With infrared thermography digital images that visually describe the temperature distribution of the human body, known as thermograms, can be obtained. Although infrared thermography has ventured into the medical field assisting in the diagnosis of diseases that manifest via changes in the surface temperature of the human body, a factor that limits its performance is the low contrast of the thermograms used for diagnostic purposes. In this study we propose a protocol to acquire thermograms with a better contrast by applying topical substances on skin before the thermal imaging. After evaluating the results, both subjectively and objectively, we verified that this approach is feasible and can be used to facilitate visualization of veins on the back of the hand. However, it is also evident that success and repeatability of these results depends on the set up and observance of protocols during thermal image acquisition.