Can You Tighten Loose Skin After Weight Loss
If you have loose skin after weight loss, first celebrate your weight loss victory! Then, learn more about the factors that affect skin elasticity and what you can do to help your body snap back.
- Loose skin is usually a byproduct of losing a lot of weight quickly.
- Because skin is a living organ, it can tighten up some over time.
- Age, the length of time excess weight was present, and genetics all play a role in how much your skin can tighten.
- Eating well, staying hydrated, and looking after your skin health can help.
- If you think of your skin as a wrapper, putting on some muscle mass can help “refill” the wrapper.
If youve lost a lot of weight recently, then you may have noticed that you have a bit of loose skin hanging around. Common areas for extra skin after weight loss include under the arms, under the chin or a pouch around the stomach. But loose skin can appear almost anywhere on the body, especially if you have lost weight rapidly.
Before we go on, lets start with a brief anatomy overview, from the outside in. First you have your skin, a nice protective layer and the largest organ of the integumentary systemthink of it as the wrapper that holds your body. Then you have a layer of body fat. Under that is where your muscles live. So when you lose a substantial amount of body fat, along with some muscle , you are literally removing the mass that has previously been stretching your skin. When that mass is gone, you’re left with a partially empty wrapper.
What Causes Excess Skin After Weight Loss
The skin has a remarkable elastic ability which enables it to expand and shrink when our weight changes. However, gaining and losing large amounts of weight can put too much strain on the skin and cause permanent changes to the structure and elasticity of the skin.
The top layer of our skin is called the epidermis. Beneath the epidermis is the dermis, which is full of elastin and collagen, the fibrous cords which anchor the skin to the fat cells beneath.
Professional Treatments For Saggy Or Loose Skin
Whatever the reason for your loose skin, if you have noticed changes on your body such as loss of firmness, a crepey appearance, or sagging loose skin, then professional treatments can help.
In the past, the only way to get rid of loose skin was by surgery. Tummy tucks, body lifts, arm lifts and the like are all forms of surgeries performed to remove excess skin. Whilst these surgical procedures are highly effective, the costs, risks, recovery time and permanent scarring, put many people off.
Over the last few decades, some revolutionary, new non-surgical treatments have been developed. Treatments which use radio frequency or high-intensity ultrasound can help reduce saggy, loose skin and give you firmer, tighter skin without the need for surgery.
Radiofrequency Skin Tightening
Radiofrequency skin tightening is a non-invasive and painless treatment that uses radiofrequency energy to tighten the skin. The electrical energy heats up the dermis in your skin which stimulates the production of collagen and elastin. At The Body Clinic we offer radiofrequency skin tightening treatments using a device called the Exilis Elite.
What Is Exilis Elite?
Exilis Elite is a non-surgical skin tightening treatment that rejuvenates and tightens the skin on your body or face. By stimulating collagen regeneration in the deeper layers of your skin we can create healthier, more youthful and tighter skin. Helping reduce any saggy, loose skin and giving you the smooth, sleek body you desire.
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Surgery To Tighten Abdominal Skin
If the amount of loose skin is minimal, it will likely retract on its own. However, if you have loose abdominal skin from multiple pregnancies or years of weight loss and weight gain, lifestyle factors may not be enough to tighten everything up.
According to the Cleveland Clinic, an abdominoplasty or tummy tuck, which is a procedure that removes extra fat and skin and tightens the muscles in your abdominal wall, should be the last resort in your quest to get rid of loose abdominal skin.
In fact, Greer recommends waiting at least six months after a significant weight loss before even considering surgery. But once you’ve hit this mark, and often waited even longer, she says the most effective way to tighten loose abdominal skin is surgery.
“Skin removal over the abdomen takes the form of either a full tummy tuck or a mini-tummy tuck,” explains Greer. In a mini-tummy tuck, Greer says the excess skin over the lower abdomen is removed. “This is good for people with just a little loose skin, whose abdominal muscles are still tight,” she explains.
