How To Tighten Loose Skin
Feeling a little flabby? Loose skin is often associated with weight loss and ageing and can have a frustrating impact on one’s self-esteem. Jiggling arms are a reminder that your body’s not what it used to be and a sagging face indicates that age is slowly catching up with you. The good news is that there are solutions! You can tighten loose skin and make it as toned and smooth as it once was.
Cosmetic surgery is always a “quick fix”, of course, but there are also other more natural solutions to reducing the wobbly bits. With a dedicated attitude and a whole lot of patience, you can make your skin feel as supple as an infant’s by applying one or more of the following options:
1. Exercise
Exercise is not only a great way to give your skin a natural and healthy-looking glow, but with the right regimen, you can make loose skin less conspicuous too.
Even the hardiest of workouts cannot always remove excess skin that’s been distended for a long time. This skin often loses its flexibility and ability to “bounce back” to where it once used to be. This is where dumbbells and muscle-building exercises can help.
When you increase your muscle mass you can fill the gaps where fat used to be, filling your body out as a result – except this time it’s with hard and healthy muscle instead of squishy fat pockets. So, by replacing fat with muscle, you can lessen the appearance of loose skin.
When it comes to your face, there are facial exercises that you can do that many swear by, although there’s no substantial proof that these movements do, in fact, work.
2. Firming Lotions
When it comes to skin firming lotions and anti-aging products, then you’ll never be short for options. Many of these formulas come with promising claims that they can reduce wrinkles and tighten skin overnight, tempting you into to trying them until you realise that the only thing the product has going for it is the excellent marketing team behind the brand.
If you know what to look out for in the ingredients, however, finding a moisturizer that can actually tighten loose skin is possible, but these results will be subtle at its best. Still, lotions loaded with retinoids, liposomal Vitamin C, and Hyaluronic Acid will give visible results, just not the end result you’re after.
We suggest you follow a strict skin regimen using moisturisers that are dermatologically approved. Monthly trips to a skin therapist who will treat your skin to a massage and facial using collagen-rich products will also make a small difference.
3. Supplements
There’s definitely no magic pill that will make loose skin disappear overnight but there are many supplements that can help with the tightening process. These supplements can be bought from your nearest pharmacy and you do not need a prescription to purchase them, although it would be a good idea to seek counsel from your doctor before you start popping them.
Skin tightening supplements include:
- Collagen Hydrolysate. Collagen is as close to a facelift as you can get without applying a scalpel to our skin.
- Protein is loaded with amino acids which are essential for your body’s natural production of collagen.
- Vitamin C. Your body relies on Vitamin C for the synthesis of collagen
- Sounds gross, but gelatine is cooked animal collagen. The interesting thing is that by consuming gelatine, we can boost our own collagen production.
4. Weight Loss
Time to put on your running shoes to work off that excess skin and flab! While we mentioned above that some skin has been stretch too much to ever “bounce back”, there will still be parts of your body that have subcutaneous fat. This type of fat is extremely stubborn and makes skin look loose and wobbly.
If you pinch yourself and there are more than a few millimetres of skin, then you’ve probably got some subcutaneous fat that you can blame as the perpetrator. The good news is that if this is the case, then you can easily work this fat off by including cardio and fat-burning exercises into your weekly workout programme.
5. Massage
While massages feel amazing and are a wonderful way to de-stress and unwind, they can also help to firm skin and reduce fine lines, wrinkles, and even eradicate cellulite. Massaging loose skin helps to increase blood flow circulation, evoking an anti-aging response as a result.
One study published by PLOS ONE analysed the effects of skin massage in conjunction with the use of skin-firming lotions. The results indicated that regular massage with a hand-operated oscillating massage tool enhanced the positive effects of the moisturiser.
So, while massaging works well on its own, if you’re after faster and more effective results, we recommend you massage loose skin using a firming cream at the same time for the best outcome.
6. Cosmetic Procedures
While we definitely prefer the more natural route when it comes to any type of skin and beauty regimens, in some cases the only way to get rid of very loose skin is to opt for stringent cosmetic procedures, especially if your focus is to avoid surgery at all costs.
Currently, when it comes to cosmetic procedures that are popular for their positive results, your options are as follows:
Chemical peels – A chemical peel removes the outer layers of skin, revealing lower layers that are less wrinkled and tighter overall. This procedure is limited to your face and neck.
Ablative laser resurfacing – Also known as “laser peeling”, this procedure is similar to a chemical peel. The only difference is that the layers are removed with a laser instead of applying a lotion. The heat of the laser also stimulates collagen production.
Ultrasound skin tightening – During this treatment, ultrasound energy is transmitted through the top layers of skin to heat the lower layers, stimulating collagen as a result.
Radiofrequency treatments – In this instance, safe energy is used to transfer heat to the skin to induce collagen production. This time, however, the outer layers of skin are the focus.
IPL/RF combination treatments – This procedure relies on a combination of intense pulsed light (IPL) and radiofrequency (RF). During the treatment, both the top and bottom layers of skin are heated to stimulate collagen production.
Neuromodulators – More commonly referred to as Botox, this procedure relies on the toxin “botulinum” to help relax wrinkles. The botulinum is injected directly into the skin and is highly effective after a course of treatments has been administered.
No one said losing weight and loose skin would be easy, but its not an impossible feat altogether. With the right treatment plan and a consult from your doctor or a qualified skin therapist, you can get the tight body you once had back.
And if all else fails, you could consider surgical procedures. Tummy tucks and body-countering are an option in extreme cases and are sometimes necessary for your health and grooming.
Sources:
- Tips for How to Tighten Loose Skin, HealthLine
- Many Ways to Firm Sagging Skin, American Academy of Dermatology
- Effects of A Skin-massaging Device, PLOS ONE
