How to Firm up Sagging Skin

Essential Summer Skincare Tools

Anyone who experiences skin sagging can suffer from a lack of confidence and self-esteem. Here we will discuss how you can reverse your skin sagging condition.

Various therapies, firming products, exercising, supplements, even surgical procedures can help you firm up saggy skin. In some cases, combining up the procedures can give you better results within a short time. Let’s take a look at the best procedures to tighten your sagging skin.

Therapies to Tighten Saggy Skin

Skin sagging occurs mostly due to the lack of elasticity in the skin. Therefore, therapies that can enhance the elasticity or boost collagen and elastin production in the skin can help in reversing skin sagging. Here are some prominent therapies available for now:

Red Light Therapy

Red light therapy and NIR therapy start working at the cellular level of your skin. When you expose yourself to therapy light, your body’s metabolism is boosted. Therefore, your body gets a boost in producing collagen and elastin hormone.

With more collagen and elastin production, your skin’s elasticity increases. Also, light therapy induces healing in your skin. Therefore, you can effectively avoid scarring and get an improved skin condition. Other than that, light therapy offers numerous other health benefits.

To receive light therapy, you need to book a therapy session with a therapist or get a light therapy device for your home. Turn on the light and expose yourself to it for 15 – 20 minutes to receive the benefits of light therapy.

Ultrasound Therapy

Ultrasound therapy is a non-invasive method for skin tightening. In this therapy, heat is directed under your skin. Therefore, your skin cells start producing collagen with better capacity.

You can safely use ultrasound therapy anywhere in your body, including your face. Depending on your skin sagging condition, the therapy may last for 30 – 90 minutes.

With several months of post-treatment, you will see a moderate tightening of your skin. Some patients may experience some discomfort during and after the therapy session. Consult your skin specialist before getting this therapy.

Chemical Peels

Chemical peels force your skin to shed older cells and stimulate the growth of newer cells. In this procedure, the top layer of skin cells is sloughed away with the help of specialized chemicals.

Different chemicals travel different layers of the skin. However, the deeper skin peeling procedures can pose significant risks for infection and hyperpigmentation.

You can get skin peeling once every four to six weeks. If you are getting chemical peels targeting different skin conditions, you can have the procedure once in two weeks till you get the desired result.

Laser Resurfacing

Laser resurfacing is one of the quicker methods of treating skin tightening. However, this therapy is more invasive and will require recovery time. 

This therapy is very effective in reducing sagging skin. You can even address wrinkles, fine lines, age spots, hyperpigmentation, and even dark spots with this therapy. However, this therapy can pose a huge risk of side effects like scarring. 

Firming Products for Skin Tightening

Skin tightening creams, lotions, and serums can be very helpful in reducing skin sagging. You can try both over-the-counter and prescription products to get better results.

While purchasing, make sure your product contains retinoids. Retinoids contain derivative components of vitamin A, tretinoin, retinoic acid, and adapalene derivative components. These chemicals enhance maturation, proliferation, and skin cell turnover.

Additionally, for better results, try products that contain hyaluronic acid. This acid helps attract and hold up water contents that reduce wrinkle depth and skin roughness. Also, this acid increases your skin firmness.

YEOUTH day/night cream, Open Formula Retinoid cream, REN Clean Skincare Bio Retinoid Anti-Aging Cream are some of the great skin firming products.

Exercising

Exercising can greatly help tighten your skin, especially if your skin sagging results from weight loss.

If you have had excess fat in your skin for a long time, your skin loses its shrinking ability. So, when you are losing weight rapidly, you may experience skin sagging.

Muscle building can help reduce skin sagging. When you start building muscle mass, it replaces the places of previous fat particles. As a result, your skin regains its elasticity and helps your skin look firmer.

Weight training, resistance training, and strength training are the best ways to build muscle. Include crunches, pelvic thrusts, and bridges into your workout routine. It will help you to firm up your arms and legs.

If you have recently gone through pregnancy and are trying to tighten your stomach skin, crunches are a great exercise for you. It will reduce your belly fat and tighten your skin accordingly. However, make sure to contact your doctor before starting exercising after pregnancy. It will help you avoid after-birth complications.

