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Shave Years From Hand

It's not enough to just get your face done to look younger these days, especially if your hands reveal your true age.

Two procedures that have been used on the face,

• Microdermabrasion and
  
  

• Light laser surgery

are now being used on the hands, and could soon become as popular as face lifts and tummy tucks.

Dr. Michelle Copeland, a plastic surgeon in private practice in New York who appeared on Good Morning America, says "the hand-pampering procedures not only make hands healthier and better-looking, they also boost a patient's self-esteem."

Lasers Stimulate Exfoliation

If your hands are dry-looking, scaley, wrinkled, or have age or liver spots on them, perhaps because of not using sunblock, you are a good candidate for the procedures . Dry, cracked hands are not only unattractive � they can get infected.
 

Skin normally exfoliates itself, but as you get older, that process gets sluggish, and even stops. The laser stimulates the skin to exfoliate itself.

The sun induces pigmentation, and the aging process is speeded up with sun exposure, so often, those who forget to wear sunblock wind up with problem hands. The damage can't be corrected by creams alone. Some hydroxyacids can prevent spotting, but they don't have the effectiveness of light laser energy, which is focused directly on the pigment for removal.

Skin Sanding and Lasers

For the procedure, first microdermabrasion, a sanding of the skin that smoothes skin off and removes irregularities, is carried out . It is mild and gentle, and unlike acid peels, microdermabrasion takes the skin cells with it, so there's no flaking afterwards. Microdermabrasion can be successfully used on light or dark skin to treat the face, neck, chest, arms, elbows, knees and hands. Microdermabrasion is a quick procedure that usually takes between 30 and 60 minutes. four to six treatments are recommended by Aesthetician. Severe skin problems, such as deep acne scars and dark spots will take several treatments before any improvement is noticeable. You can return to normal activities immediately following your Microdermabrasion treatment.

For the laser peel, a black cream is applied on the hands. The "soft light" laser, which is light energy, picks up the black cream, and the first layer of cells is removed with it. The thermal energy of the laser tightens the skin a little. The light lasers are more advanced than earlier versions, which ran the risk of scarring. When the laser peel is used in combination with microdermabrasion, there's an added effect of more skin tightening and wrinkle-reducing.

The procedure takes off the dead skin, and works like, a great facial on her hands. The series of treatment involved are � the dermabrasion five or six times, and the laser peel just once.