of sunblock for daily use.
Reapply after washing: Unlike your face, you wash your hands multiple times a day. Reapply sunscreen or keep a tube at your sink as a reminder.
Why it matters: Sun damage is one of the major causes of aging hands. Do NOT forget about your hands when applying daily sun protection.
Daily skincare plays a major role in maintaining results and preventing further damage.
Daily moisturizer: Using a daily moisturizer will benefit your skin and help maintain hydration and barrier function.
Vitamin A derivatives: It’s also OK to use vitamin A derivatives on the hands, such as retinol or tretinoin. These help improve skin turnover, texture, and collagen production.
Medical-grade products: Your provider can recommend specific hand creams and treatments to support your results.
When hands appear thin or bony with prominent veins and tendons, dermal fillers can restore a more youthful volume.
How it works: Filler is injected into the back of the hands to restore lost volume. This plumps the tissue, making veins and tendons less visible and creating a smoother, fuller appearance.
Products used:
Results:
Best for:
Fat transfer offers a longer-lasting option for restoring volume to the hands.
How it works: Fat is taken from areas such as the abdomen or flanks and injected into the hands. This restores natural volume using your own tissue.
ALMI procedure: There is a newer process called ALMI (Autologous Lipocyte Micronized Injection) that is showing significant benefit for adding volume to the hands. The ALMI procedure adds volume back into the skin but also appears to help the skin quality improve as well — providing both structural support and rejuvenation.
Best for:
BBL can be very beneficial for treating pigmentation and improving overall skin quality on the hands.
For pigmented lesions: BBL targets and removes brown spots and sun damage from the back of the hands, creating a more even, youthful appearance.
Forever Young BBL: Forever Young BBL can also be used to help the skin of your hands develop new collagen and elastin. Regular treatments help maintain skin quality and slow the aging process.
Best for:
MOXI is a gentle fractional laser that improves skin tone, texture, and pigmentation with minimal downtime.
How it works: MOXI delivers fractionated laser energy to create micro-channels in the skin, stimulating collagen production and promoting cellular turnover. It treats a portion of the skin while leaving surrounding tissue intact for faster healing.
Best for:
MOXI is often combined with BBL for comprehensive results on the hands.
Lasers can effectively target and remove pigmented lesions on the hands.
Lutronic Spectra: The Lutronic Spectra laser can remove pigmented lesions, targeting brown spots and sun damage with precision.
Erbium Laser: The Sciton Erbium laser can be used to remove lesions that are raised from the surface of the skin, such as seborrheic keratoses or other textured growths.
Best for:
Chemical peels can be beneficial for improving crepiness and pigmentation on the hands.
How they work: A chemical solution exfoliates the outer layers of skin, stimulating new cell growth and improving overall texture and tone.
Best for:
The Vivace can help with crepiness by inducing new collagen and elastin formation.
How it works: Vivace combines microneedling with radiofrequency energy to stimulate collagen and elastin production in the deeper layers of skin. This helps thicken the skin and improve texture.
Important note: Vivace will help thicken the skin and improve crepiness, but it will not help with loss of volume. For volume concerns, fillers or fat transfer should be considered alongside Vivace.
Best for:
Most patients achieve the best results by combining treatments based on their specific concerns.
Volume + Pigmentation: Fillers for volume restoration + BBL or laser for brown spots
Volume + Texture: Fillers for volume + Vivace for crepiness and skin thickening
Comprehensive Rejuvenation: Fillers + BBL + Vivace for volume, pigmentation, and texture all at once
Add to Face Treatment: We offer discounted prices for adding hands and/or neck to your face treatment. Ask about combination pricing during your consultation.
If aging hands are something you’ve been noticing or thinking about addressing, a consultation can help you explore your options. Don’t forget about your hands — they deserve the same attention as your face.
