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More Americans getting hand makeovers
05:51 PM PDT on Wednesday, April 30, 2008
More Americans than ever before are paying up to turn back the hands of time. Hands - being the operative word. Our quest to look younger is moving beyond the skin on our face. We're now focusing on "makeovers" for our hands.
Lana McBride walks into Dermatology Associates in Tigard, looking for a solution to what she describes as "bony hands".
Her doctor, Dr. Marla Ross, explains our hands lose fat as we age and this exposes our bones and veins. She says we religiously care for our faces, but often forget about our hands.
"No matter how good we look in our face, this tells the story."
To help rewrite that story, Dr. Marla Ross will spend the next ten minutes performing cosmetic Hand Rejuvenation. This involves injecting McBride's hands with an FDA-approved product called Radiesse.
The product was approved two years ago to add volume to one's aging face. It's now getting a lot of use in "hand makeovers" because its results last for about one year.
McBride looks at her hands and likes the results. "It's just fabulous!" She adds, "the downtime is next to nothing, and it's pretty non-invasive."
She says the needle sticks, as Dr. Ross injects the Radiesse, feel more like mosquito bites.
Another first-time Hand Rejuvenation patient explains why she's seeing Dr. Ross. Caroline Marnoch says "I was complaining about my hands to Dr. Ross, it's the one giveaway always." For Marnoch, moisturizers were no match for family history. She inherited hands with "lots of veins, lots of bones."
In a matter of minutes Dr. Ross completes the injections. Marnoch says " My right hand belonged to an 80-year old person."
Now she says her hands look "very natural and smooth." She adds "I was very amazed."
For Marnoch and McBride the procedure took just minutes, with no ill effects. Other cases of Hand Rejuvenation may include several visits and chemical peels or laser resurfacing to erase dark "age" spots.
Prices generally start at $1,000, and Hand Rejuvenation is not covered by health insurance policies. The Food and Drug Administration says the possible side effects of Hand Rejuvenation may include bruising, swelling, tenderness and itching.
Dr. Ross has only offered Hand Rejuvenation for about six months, but says she's already seeing four new patients a week.
"People want to look natural, and they don't want to advertise that they've had work done." Dr. Ross adds, "so we're going towards non-invasive procedures that take care of the actual problems." It's a national trend, as more of us seek to reverse the hands of time.
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