Make-up guru Trinny Woodall’s new ‘wonder’ cream promises to target crepiness, pigmentation and restore ‘fullness’ to your hands. So is it worth the hype?

When I was asked to give make-up guru Trinny Woodall’s new hand cream an early whirl before it launched, of course I was interested. Her skincare line has concentrated on the face and on conducting enough research – both in the lab and on mid-life women – to prove you’ll get a result if you use it.

But hands are just as much of a giveaway of our age. While creams and serums on our faces can help hold back the wrinkles, few of us extend this courtesy to our middle-aged paws.

At 63, my hands have wrinkled backs, reddened knuckles and sizeable veins.

Until now, the only ‘real method’ of de-ageing hands has been with treatments administered in a cosmetic clinic, says Trinny, ‘but I’ve been obsessing over a solution’.

As a tweakments expert, I’ve subjected my hands to a number of procedures over 25 years, so I know what those in-clinic treatments can do. How can a hand cream possibly compare?

Here then is my verdict on Trinny’s cream – and the clinical tweaks I’ve tried too.

Trinny’s new Take Back Time Overnight Hand Transformation serum (£69, trinnylondon.com) claims to target crepiness, pigmentation and ‘fullness’, by which she means the plumpness of skin that deflates with age.

It comes with a high-quality micro-needle roller, and a blurb that says it’s been ‘clinically proven to visibly reverse key signs of hand ageing in just four weeks’ in a group of women aged 45-70.

Alice Hart-Davis tried Trinny Woodall’s hand cream for four weeks

Trinny’s new Take Back Time Overnight Hand Transformation serum claims to target crepiness, pigmentation and ‘fullness’

Trinny has been ‘obsessing over a solution’ to de-age hands that doesn’t involve going to a cosmetic clinic

I’ve never microneedled my hands before – but here goes.

Last thing at night, having washed my hands and wiped the back of my right hand down with an antibacterial hypochlorous spray (I decide, for comparison purposes, I’ll treat only my right hand), I start rolling the device gently over the back of it.

Its spikes are half a millimeter long – enough to cause damage to the skin if used aggressively – so I go gently. It hardly hurts so I give it another go, up and down my fingers, and up to the crease of my wrist. Then I massage in two pumps of the serum – whose peptides, skin-plumping complex and anti-pigmentation ingredients are surely bombing their way down to the lower parts of my skin through all the little holes I’ve made – and get into bed for the night, my hand outside the covers.

The point of the treatment being overnight is that it has a chance to work without interruption while you sleep.

It doesn’t sting at the time, but in the morning, my hand looks a trifle red where I was overenthusiastic with the needles.

After that I’m more careful, using the serum every night and only needling three times a week as the product advises.

Four weeks later? My hand looks less crepey but not vastly different from before.

I know the product is called Overnight Hand Transformation because that’s when you use it, but you certainly shouldn’t expect overnight results.

Left, Alice’s hand before using Trinny’s hand cream. Right, four weeks later, her hand looks less crepey but not vastly different from before

The NIRA Pro 3 Laser, (£549, niraskin.com), which heats the skin to stimulate collagen production and reduce wrinkling, is a worthwhile investment.

This rechargeable device, the size of a fat electric toothbrush, is very easy to use, not remotely painful and can treat both hands in around a minute.

The drawback? You need to use it diligently every day for 90 days to see the sort of results proven in the brand’s clinical trials. I’ve never managed to do it for 90 days myself – but when I do get round to using it, it helps.

For hands dotted with brown pigmentation marks (I hate the term ‘liver spots’), the quick clinical route is to get them zapped with Intense Pulsed Light (IPL), which is effective and cheaper than laser treatment (around £150-£250, depending on location). It hurts no worse than being flicked with a strong elastic band and it works a treat.

The backs of our hands deflate as we age and the fat that has padded them out gradually shrinks, leaving bones, veins and ligaments showing.

Lasers and lotions can’t help here. The answer? Filler.

When I visited Lorenzo Garagnani, a consultant hand and wrist surgeon in London, he used a technique called B-FAB, injecting hyaluronic acid filler into the backs of my hands to plump them up, and a hyaluronic acid-based skin-booster solution just below the surface to improve texture and hydration. It made my hands look five years younger (B-FAB hand rejuvenation with Lorenzo Garagnani, £1,200, se1medicalaesthetics.com).

What else can you do to look after your hands at home? Treat them kindly and develop good hand habits! Wear gloves for washing-up or gardening, give the backs of your hands a dab of whatever you’re using on your face, and use a hand cream with sunscreen (for example, the No7 Future Renew Damage Reversal SPF15 Hand Cream, £17.95 at Boots) every day.