People Are Getting More Lasers and Filler—On Their Hands

Victoria Moorhouse
·12 min read

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My fixation with my hands kicked off a few months back, after an eczema flare-up on my knuckles. The itchy, scaly rash was probably caused by excessive hand-washing and inadequate moisturizing afterward—I’m a parent to a toddler, which means constant diaper-changing and germ-dodging.

After leaving my dermatologist’s office with a much-needed prescription for hydrocortisone, I started to realize that my hand-care routine was relatively non-existent. Other than the obvious—a quality hand cream and applying sunscreen to my mitts on a daily basis—I wanted to know what else one could do to care for the skin on their hands. Turns out, there's quite a lot—if you're willing to go to the dermatologist for more than just a steroid cream.

“More patients are becoming aware of the aging process on their hands,” says Morgan Rabach, MD, a board-certified dermatologist in New York City. “In the past, hand care often took a backseat to facial skin care, but now many people are more concerned with how their hands reflect their age, especially as they become more invested in overall aesthetics.”

I can relate. A few weeks back, while writing an article about skin care, I found myself side-tracked by my hands illuminated by my keyboard. Staring down at them and eyeing some of the more pronounced wrinkles on my fingers, I wondered if they looked, well, a bit older than the skin on my face.

Experts say hand concerns, like sun spots, discoloration, and skin laxity, are most commonly voiced from patients in their 50s and 60s. But it’s a topic that Marisa Garshick, MD, a board-certified dermatologist in New York City and Englewood, New Jersey, has been hearing about more frequently from patients in their 30s and 40s, even some 20somethings.

“In general, attention to the hands is increasing in frequency as people realize they’ve spent a lot of time focusing on their face but neglected their neck and hands,” she notes. “As they say, you can tell someone’s age just by looking at their hands.” She thinks that a growing interest in body care in general may be playing a role in this growing attention to hand care.

And it’s meant that more patients are seeking out the kinds of in-office treatments they’d normally do for their face—lasers, peels, even injectables—for their hands. In her San Diego practice, Sabrina Fabi, MD, a board-certified dermatologist, says she’s definitely doing more in-office treatments on hands now than she was 10 years ago. She sees it as a natural progression for patients who have already tried various treatments on their face, neck, and chest: “I think it’s just an evolution of being on an aesthetic journey and having already treated other parts of the face and body for years.”

Ahead, experts share all the ways that patients are extending their filler and laser routines to their hands, in order to target concerns like wrinkles, discoloration, loss of volume, and more.

In this story:

Sun spots are a top concern among patients, but lasers can help.

When a patient comes in asking what they can do for their hands, they’re usually looking to treat sun spots, says Dr. Garshick. “People often forget to apply sunscreen to their hands,” she explains, so the discoloration is typically caused by “cumulative UV exposure over the years.”

In-office laser treatments are dermatologists’ go-tos for targeting sun spots on the hands. Margarita Lolis, MD, a board-certified dermatologist in Hackensack, New Jersey, believes picosecond lasers are the most effective option for erasing areas of discoloration. They deliver energy in short pulses, within the pico-second range (or the equivalent of one trillionth of a second), and can selectively target pigment like melanin or tattoo ink.

“The laser essentially breaks down the pigment into small particles the size of sand, which are eliminated by the body,” she explains. “It’s fast—it requires a few treatments depending on the degree of discoloration, and can fully remove sun spots.” The Q-switched laser functions similarly to picosecond lasers, targeting melanin using a specific wavelength of light. Dr. Garshick uses both to treat individual and well-defined brown spots.

When a patient has more diffuse discoloration or wants to treat both sun spots and redness caused by sun damage, doctors might reach for Intense Impulsed Light (IPL). After an IPL treatment, some patients may experience some redness and temporary darkening or scabbing of brown spots, but overall Dr. Garshick says it has relatively little downtime.

A more intensive, but very effective choice, fractional CO2 lasers reduce both pigmentation and fine lines by resurfacing the skin, adds Dr. Rabach. “These treatments are particularly effective because they can address both the surface pigmentation and deeper layers of the skin, improving both tone and texture,” she explains.

Fractional CO2 lasers are ablative lasers, which create injury to the skin in order to stimulate the production of new collagen and address fine lines, wrinkles, crepiness, and discoloration. “Since the CO2 [laser] is also creating controlled injury to the surrounding skin, there can be more downtime associated with it compared to some of the other treatments,” she adds. Redness, some swelling, and skin texture changes may occur post-treatment. “In general, there is a grittiness to the skin that feels like sandpaper,” she explains. The worst of the redness and swelling is typically experienced within the first 24 to 48 hours, but the scabbing and rough, sandpaper-like texture can continue for around seven to 10 days. Dark spots treated with the laser may also appear darker before lightening or going away.

For someone who isn’t interested in lasers or able to accommodate as much downtime as a resurfacing laser like a fractional CO2 laser may require, a chemical peel may be a better option. Dr. Garshick says chemical peels can be used in place of, or as a complement to, lasers to even out more general discoloration and help with skin crepiness. She adds that a chemical peel may be a good choice for those who want to see fast brightening and radiance-boosting effects.

Given that all of these treatments are best known for being performed on patients’ faces, you may be wondering how getting them on your hands changes the total cost. Dr. Fabi says that a laser treatments for your hands may cost you about the same as one for your face. The standard starting cost of a quality, high-powered IPL treatment, for example, is between $500 and $700—on your face or your hands, says Dr. Fabi.

“I do tell my patients that seeing results on your hands may take more treatments than the face, though, because you have to decrease energy settings, as the hands don’t have the ability to heal as quickly as the face,” she explains. This is because the hands don’t have as many oil glands or hair follicles so cell turnover there is slower on the hands. So you may end up paying more to treat your hands than your face because more treatments will be needed to yield good results.

