Fighting back signs of aging Neck and hands are most ungrateful
Fashion bibles now dictate that it’s never too early to arrest those nightmarish signs of age. Fact is, at the tender age of 29 I am now better acquainted with my mirror than ever before, and to my horror, closer inspection already reveals, fine lines and wrinkles. These are the things we’re told to look out for. The neck and hands are the two most ungrateful areas. Right now panic has already set in – I have the dullness and fine lines.
A look at the many fabulous women of thirty and over, gives me the resolve to fight back, and seek out a couple of those options available to reverse the visible effects of aging. These range from surgery to creams, with each depending on how much aging is reflected on the skin. Aging is a direct result of sun exposure, harsh treatment of skin, and one’s natural tendency to age. At the stage where the signs of aging is mild, the best bet is to look at creams that specifically target sun damage and less than supple skin.
In response to the recognition by many women that hands reveal a great deal about your age, Neutrogena has introduced its own saviour – Visibly Younger Hand Cream. According to the product specialist, Nicole Quallo, ” Think of yourself, driving in traffic. The sun is beating down on your hands, and aging them as you sit there, both hands on the steering wheel.” A look at the ingredients in Visibly Younger reveals that it contains, retinol, and alpha hydroxy with a SPF factor of 20. This cream promises that in one week, you will have noticeable younger-looking hands that are soft and smooth. Beyond that it improves skin elasticity, protects from sun damage and improves the condition of the nails and cuticles. Naturally, there are many other hand creams and lotions: Saint Ives, Vaseline Intensive Care, Archipelago Botanicals, and Nivea. Vaseline and olive oil are included in the mix, and Vitamin E oil can be found on many a bathroom shelf.
Dermatologists and surgeons, both agree that moisturizers are very important for not just hands but necks.
According to dermatologist Dr Arlene Rose, “aging of hands and necks is caused by sun exposure and frequent washing that dries out hand. I know that a lot of doctors have older looking hands because of the frequent hand washing they do. To protect and repair your hands, I would recommend over-the-counter products that are moisturizing such as alpha hydroxy products and creams containing retinol. Another option are creams that contain Vitamin C. This reverses sun damage.” And it is the same for your neck. Dr Rose explains that any cream that you use on your face is fine for your neck. She specifically recommends alpha hydroxy creams as being “good for the skin on the neck.” But perhaps, like myself, you have been using alpha hydroxy creams for a few years and want to try a cream that offers more intensive treatments. Dr Rose states, “there are new products on the market that contain kinerase (the trade name) and hyaluronic acid. These ingredients are designed to lubricate and reduce the signs of aging and improve the appearance of sun-damaged skin. But in order to find these two ingredients, one would have to read the labels on the back of the cream containers.”
The next step after creams, or in tandem with the creams would be the removal of dead skin cells. There are several ways to do this. At home, there are facial scrubs, that can be used when you are washing your face to help in the fight against aging. Dr Rose tells All Woman, “the best thing for damaged hands and neck is the gradual peel of dead skin cells which serves to increase the appearance of wrinkles. For at home treatment, apricot scrubs are good. For age spots, one can use hydroxy acids and retinol.” But perhaps more is needed. “The in office procedure offered by many dermatologists is the acid peel. Fruit acids are used and put on hands and then washed off. The cost for such a treatment would start at around $2,500.00. But I don’t get a lot of requests for hands and necks. I do mostly faces, backs, feet and under eye because people are more concerned with the first thing that other people see, which is their face. But I do know that a lot of people do liposuction for their necks to improve the appearance.” And liposuction or other surgery just might be necessary if one’s neck or hands have gone beyond the help of creams, scrubs or peels.
Surgeon, Dr Patrica Dunwell of the Musgrave Medical Clinic, states that the best defence is to keep hands and necks moist. “To renovate skin, moisturize frequently, avoid drying products such as astringents on necks and too much water on the hands. It is best to use creams that contain collagen to replace what the skin looses.” According to Dr Dunwell, the processes of aging are as follows, “as you age, the epidermis (top layer of skin) loses elastin, then the dermis (mid layer of skin) loses collagen and finally the subcutaneous tissue (lowest layer) loses its firmness. So first, fine lines are developed and then the looseness of the subcutaneous layer produces wrinkles.” And when this happens, is this it? No, states Dr Dunwell, there is surgery that can assist in keeping wrinkles away and arrest the visible effects of aging. “The ultimate in rejuvenation is to replace subcutaneous fat with a fat transfer. For sagging necks there are surgical procedures such as liposuction to suck out fat of a double chin and neck sculpturing to tighten the sagging neck.” Dr Dunwell tells All Woman that the cost of these procedures is $30,000.00 and up.
Right now I’m sticking to ‘Visibly Younger Hand Cream which ranges from a low of $250.00 to a high of $450.00. And yes, the female seen wearing gloves wherever she goes is me.
