Overview | Treatments for skin tightening | Expected outcomes | Limitations of skin tightening | Ideal candidates | Question to ask your doctor | Self-care for the future

One of the parts of your body that shows the first signs of aging is your face. According to the American Society for Dermatologic Surgery, your neck and lower face are the two areas where skin sagging first starts. Most people find it hard to watch their appearance change as they age. If you are also worried about your sagging facial skin, consider opting for skin tightening treatments.   

Skin tightening treatment are usually started before one notices sagging of the skin. They are performed as a preventive treatment to prevent skin from sagging and enhance the skin collagen. There are quite a few treatments that are effective in tightening loose skin.

We, at The Bombay Skin Clinic, are here to help you take a closer into them to help you make a well-informed decision.

Different treatments for skin tightening

Below are some of the best treatments for saggy skin offered at our clinic. These can effectively make your skin firmer, smoother, and tighter. 

  1. Microneedling – Microneedling has become a very popular treatment for many different skin related issues, like scars, sagging, and more, as deemed highly effective by the National Centre for Biotechnology Information. It is performed using a handheld medical device with micro-sized needles. The device is used to create fine punctures into the skin around the targeted areas. As soon as this is performed, your skin starts creating collagen to heal the punctured areas. This improves the health of your skin and makes it tighter.
    Depending on what result you are expecting and how loose your skin is, there may be a need for multiple microneedling sessions. Generally, four to eight visits can do the trick. At The Bombay Skin Clinic, we make use of the Dermapen 4, the latest in microneedling technology. We do not recommend this treatment for patients with active skin condition, keloid scarring, and active acne.
  2. Ultrasound HIFU – One of the main reasons why your skin may start to lose its tightness is the lack of collagen production. This can happen with age, but with the Ultrasound HIFU treatment, this problem can be successfully tackled. The Ultherapy technique is used to send sound waves into the affected areas of your skin. This increases the production of collagen, which leads to healthier, tighter skin.
    At The Bombay Skin Clinic, we make use of the Ultraformer III to treat the entire face, neck, and body. It involves no incisions and causes no scarring with no downtime as well. We recommend it for patients with mild-to-moderate skin laxity. The ultrasound energy is delivered to the target area in short pulses for approximately 30 minutes to 90 minutes. For the duration of the treatment, you may feel some heat or tingling sensations, which is completely normal. There may also be some temporary swelling or redness. Patients who undergo HIFU report seeing results after three months. We recommend repeat procedures for them in a few years. However, depending on your condition, you may need multiple sessions with the doctor to achieve the result you want.
  3. Threads – This treatment procedure is performed on people who want subtle, natural looking lifts on their skin. Subtle sutures are used by the dermatologist to hold the loose skin up, which provides you with a youthful appearance. The mono or poly threads are inserted below the skin to help to lift and stretch it. The threads are absorbable and trigger the skin healing response of producing collagen along the threads, causing the skin to lift and tighten. After the procedure is performed, the collagen production under the skin also improves significantly and makes your skin healthier and livelier.
    This is a very low-invasive procedure without any serious health risks. This means you do not need a long recovery time to go back to your daily routine. Depending on the extent of the condition and your expected result, the dermatologist will determine how many sessions are required.
  4. Radiofrequency – There are many effective skin tightening treatments available today, and radiofrequency is one of the non-invasive ones. When the radiofrequency (RF) energy is sent into the targeted areas, using a specialized medical device, it heats up the collagen present under your skin. This results in the production of more collagen and the health of your skin starts to improve dramatically. The skin on your jowls and neck start to tighten up after the treatment.
    At The Bombay Skin Clinic, we use Monopolar RF to treat forehead lines, crow’s feet, and wrinkles around the lips and neck. Forehead skin, eyebrow skin, skin around the eyelids, and the cheeks can also be treated with radiofrequency. While some of our patients have seen results immediately, it can take up to six months for others to achieve the expected result. Also, you may also need multiple treatment sessions to reach your skin goals.
  5. Laser skin tightening – According to the American Academy of Dermatology, the laser skin tightening treatment is effective as certain lasers can deliver heat into your skin without affecting the epidermis. When the infrared laser light is applied on the targeted site, the heat reaches deep within the skin and improves collagen production. This can treat a lot of different skin conditions, including sagging.
    Laser skin tightening is a safe and painless procedure. It may take a few months for you to notice the improvement, but that is because the treatment influences the natural healing process of your body. Depending on how saggy your skin is, you may require up to three treatment sessions. Results are almost immediately noticeable with zero downtime required. This is a non-ablative type of treatment that only requires a topical anesthetic cream. Mild side effects include swelling or redness.
  6. MNRF – At The Bombay Skin Clinic, we also offer the Secret Micro-needle Fractional RF System to tighten and rejuvenate skin. It is a USA-FDA approved treatment. It uses minimally invasive micro-needles to deliver controlled radiofrequency energy directly into the depths of the skin. This RF energy heats up the skin tissues and triggers new collagen production, thus promoting remodeling of skin and its tightening. This treatment is also effective in reducing acne scars by breaking scar bands.
  7. Fillers – Facial fillers are primarily used as volumizers to lifting and plump up the cheek, chin, jawline, temple, lips, and saggy skin on the hands. At The Bombay Skin Clinic, we help tighten skin with the use of facial fillers. It helps tackle issues of skin elasticity, volume, laxness, and facial lines. Dr. Batul Patel is a certified Allergan trainer and you can rest assured that you are in safe hands.
  8. Platelet-rich plasma – At The Bombay Skin Clinic, we offer the Arthrex PRP treatment that uses monotherapy, or in combination with medical needling for general skin and hand rejuvenation and treating peri orbital wrinkles. It is safe, non-invasive, effective, and can be repeated as many times as needed. The growth factors present in PRP that helps in the process, PRP for hand rejuvenation has shown great results, with significant increase in the thickness of the epidermis. It also improved overall skin texture and brightness.