But if you’ve had kids or lost 50 pounds or more, Greer says you probably have loose skin above your belly button as well, and your abdominal rectus muscles are likely stretched apart. In this case, a full tummy tuck is needed. “The difference is that the abdominal muscles are tightened and loose skin is removed both above and below the belly button,” she adds.
Read more:The Safest Way to Approach Exercise After a Tummy Tuck
Home Remedies To Tighten Skin On The Stomach
Home Remedies to Tighten Skin on the Stomach
Do you want to get rid of that loose skin on your belly?
If yes, then youre in the right place.
The skin on your stomach can sag due to many reasons. Sudden weight loss, childbirth, aging, or even sudden weight gain can give you lose belly skin. Regardless of the cause, loose belly skin doesnt exactly look good. Plus! It is quite difficult to get rid of it.
There are many cosmetic procedures that can help you to tighten skin on your stomach. You can do that with exercise too. But home remedies are the safest and easiest way to tighten the loose belly skin. You dont have to spend money on those expensive cosmetic surgeries. The ingredients Ill tell you in this article are already present in your pantry.
Try these amazing and effective home remedies to tighten the skin on your stomach naturally.
Egg white is commonly used to tighten the skin on your skin. Nut you can use it on your belly too. Egg white has excellent skin tightening properties. For using egg white on the skin of your stomach:
- Take an egg or two and separate the egg whites.
- Beat the egg whites well.
- Add a few drops of lemon juice and mix it.
- Apply it evenly on your belly skin.
- Rinse it off with water after 30 minutes.
For the best results, you can use it daily.
For best results, use this scrub once or twice a week.
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Whats The Difference Between Retinoids And Retinol
The terms retinoids and retinol are often used interchangeably. Despite being fairly similar, there are a few differences between the two.
Retinol is a milder OTC class of retinoid. Retinol works in the same way that prescription retinoids do but is milder than its prescription counterparts.
While retinol can be very effective, it can take longer to yield results. This means that retinol is slightly weaker than prescription retinoids but still works to reduce the appearance of wrinkles and treat mild forms of acne and hyperpigmentation. It might just take longer than a prescription retinoid-based formula would.
How To Tighten Your Stomach Skin After Weight Loss
A weight-loss journey is exactly that a journey. While it may come with its highs and lows, there is no better feeling than reaching your personal goals. As you achieve them, you will probably notice that your body has changed along the way. The fat may be gone, but loose and/or excess skin is often left in its place. One of the most common areas of concern? The abdomen. To better understand how to tone and tighten the stomach once you reach your weight loss goals, we spoke to a top dermatologist and plastic surgeon. Below, a guide to the best surgical and non-surgical treatments to treat loose stomach skin.
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Increase Your Water Intake To Improve Skin Elasticity
Drinking a lot of water not only improves your overall health, it also will help your skin to become tighter, smoother, and look more radiant. One scientific study found that increasing the daily water intake caused significant improvements in skin hydration and function.
Be sure to drink at least 6 glasses of water per day. If you can drink more than that, even better. Hydration is wonderful for your skin and certainly helps to improve skin elasticity which can help to tighten it after weight loss.
You can also drink flat tummy water to help you burn belly fat.
Modest Tightening And Lifting
Non-invasive skin tightening proceduresThese procedures are called non-invasive because they leave your skin intact. You wont have a puncture wound, incision, or raw skin afterward. You may see some temporary redness and swelling, but thats usually the only sign that you had a procedure.
