The cosmetic experts tell us exactly why celebrities’ hands are ageing faster than their faces, just like Sarah Jessica Parker’s
Yet again poor Sarah Jessica Parker met with the anti-ageing firing squad last week when the disparity between her well-preserved face, and her not-so-well-kept hands, were photographed for the beauty world to see. The baffling beauty question is why, when you are so caught up in the anti-ageing battle like SJP, would you not fight it from your neck down too, particularly as hands are one of the first signs of your actual age?
According to cosmetic doctor Dr Michael Prager, treatments to de-age your hands have improved dramatically, so where celebrities and their cosmetic experts once shied away from procedures, now they don’t need to. “You can treat hands extremely well now with a new generation of much finer fillers, made up of hyaluronic acid. I use a super thin version which disperses beautifully unlike the old fashioned types – it also comes without any downtime or bruising, and while it’s not permanent it is long lasting and gives excellent results, particularly if you have visible veins,” he says.
Celebrity cosmetic doctor Dr Jean Louis Sebagh also rates laser for ageing hands, especially if sun spots are a problem; “lasers and IPL light treatments at our clinic are extremely successful, especially when combined with PRP [platelet-rich plasma treatments which involves having your own blood injected back into your skin, after vials are put into a centrifuge so that they become far richer in plasma and growth factors] it greatly improves the quality of the skin on the backs of the hands,” he says.
However, cosmetic treatments or not prevention is key, as Sebagh warns, “anyone who has a course of treatments should bear in mind, if they return to exposing their hands to the sun without applying protection, they can expect to see sun spots and other factors return. As with our faces, there are number of factors that may cause the hands to age in a particular way or at a faster rate.” He continues, “whether we are a high maintenance celebrity or not, genetics, lifestyle and environmental factors will all effect the way our hands age and while we cannot control our genetics, we can consider lifestyle and environment factors when looking for ways to minimise the ageing process.”
Rule number one is sunscreen. “It’s essential, but I’m amazed at how many people take great care applying an SPF cream to their face but not their hands” says Sebagh. His second issue is weight, “if an individual suddenly loses a lot of weight or maintains a very low fat percentage, this also shows in their hands and often results in their looking prematurely old.”
Prager says: “Sarah Jessica Parker obviously exercises a lot, and that makes those superficial veins pop out even more, and they never really disappear again.” Skin quality also means keeping hands hydrated, “if they’re dry they look older,” Sebagh says, “so maintaining moisture levels with a good hand cream is essential,” – preferably one with a sun protection factor built in.
The message is wear more SPF hand cream, work out less and eat more. We think we can manage that…