It’s too bad gloves went out of style in the 1960’s.

We have the technology to hide blemishes, contour our faces, and dress for our body type… But sometimes it feels like there are no options for unattractive hands or feet.

If you don’t feel comfortable taking your socks off in front of your significant other, or you feel embarrassed when someone asks to see your ring, you are not alone. Ugly hands and feet can drain your confidence. Learn more about the causes and what you can do to help beautify your extremities.

Causes of Ugly Hands and Feet

Sun exposure adds up over time.

No matter how well you take care of your hands and feet, some sort of issue always seems to pop up which cause unsightly problems with nails, dry skin, bunions and other issues that look terrible. For some people, it’s the stress absorbed by the hands and feet due to daily punishment at the workplace, the gym or at home.

Others simply have the type of skin that’s very sensitive to imbalances in the environment. A lack of humidity can result in skin that’s so dry that it cracks, causing pain to emanate from the surface of your knuckles and fingers.

And of course, sun-damage is a huge culprit. Consider how many hours you’ve spent driving, riding bicycles, and leaving your hands to consistent sun-exposure.

Thankfully, you can take action to mitigate the damage that’s been done to your hands and feet.

Prevent Ugly Hands and Feet with Basic Care

Taking care of your hands and feet is something that you should dedicate time for on a daily basis, monitoring for developments such as sores, fungus or an excess of dead skin. These are indicators of problems that may just be starting to manifest.

It should go without saying that you should wash your hands frequently to avoid illness, but frequent washing, especially using soap made with ingredients that cause desiccation, can cause the skin to dry out to the point where you start to bleed, especially in areas that experience cold, dry and punishing winters.

Using a daily moisturizer for hands can help keep moisture from escaping the skin, reducing the effects when spells of dryness occur. You should wash your feet on a daily basis to remove buildup of dead skin and bacteria, which can provide a source of nutrition for nasty fungal growths. Always make sure you dry your feet completely, including in between the toes. Moist toes are an environment ripe for unwanted growth.

Advanced Care

Procedures such as manicures and pedicures can go a long way in keeping your fingers and toes looking fabulous. Estheticians and cosmetologists know the best methods of trimming, cleaning and fixing up your cuticles and nails. Getting these areas cut by a professional helps ensure that you don’t accidentally give yourself a hangnail, while preventing other types of nail issues like ingrown toenails.

How to Fix Ugly Hands and Feet

High-end skin treatments that help remove dead skin while providing rejuvenation can help prevent problems that arise in dry conditions, or at least provide relief from the symptoms. A quick foot or hand massage helps blood circulate throughout the appendage, helping you feel more relaxed, which is the most beautiful part of taking care of tired, ugly hands and feet that appear like they’ve seen better days.

Details matter when you’re taking care of your appearance, and your hands and feet may draw attention away from all your positives when you don’t take care of them. Sometimes, the usual beauty treatments don’t have enough of an effect. In these cases, you can get rid of ugly hands and feet through the help of a medical esthetician, who may apply a variety of solutions to solve your issue.

Liver Spots and Blemishes

As humans age, the variety of blemishes that pop up as discoloration tends to increase. In some cases, these spots are a result of wear and tear on the epidermis, from injuries such as minor cuts and pimples. In others, old age results in what are referred to colloquially as liver spots. Regardless of the sort of blemish that you’re dealing with on your hands and feet, skin treatments can help to remove unwanted pigmentation, regardless of the source. Depending on the type of age spots that you want to remove, you might want to choose a laser technique or another type of pulsed light solution. Clinics may also apply chemical peels, microdermabrasion or another solution.

Veins and Arteries

Another source of ugly feet and hands might be arteries and veins which stick out in an odd way while creating a greenish, purplish or burgundy discolouration. Sometimes, vascular and circulatory problems create stress on the feet, making blood vessels stick out. The vessels in your hands can be an obvious sign of age, with veins and arteries popping up through thin skin. People who want to get rid of this type of problem might choose to undergo varicose vein or spider vein treatment to reduce unsightly vessels on your extremities.

Hair Removal

As your body ages, hair may start to encroach on areas of your hands and feet that you never expected, giving you a weird layer of fuzz that stands out. Perhaps the hair previous occupying this area was a lighter shade and now has shifted to a darker hue. Either way, this type of hair can easily make your hands and feet appear ugly.

Thankfully, hair removal solutions are available to get rid of this unwanted hair – in some cases, permanently. Laser and pulsed light technology have improved to the point where the procedure takes less than an hour to finish, with no significant recovery.

Dermal Fillers

The aging process wreaks havoc on many aspects of your body, including the loss of dermal volume as natural fat deposits disappear and your skin starts to sag instead of remaining taut. Skin on your hands and feet go through this same type of desiccation, which will result in these parts of your body becoming far less pretty than they used to be. One of the easiest methods of reversing this aging trend quickly is the use of dermal fillers that help to reduce the loss of volume in your hands and feet. With a quick treatment, hands and feet may look at least a decade younger than they were before the treatment.

There are options for you.

Beauty Doctors Have Your Aesthetic Cure

Don’t trust just anybody if you are considering plastic surgery. It’s worth your while to visit a specialist with plenty of experience when seeking assistance with the appearance of your hands and feet.

Dr. Kenneth Dickie offers patients a personable approach to cutting-edge surgical and non-surgical procedures.  We proudly offer plastic surgery services to Barrie, Collingwood, Sudbury, Orillia, Huntsville, Bracebridge, and surrounding areas.

Fill out the form on the right to schedule a personal consultation with plastic surgeon Dr. Kenneth Dickie. Or call us at the phone number posted at the top of the page to learn more.