My preference is to use my patient's own fat for hand rejuvenation — it's easy, cost-effective, can be done under local anesthesia, and it just looks amazing.
Kris Jenner celebrated her 70th birthday this past week, and she sparked some new plastic surgery speculation by once again wearing gloves at the event. She's been known for the glove look on and off over the years, with plenty of speculation about procedures on her arms and hands — though she's never admitted to any of it. She has said in the past that she's had some hand surgery, which is why she was wearing gloves previously.
Who knows what's actually going on with Kris. But let's take the opportunity to talk about hand rejuvenation, because it's one of the most impactful and underused areas of cosmetic work.
As we age, most people focus their attention on the face, and more recently on the neck. But the arms and hands are often the telltale sign of aging that most people don't think to address. You can have beautifully rejuvenated skin from the collarbones up — and still give your age away the moment you reach for something.
The good news: there's a lot you can do about it, and it doesn't have to be aggressive.
If you aren't already using real skincare on your hands and arms, you should be — especially if you have a history of significant sun exposure.
Retinoids are one of the best ingredients for aging hands. They:
Two over-the-counter body retinoid creams that work well:
For patients who need more, we can prescribe stronger retinoids. But starting on your own with a drugstore body retinoid is an easy first step.
Any surface of your body that's exposed to the sun should have SPF on it. That includes the tops of your hands and your forearms — the areas most people forget. Sun exposure is what creates the sun spots and thin, crepey skin that signal age in the first place.
Just like we lose volume in the face as we age, we lose volume in our hands too. When the fat pads thin out, the tendons and veins of the hand become much more visible, and the skin appears more wrinkled and bony.
There are two main ways to add volume back:
These are off-the-shelf products that can be injected into the hands to restore plumpness. They're effective but need to be repeated over time as the product resorbs.
My preferred option for hand rejuvenation is to use the patient's own fat. Here's why:
Fat grafting pulls from areas where you may have fat you don't love, refines it, and redistributes it to the backs of the hands where you actually want volume. Once it's there, it behaves like your own tissue — because it is.
For relatively little investment — good topical skincare, diligent sun protection, and possibly one fat grafting procedure — you can make the hands look dramatically younger in a way that matches the rest of your rejuvenation work. When the hands match the face, the whole look becomes more cohesive and natural.
Whether or not Kris Jenner has had anything done to her hands, the gloves conversation is a useful reminder: your hands age right along with your face, and they deserve the same attention. Start with a body retinoid and daily SPF. If you want bigger results, fat grafting to the hands is a low-fuss, high-reward procedure that gives beautiful, lasting volume.