Are the treatments painful/what results to expect

Most treatments for skin tightening are not painful at all. However, some patients can experience a little discomfort, depending on what device is being used and the experience of the dermatologist. In certain cases, local anesthesia is offered to the targeted area to make sure that discomfort is minimized. At The Bombay Skin Clinic, we leave no stone unturned when it comes to ensuring the patient’s comfort and well-being before, during, and after the procedure.

The treatments may result in some general swelling, bruises, and redness. However, these don’t last more than a couple of weeks. As for the actual treatment result, it can sometimes take around six months to completely show; this is because natural healing of your skin can take a little while. It also depends on how loose your skin is and if your doctor has chosen the right procedure for you. At The Bombay Skin Clinic, we take into account your entire medical history and current skin condition before getting you started on the right treatment plan.

Parts of the body where this treatment carried out

It is wrongly believed that skin tightening treatments work only on your facial skin. The truth is these treatments have varieties of procedures that work on a great range of areas on your body where the skin might be sagging. While the eyelids and jowls are two of the common facial areas where most people need tightening, some patients want the treatment done on their neck, arms, chest, back, knees, thighs, and abdomen, too. 

With aging, skin from different parts of your body can start to loosen up significantly. Skin tightening procedures can take care of that effectively. The one important thing to keep in mind is that not all areas on your body can be treated the same way. Hence, you need an experience dermatologist who can determine the right option for your needs and ensure best results. 

Limitations of skin tightening

The non-invasive treatments for skin tightening do have certain limitations, too. Most of these skin tightening treatments require no recovery time, but the treatments also need you to allow a few months to pass before you can start noticing improvements. If you have recently lost weight or had a baby, the skin might be too loose to be effectively treated with non-invasive tightening procedures. Another significant disadvantage of the treatment is that one session might not be enough for you if the skin has become too loose. In that case, the dermatologist will suggest multiple visits. 

Good candidates for this treatment

At The Bombay Skin Clinic, we offer the most appropriate treatment option for our patients. However, the truth is that not every person with saggy skin can achieve the best result from the treatments. A good candidate for skin tightening is someone who has at least some skin elasticity left. Unfortunately, expecting mothers or someone with certain health disorders like obesity cannot opt for the treatment. 

Questions to ask your doctor

We encourage all our clinic patients to seek as much information as possible regarding their case and treatment options so that they are better prepared. Before you opt for any of the skin tightening treatments, we suggest asking your doctor the below questions:

  • How does the treatment work?
  • Will it work for my type of skin sagging?
  • Is the treatment safe?
  • What are the differences between the various procedures?
  • How long will it take for the selected treatment to work?
  • Can I go back to work immediately?
  • What side-effects are to be expected?
  • Which areas of the body can be treated?
  • Does the right treatment procedure for me depend on my skin type?
  • How many times will I need to visit the clinic to achieve my desired results? 

Self-care required in the future

Skin tightening treatments can sometime lead to swelling, which lasts for a few days. You can use an icepack on the affected areas to keep the swelling down. You may also see some rashes on the treated areas, which can be treated with creams and lotions as recommended by your dermatologist. 

Also, according to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, long exposure to sun can make your skin age faster. So, using a mild sunscreen product regularly is necessary. Always keeping your skin hydrated and using chemical-free skincare products is also required to maintain good skin healthy. At The Bombay Skin Clinic, we recommend a complete post-treatment skin-care plan that is unique to each patient’s case.

Closing paragraph

Skin sagging can occur for many different reasons like aging or underlying health conditions. If you are disheartened by how your appearance is changing, it is time to book an appointment with our clinic. We can help you determine the best treatment choice and help give your skin a new lease on life!  

References

  1. American Society for Dermatologic Surgery: https://www.asds.net/skin-experts/skin-conditions/sagging-skin
  2. American Academy of Dermatology: https://www.aad.org/public/cosmetic/younger-looking/firm-sagging-skin
  3. U.S. Food and Drug Administration: https://www.fda.gov/drugs/understanding-over-counter-medicines/sunscreen-how-help-protect-your-skin-sun
  4. National Centre for Biotechnology Information: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4976400/