Are your hands making you look far older than you are? Tweakments expert Inge van Lotringen reveals the treatment which smooths unsightly veins and prevents bruising - and you don't need surgery!

I have always had prominent veins in my hands but they really are unsightly now that I'm in my 70's. Can anything be done besides vein surgery?

Inge van Lotringen answers: Definitely! As your hands suffer fat and bone loss with age, veins will start to stand out, making your hands look a bit 'witchy'. 

If you'd like them to look softer, biostimulating fillers are a really good and natural-looking way of doing this. Injected into the back of the hands, they replace the plump tissues you've lost, obliterating that gnarly look. 

As your hands suffer fat and bone loss with age, veins will start to stand out, making your hands look a bit 'witchy'

But they go one better: they contain compounds that actively simulate the production of your own plumping collagen for as long as they remain in the skin, which can be up to 24 months.

Over this time your results will actually get better as your skin rejuvenates itself. What's more, it gets stronger and thicker, protecting you from any impact that in older skin can so easily cause bruising. 

Ellansé (for clinics, search ellanse.com/find-a-clinic/) has long been a popular biostimulating filler for this purpose, while the latest option cosmetic doctors rave about is hybrid injectable HArmonyCa (www.therapieclinic.com is one nationwide clinic that offers it). 

For either treatment, expect to pay from about £600 outside of London, and £1000 and upward in the South-East.