A 30-minute, needle-free treatment at a clinic near London’s Harley Street has left Alice Smellie’s crepey, sun-marked hands looking smoother and more luminous. The Hands Back Time treatment, created by aesthetic doctor Dr Paris Acharya, combines skincare ingredients, microcurrent and LED light therapy.
Smellie, 53, had noticed a decline in the quality of her hands, including age spots, sagging and a parchment-like texture that hand cream had failed to improve. She said the changes were particularly noticeable while driving.
Dr Acharya said the skin’s collagen structure becomes less stable from the late forties and into the fifties, while elasticity decreases and the effects of sun exposure accumulate.
“From the late forties and fifties onwards, skin quality changes,” she said. “You’ll see some diminishing of skin quality as collagen scaffolding becomes less stable, elasticity declines and years of sun exposure take their toll.”
Menopause can also contribute to the changes, with falling oestrogen levels linked to lower collagen levels. Dr Acharya said hormone replacement therapy can help maintain skin quality, although it cannot entirely stop the effects of ageing.
She developed the treatment after seeing patients who devoted considerable attention to their faces and necks but neglected their hands. Smellie admitted that she moisturised only occasionally, had started applying SPF to her hands only the previous year and had never considered using vitamin C there.
How the Hands Back Time treatment works
The session begins with gentle exfoliation to remove dead skin and prepare the hands for active ingredients. Smellie was then given a pair of CACI Rejuvenating Hand Mask gloves containing hyaluronic acid and vitamin C.
A second pair, threaded with conductive silver fibres, was placed over the first. Her hands were dipped into an electrolyte solution before a portable CACI device delivered a low-level microcurrent for around 20 minutes.
The treatment is intended to improve circulation, help the ingredients absorb and support the skin’s repair processes. Smellie described the sensation as little more than a slight fizzing.
The gloves were removed before a fine mist of PDRN, described as a regenerative peptide serum, was applied. A CACI Rejuva Med handpiece with four metal probes was then used to work the serum into the skin.
The handpiece also emits LED light therapy, which is intended to stimulate cellular activity and support repair. Dr Acharya described the process as a needle-free form of mesotherapy, with the skin barrier temporarily disrupted to help the serum penetrate without injections or downtime.
Smellie said her hands looked immediately softer, brighter and less lined after the treatment, with the crepey appearance visibly reduced. She described the result as making them appear “ten years younger”, while acknowledging that a single session could not undo decades of neglect permanently.
Dr Acharya recommends a course of six treatments, followed by monthly maintenance sessions. Smellie continued using vitamin C serum and SPF50 in the morning, alongside moisturiser in the evening, and said her hands remained fresher and more rejuvenated in the following weeks.
The treatment takes 30 minutes and costs £150 on its own or £75 when added to a facial. A course of six is offered at the price of five.
