Hand rejuvenation using standard Intense Pulsed Light (IPL) in Asian patients

In recent years, facial rejuvenation using Intense Pulsed Light (IPL) is in demand and there have been many reports. However, hand rejuvenation, which aims to treat lentigines on the dorsal hand and wrinkles, is in demand but with few reports. In this study, hand rejuvenation was attempted using two wavelengths of a standard IPL system. It focuses mainly on improvement of lentigines, and efficacy on wrinkles on the dorsal hand will be discussed as well.

The subjects were 128 Japanese patients (average age 58.1) who had lentigines and wrinkles on the dorsa of both hands, and the wavelength spectra of 560 - 1200 nm and 515 - 1200 nm were applied. In general, the number of treatments was not fixed, and further treatments beyond the first treatment were added only when asked for by the patient. Lentigines were assessed on 4 levels and wrinkles on 3 levels.

The results in lentigines were graded "Excellent" in 45.3%, "Good" in 14.8%, "Unchanged" in 37.5% and "Bad" in 2.3% of the patients. Dark-toned lentigines in particular improved after one treatment. On the other hand, the results in wrinkles were graded as "Effective" in 25.0%, "Hard to tell" in 39.1% and "Ineffective" in 35.9% of the patients after the first treatment, but there was increased improvement in some cases after multiple treatments.

By using appropriate IPL parameters with specific cut-off filters, dark-toned and flat senile lentigines could be treated effectively with a small number of treatments. On the other hand, improvement of fine dorsal wrinkles was noticed but more finesse is needed as to how to apply IPL and to decide on the number of treatments. Further study is necessary, but overall it can be said that IPL is an effective choice for hand rejuvenation.