Facial exercises help you firm up your facial skin by tightening and toning muscles using various techniques. While there is not enough evidence of facial exercising giving you a facelift, more research is being conducted.

While you have facial exercises, an ancient Chinese tool named jade roller can help you with the process. This tool helps increase circulation, relaxes your facial muscles, and encourages lymphatic drainage.

Supplements

There are several supplements that can help you improve your skin sagging. Some of the prominent supplements are:

  • Vitamin C: Vitamin C is one of the stronger antioxidants. It can assist the skin in repairing the damaged cells while blocking free radicals to cause more damage to the skin. Moreover, vitamin C supplements can give the skin a collagen protein boost.
  • Collagen Hydrolysate: Collagen supplements can reduce skin sagging by delivering necessary collagen to your skin. It improves skin’s moisture barrier while improving skin fibroblasts’ growth. You may see a significant result within 4 – 8 weeks after taking collagen supplements.
  • Antioxidants: Antioxidants neutralize reactive oxygen particles and help the skin reduce wrinkling and sag. Also, your skin will produce more collagen with antioxidant supplements. Selenium, zinc, coenzyme Q10, epigallocatechin gallate are some of the prominent antioxidant supplements.

Before taking any supplements, make sure to consult your doctor and dietitian. Your body may react badly to some supplements if not taken to proper dosage.

Surgical Procedures

If you are looking for a dramatic result, you can have several surgery options to consider. However, surgeries are quite invasive, and you may need a certain recovery time. 

For tightening your face, you can have facelift surgery. Here excess skin is removed, and the wrinkles and folds are smoothed from your face’s skin. Thus, your skin is tightened, and you will get flawless, smooth-looking skin.

Tummy tucking surgery is recommended to repair skin sagging from your tummy. In this procedure, excess fat and skin are removed. However, this procedure is quite invasive and causes harmful side effects. Many skin specialists are now suggesting liposuction for reducing belly fat. This procedure is comparatively safer but can cause skin sagging as well.

Massage for Firming Sagging Skin

Massaging improves circulation in the skin. As a result, nutrients and antioxidants can reach the necessary places and reduce skin sagging.

You can combine massage with firming products. It will allow you to get better results within less time. 

You can include salt or sugar scrub along with massage for better blood circulation. It will also help you remove damaged cells and have better skin.

Which Procedure is the Best for You?

Choosing the best procedure for tightening your skin depends on your skin condition, preference, and how soon you want to see results.

Therapies can give you a fast result. However, it may not be permanent, and you may want to have the therapy regularly. On the other hand, skin firming products may work slowly but give you good results when you use them regularly. Massaging and supplements will help bring out the results further when complemented with other skin-tightening procedures.

Surgeries give you an instant result. However, for their invasive nature, they can bring hazardous side effects. Exercising for toning up your muscles will be effective if you want to have a permanent result.

We recommend you to have light therapy associated with regular exercising. Light therapy will effectively tighten your skin while giving other health benefits. It will also reduce the muscle impacts associated with exercising and keep you healthy.

Tips to Reduce Skin Sagging

While skin sagging is a natural process of aging and losing body fat, it may impact one’s confidence. So, here are a few tips that will help you reduce skin sagging:

  • Having a healthy diet rich in healthy fats and antioxidants
  • Drink plenty of water
  • Exercise regularly
  • Get proper sleep
  • Stop smoking
  • Reduce drinking alcohol
  • Reduce stress

Final Words

Getting rid of saggy skin can give you a confidence boost. So, choose the best procedure that will help you bring the best out of you.

Considering all the procedures, we advocate for light therapy as it is non-invasive, has no harmful side effects, and can bring you additional health benefits. Also, having regular exercises will bring you better results in tightening your skin and enhancing your wellbeing. 

Author Profile

The Editorial Team at Lake Oconee Health is made up of skilled health and wellness writers and experts, led by Daniel Casciato who has over 25 years of experience in healthcare writing. Since 1998, we have produced compelling and informative content for numerous publications, establishing ourselves as a trusted resource for health and wellness information. We aim to provide our readers with valuable insights and guidance to help them lead healthier and happier lives.