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As people get older, one of the places it’s most visibly evident is the hands. “Wrinkles and folds in the skin can reveal the veins, and the loss in volume that occurs over time causes tendons to become visible, revealing the age of our hands,” explains Dr. Miriam Hanson, board certified dermatologist and cosmetic specialist in Austin, Texas. There’s a new product that can help fill out the loss of volume in the hands, giving them a younger look. This summer, the Food and Drug Administration recently granted market approval for Radiesse, a filler from skin products company Merz, to be injected into the hands to restore a fuller and more youthful appearance.
While Radiesse is now FDA approved for hand rejuvenation, it’s not actually a new product. Radiesse was approved in 2006 to fill the “smile lines” or “laugh lines” in the face. With this new approval, Radiesse has been tested to serve a similar function in the hands as it did in the face. After injection into the hands, the dermal filler restores a more youthful appearance by as it reduces the prominence of tendons and veins.
A similar filling effect has been achieved with fat injections, but such injections can result in significant downtime and side effects, both from harvesting the fatty tissue and the filling procedure. The side effects with Radiesse, the calcium hydroxylapatite microsphere filler, are minimal. In clinical trials testing the product, Radiesse improved the appearance of both hands in 75% of patients at three months, compared with just 3% of patients in the control group. The most notable side effects were at the site of the injection, where some patients experienced mild to moderate redness and swelling at the site of the injection. The smoother, more natural-looking appearance in the hands can last for up to one year.
Radiesse is the first product approved by the FDA to fill out the appearance of the hands. But it is not for everyone. Radiesse should not be used in patients that have severe allergies, hypersensitivity to any of the components in the product, or have bleeding disorders. The product should also be administered by a trained professional to avoid injection into a vein or tendon.
If you are interested in a more youthful appearance of your hands, please contact us today. Learn more about Radiesse and whether it could be right for you.