If you’ve ever worked hard to lose a dramatic amount of weight, saggy skin might not be surprising to you. It can emerge on the body and face after moderate to significant weight loss. While anyone is susceptible to saggy skin, it occurs more frequently with age. Some medical conditions can also be the cause.
Treating sagging skin at home can be challenging, if not impossible. But there are cosmetic options to help you achieve smooth, taut skin, from medical-grade skin rejuvenation products to surgical solutions.
Where Sagging Skin Resides
With the correct treatment, it’s possible for lax skin to snap back and drape over reduced underlying tissues for a soft, even texture. Typical treatment areas include:
- Eyelids
- Chin
- Jowls
- Belly
- Neck
- Upper arms
Sagging Skin Causes
There are many causes for loose, saggy skin.
Aging
As skin ages, it loses two essential proteins produced in the dermis — collagen and elastin.
As its name suggests, elastin provides skin elasticity. It produces firm skin with the ability to bounce back when stretched.
Collagen is a product of fibroblasts. If your skin is taut and smooth, you have collagen to thank. Collagen consists of tightly constructed fibers that help skin maintain its firmness. Collagen and elastin production decline with age. These two proteins may deteriorate due to external factors like the following.
Environment
- Environmental pollutants like cigarette smoke
- Lifestyle factors like drinking, smoking, and an unhealthy diet
- Excess sun exposure
Weight Loss
Carrying extra weight for an extended period can damage collagen and elastin skin fibers, making your skin less pliable and loose when you lose weight. Your skin is less likely to snap back into shape after you lose 50 pounds or more.
Sagging skin often occurs with rapid weight loss, such as after bariatric surgery. These dramatic interventions may result in large amounts of drooping skin hanging on the body.
Since youthful skin bounces back readily, your age during weight loss plays a role in the amount of loose skin end up with.
Pregnancy
Skin laxity is a typical post-pregnancy result, as women work to lose their baby weight. In addition, older mothers and women who deliver twins or triplets may experience more loose abdominal skin than younger moms and those who only carry one baby.
Reducing Loose Skin
If your loose skin is minor, some simple methods might successfully reduce lax skin. For example, workout regimens like weightlifting, Pilates, and specific facial exercises can tighten muscles and skin. There are also topical treatments like serums and creams designed to deliver taut skin. But for more severe cases, intense treatments are necessary.
Moderate Loose Skin Treatments
Non-invasive and minimally invasive skin tightening treatments improve skin tone and elasticity. When combined with healthy lifestyle choices like no drinking, smoking, or tanning, they are more effective. They include the following.
- Laser therapy: These treatments boost collagen production to improve overall skin tone. Many men and women experience optimal results after multiple treatments. In addition, laser therapy can effectively firm the tummy, upper arms, and other parts of the body.
- Radiofrequency treatment: Our Profound RF treatment is a non-surgical alternative to resolve aging skin. It employs radiofrequency injectable energy to provide facial wrinkle reduction and lessen visible cellulite.
- Non-surgical skin care: Like our surgical interventions, Aesthetx offers multiple skin care treatments personalized for individual needs. They include peels and medical-grade at-home therapies.
Resolving Significant Loose Skin
When loose skin gets to a point where the problem goes beyond superficial, surgery may be the best option. Facial correction procedures include a facelift, neck lift, brow lift, and eyelid surgery to make your facial aesthetics youthful, but not overdone.
After weight loss, body contouring and treatments like a tummy tuck, mommy makeover, and an arm lift can successfully excise loose skin.
Contact Aesthetx today by calling (408) 559-7177 or contacting us online today!