Exactly how many treatments you’ll need, plus how long you’ll need to wait for visible results, like reduced discoloration and fine lines, depends on the devices or combination of devices being used.

Hand filler is a thing.

Filler isn’t just for the face. Experts turn to the injectable to treat volume loss on the hands, too. “On the hands, volume loss can [cause] prominent veins and tendons,” explains Noelani González, MD, a board-certified dermatologist and clinical instructor of dermatology at Mount Sinai Hospital in New York City.

Filler can be useful for smoothing the look of hands, for patients who have lost fat or collagen in the area because of aging or weight loss, says Dr. Rabach. By putting volume back in, you can make veins and tendons less noticeable again, giving the hands an overall younger look.

Radiesse and Restylane Lyft are the only two fillers that are FDA-approved for use in the hands, says Dr. Fabi, adding that Radiesse lasts about one year in the hands. “We generally inject it in the back of the hand, between the wrist and the knuckle, in what we call the superficial laminary part of the hands,” she says.

Radiesse and Restylane Lyft are the only two fillers that are FDA-approved for use in the hands, says Dr. Fabi, adding that Radiesse lasts about one year in the area. “We generally inject it in the back of the hand, between the wrist and the knuckle, in what we call the superficial laminary part of the hands,” she says. The two injectables work differently: Radiesse is a biostimulator—it is made of a substance (calcium hydroxylapatite) that is similar to bone and prompts the body to build more collagen, says Dr. Rabach, for results that build overtime. Restylane Lyft is a hyaluronic acid filler for immediate plumping. It lasts six to 12 months in the hands, she says, and is a great option “if it is the patient’s first time using a filler." Because of the way Radiesse builds collagen, it might be right for a patient who “has already had filler in their hands and wants a more long-lasting result,” Dr. Rabach adds.

“The injection is usually done in a few strategic areas where volume loss is most noticeable, such as over the metacarpals (the bones in the hands) and around the tendons,” says Dr. Rabach. Then, to help the filler disperse evenly throughout the hands, she’ll manually “massage it into the area to ensure smoothness.”

Similar to filler injected in the face, the price of hand filler depends on how many units were used in a particular patient, and that cost per unit can vary based on provider. In Dr. Rabach’s practice, hand filler typically starts at around $1,300 to $1,500 per hand.

You can get suped-up facials… for your hands.

You’ve heard of extraction around the nose… but on the back of the hands? That’s a new one to us, but it’s part of the DiamondGlow Facial that Dr. Lolis often uses to treat skin texture and tone concerns on the hands. She says that anyone with changes in pigmentation, crepey skin, and dryness can benefit from the treatment, but does not suggest it to those with an active skin infection, a recent sunburn, or those with a history of eczema or psoriasis.

The idea is to deeply exfoliate and then hydrate the skin. First, an applicator with a diamond tip (yes, real diamonds) is used to exfoliate. “The tip can vary in coarseness depending on how much exfoliation you want,” says Dr. Lolis. At the same time, extraction is occurring through suction, which helps to remove excess sebum, dead skin, and dirt from pores and the surface of the skin. Finally, tailored serums—with ingredients like hyaluronic acid or growth factors—are applied for softer, smoother, more hydrated hands, explains Dr. Lolis. In terms of downtime, she says patients may experience minimal to mild redness post-treatment, but it should subside within several hours. “The results last anywhere between one and four weeks, and repeated treatments can cumulatively build to enhance results,” she adds. This fancy hand facial can cost between $150 and $250 per session.

Skin care isn't just for your face.

If there's one daily skin-care product you bring from your face down to your hands it's sunscreen. Dr. Lolis, who is also a Mohs surgeon, says she has treated hundreds of skin cancers on hands. “Patients forget about applying sunscreen on the back of their hands, not just at the beach, but on a daily basis,” she says. “The hands are consistently exposed to the sun—especially when driving, which is why daily sunscreen use is recommended.” Applying sunscreen on your hands not only reduces your chances of developing skin cancer, but also helps to prevent sun spots and the breakdown of collagen and elastin, she adds.

While SPF-infused hand creams are convenient, Dr. Lolis suggests smoothing on a separate sunscreen for adequate protection. One of her favorites is the Pavise Dynamic Age Defense—a hydrating, mineral formula with zinc oxide and antioxidants like niacinamide. “It spreads like butter, reducing its heaviness and white cast.”

The skin on the hands is different from the skin on the face, adds Dr. Rabach—“it’s thinner and more prone to dryness,” she says. She often recommends Neutrogena Norwegian Formula Hand Cream to her patients with dry or eczema-prone hands.

That being said, the right facial skin care can work double duty for your hands. For example, Dr. Garshick says you can smooth your usual antioxidant serum, moisturizer, and sunscreen over the backs of your hands. However, you’ll want to skip active ingredients like retinoids and exfoliating acids, since “the skin [on your hands] is more delicate and may be more likely to experience irritation,” she adds.

I’ve been back to the dermatologist for a stronger Rx for the eczema on my knuckles, and hoping that will finally keep my particularly stubborn dry, flaky patches at bay. While I’m not sure I will book a laser for my hands anytime soon, I have given my daily hand-care routine a much-needed upgrade. Hand moisturizer after most hand washes? Check. Smoothing a little of my daily vitamin C serum onto the back of my hands? Check. And of course, the necessary dose of SPF.

Photographer: Peter Ash Lee
Stylist: Gabriella Norberg
Makeup: Megumi Matsuno
Hair: Bastien Zorzetto
Manicure: Eri Narita
Production: Kitten Production
Model: Mimi Angeth

Read more about hand care, lasers, peels, and injectables:

Originally Appeared on Allure