Velazquez, a registered nurse who owns a medical aesthetic practice in California, says hands can be a touchy topic of conversation. Hands can show age quickly because they are exposed to so much, including sunshine, water and everything people touch throughout the day. As people age, their skin gets thinner, revealing bone structure and wrinkles; they can even develop sunspots or hyperpigmentation around the knuckles.
But her clients don’t usually come in asking for hand treatments. Instead, it’s almost a ripple effect caused by the new standard of beauty for ageing women.
It starts with Botox and filler on the face, something that is completely normalised today. Studies have shown a 4% increase in neuromodulator injections (like Botox) within one year, according to a 2024 report from the American Society of Plastic Surgeons.
Many women notice their face no longer matches their neck and chest, and once they fix that inconsistency, they look to other places to close the gaps created by ageing. That’s where hand treatments come in.
“It’s per person, per goal because everybody is so different. It’s typically like a combination [of treatments]. Mostly women come in because of volume loss,” Velazquez said.
Skin boosters, calcium-based filler and microneedling are just a few treatments people seek.
Ewoma Ukeleghe, a cosmetic and medical doctor, says skin boosters, such as hyaluronic acid, give instant results by restoring volume lost in the skin.
“Skin boosters are a real metaphorical gateway drug to hand rejuvenation. You’re piercing the skin, which is intense. However, you get that instant payback of plump, soft, hydrated-looking skin,” Ukeleghe said.
Ukeleghe says the conversation surrounding hands has increased over the last year. On TikTok, one of her most popular videos is about topical treatments for “dry, old looking hand girlies”.
She agreed it’s about looking the same age across areas of the body but also part of a larger trend.
Psychiatrist David Puder said the anti-ageing craze was present long before social media. What people are newly using to their advantage is these highly technical procedures, which leave them satisfied on the outside but not always on the inside.
“You could spend a lot of money on this stuff, and our technologies are only going to get more astounding, but does it lead to lasting happiness or meaning or purpose? That’s where the question mark is,” Puder said.
The harmful side of these anti-ageing trends is how it shifts the beauty industry. Some messaging on social media triggers people to think cosmetic surgery gives them value as a human, Puder explains, making treatments less of an individual choice and more a societal pressure.
Kristin Leite, a master esthetician, said her TikTok audience expresses interest in hand care in the comments section, and the topic comes up more frequently after she posts a video about it.
“My older gals ask about hands all the time. But once I do a video on it, people think about it, like, ‘Oh wait, let me do that to my hands,’” Leite said.
Her golden rule for taking care of her hands is treating them like her face. This includes her daily skincare routine and rotating intensive treatment once a week, such as a chemical peel or microneedling, which has been very effective for her.
For Leite, it’s not about promoting treatments that are specifically about anti-ageing but expanding awareness of skincare for areas like the arms and legs.
“Everyone wants to look as good as they possibly can, especially for their age. Some people want to look way younger than [they are], but it’s about looking the best because then you feel your best.”
To Puder, a social media algorithm of anti-ageing could be “normal”.
“Guys will study bodybuilding for hours and watch people squat and deadlift. Some other people might study aesthetics for hours,” he said.
Some may reach a level of obsession, causing an issue with their body image.
Gemma Sharp, psychological science professor, sees anti-ageing swinging on a pendulum of principle. Some utilise anti-ageing treatments for self-care while others have a more excessive focus on appearance.
“[This] can become distressing or interfere with quality of life, particularly if it is driven by unrealistic expectations or underlying body image concerns,” Sharp said.
She said as beauty standards are ever-changing, the cosmetic industry capitalises on features that were once ignored.
“Rather than assuming this reflects increased vanity, it’s more accurate to say it illustrates how ideas about appearance continue to broaden and change,” Sharp said.
So what’s next? Leite and Velazquez predict knee care will be the next trend.
“With weight fluctuation, especially with GLP-1s, we’re losing volume and muscle, right? So a lot of people are walking around with creepy knees, and there are really no surgeries for knees,” Velazquez said.
Maybe knees will be the new focus of anti-ageing cosmetic treatments. Or maybe, at least according to reality megastar Kim Kardashian’s Instagram, it’s feet.
Kardashian recently posted an Instagram story in honour of her late grandmother, which got the internet talking. She wrote, “And for anyone that knows my grandma knows she had the most young beautiful feet in the world and she would want everyone to know lol,” with a photo of her grandmother’s perfectly pedicured feet side by side with her other famous sisters’ feet.
