Dispatch · March 28, 2026 · 6 min · By Declan Whitcombe
Hand rejuvenation: the forgotten age giveaway
Faces get the attention; hands tell the truth. How clinicians treat dorsal-hand lentigines.
People invest years in their facial skin and forget the body part that is in the sun just as often: the backs of the hands. Dorsal-hand lentigines, thinning skin, and visible veins are why hands frequently look a decade older than the face above them.
Pigment on the hands responds to the same tools used on the face, Q-switched lasers and IPL for the spots, topicals for maintenance, but the hands heal more slowly and tolerate less aggression, so clinicians dose conservatively. Volume loss is treated separately, sometimes with biostimulatory fillers that thicken the skin envelope.
The sequencing matters: clear the pigment first, then address texture and volume, then protect daily. Hands that go untreated with SPF will simply re-spot, the same as any other sun-exposed surface.
Related reading: Age spot or melanoma, how to tell the difference.