Pirate ships and your hands have more in common than you’d think. Much like a pirate ship, after suffering structural damage the skin on your hands sinks. Left with only a thin layer of skin, your hands reveal every little bump and jag of every bone, tendon and vein.
Sound like your hands have suffered structural damage? Despair not. Because today we’ll teach you about the factors that play into depleting your skin’s supportive structure and how you could repair wrinkly hands.
Ahoy there, wrinkles!
Depletion of collagen is caused by a number of factors: genetics, nutrition, hormonal changes, and even the natural elements. While our patients always seem to remember that excessive sun exposure causes dryness and hyperpigmentation, many forget that UV rays can wreak havoc far beyond the skin’s exterior. UV rays are actually a major component of structural damage.
UV rays seep down past your dermal layers to hit your collagen. Once your collagen meets these damaging rays, it is physically weakened. UVA rays also activate the secretion of an enzyme called metalloproteinase, which cleaves collagen fibers into multiple fragments. As collagen is broken down, you’ll see less elasticity and volume. Goodbye, plump youthful skin! And hello, sagging and wrinkles.
Be a moisture-lubber!
Argh, pampering is not just for the lily-livered among you. It’s an important part of saving sinking skin. To remedy wrinkly hand skin, first deal with superficial damage.
If you’ve been out in the sun for extensive periods recently, your skin is probably looking more wrinkly and crepe-like than it actually is. Begin a restorative blitz by drinking lots of water. Then move on to the pampering phase. Apply heavy creams containing hyaluronic acid, which will help draw moisture to your skin, and moisturizing oils, which will restore your skin’s lost lipid barrier. After applying creams, remember to protect your hands throughout the day. Wear gloves as your do work around the house, clean or wash dishes. Once you’ve battled the wrinkles caused by dryness you can accurately assess the level of structural damage on your hands.
Thar she grows!
Save your sinking skin before it hits rock bottom. One of the most effective ways to ensure your body continues to grow new collagen is to give it the nutrition it needs to do so.
Prevent or even repair structural damage by eating a diet rich with the building blocks of collagen. Vitamin A, vitamin C, and lysine are key elements of new collagen formation. Lysine—an essential amino acid found in chicken, soy, beef and lentils—works together with vitamin C in the production of new collagen. Vitamin A—found in red meat and bright-orange vegetables like pumpkin, carrot, sweet potato and cantaloupe—gives collagen structural strength.
Shipshape hands with Radiesse!
If you’ve followed all these suggestions but haven’t seen improvement, no need to curse your sinking skin to depths of Davey Jones’ Locker. There’s hope for you yet.
Some of our patients find that intense structural damage is resistant to improvement. In other cases, some patients need immediate improvements. For these patients we recommend Radiesse. This dermal filler adds instant volume and structure. Recovery is quick, and you can return to normal activities and use your hands right away. While everyone absorbs dermal fillers at different rates, Radiesse typically lasts about one year or more. As an added bonus, Radiesse encourages new collagen growth.
Radiesse provides a scaffold made up of calcium hydroxylapatite (CaHA), a mineral naturally found in your body. CaHA essentially acts as a scaffold around which new collagen matrices can grow. So as Radiesse dissipates, you have newly formed collagen that will help keep your results lasting longer.
For more information on the volumizing results of Radiesse, shout ‘ahoy!’ to schedule an appointment!