Heres what you can expect from a non-invasive skin-tightening procedure:
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Results: Tend to appear gradually, so they seem natural
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Downtime: Little or none
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Colorblind: Safe for people of all skin colors
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Body-wide use: Can tighten skin just about anywhere on your body
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Side effects: Usually some redness and swelling, but little risk of other side effects when performed by a board-certified dermatologist
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Time commitment: Most procedures take 1 hour or less
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Pain: May have some discomfort during the procedure, but thats usually it
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Makeup: Can often apply immediately after the procedure
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Cost: Varies and not covered by insurance, so ask how much it will cost
If you opt for a non-invasive skin tightening procedure, youll likely have one of the following:
UltrasoundDermatologists are using ultrasound to send heat deep into the skin.
Bottom line: The heat can cause your body to produce more collagen. With 1 treatment, most people see modest lifting and tightening within 2 to 6 months. You may get more benefit from having additional treatments.
RadiofrequencyDuring this treatment, your dermatologist places a device against your skin, which heats the tissue beneath.
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Can You Prevent Loose Skin After Weight Loss
Before we get into some steps you can take to help your body deal with loose skin more efficiently, lets talk about how you can avoid this issue in the first place.
Crash diets and excessive amounts of time spent exercising can rapidly shed both muscle and fat, resulting in a double-whammy on your skin. Meaning that the supportive underlying muscular structure that holds skin against your body is lost along with the fat that keeps the skin stretched tight.
Any weight loss beyond 2-3 pounds per month is likely to be lean muscle, not fat.
Most weight loss programs, even the ones that claim to be slow, aim for 1-2 pounds of fat loss per week. But most people can only lose 2-3 pounds of body fat per month. Any weight loss beyond that 2-3 pounds per month is likely to be lean muscle, not fat.
In a 2008 study, researchers found that small, cumulative changes in diet and activity produced slow but sustainable weight loss. That type of slow, steady weight loss also avoided pitfalls like loose skin.
In conjunction with losing weight slowly, make sure your weight loss program includes some type of resistance training so that you do not lose lean muscle. I have many articles in the Get-Fit Guy archives if you need some guidance on where to start with resistance training.
Is Loose Skin Something To Worry About
I think this is an important questionis loose skin really worth worrying about?
If your loose skin is causing pain or discomfort, and especially if you are getting chafing during activity, you may want to do something about it, like wearing compression garments. Exercisers that carry larger amounts of weight are often more susceptible to repetitive-use injuries like strains, shin splints, sprains, and other joint issues. But simply wearing some compression gear can help compress loose skin against the skeleton and minimize the tiny tissue tears that can be caused by skin vibration and oscillation.
Dont let the stigma of loose skin stop you from living your best life.
But if your loose skin isnt causing pain or injury, please dont let the stigma of loose skin stop you from living your best life. I’m a fan of the attitude expressed in an article from SELF magazine called “17 Women Share Pics of Loose Skin After Weight Loss to Prove How Common and Normal It Is.”
As one woman quoted in the article said, “Don’t you dare hold your potential hostage because you’re worried what someone might say or think.”
That said, even if you are ready to be as bold as the people in that SELF article, there are still some steps you can take to give your skin a little help.
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Identify: Skin Or Fat
First of all you need to identify whether the excess skin is actually that, or whether it could be a thin layer of stubborn fat.
If you can pinch more than a few millimetres of skin then you probably still have some fat cells that need to be lost before the skin will appear firmer. Our bodies hold on to stubborn types of fat – in men its usually areas such as the lower abs and lower back, whereas in women it can be stored on the thighs, backside, abs and hips – which, as the name suggests, is more difficult to lose.
In order to burn fat, your body produces a chemical known as catecholamine. These travel through your blood and attach to receptors on fat cells, catalysing the release of the energy stored within the cells so it can be burned off.
What you think is excess skin may actually be stubborn fat cells stored within the skin, in which case you will need to keep training to reduce it before the skin can look firm. The best way to do this is through HIIT training, which maximises fat burning during and after the workout, and also through strength training.
What Are The Benefits Of Non
Saggy skin is one of the most common issues and could happen due to multiple reasons, and aging is one of them. You can go for both surgical and non-surgical methods to get rid of loose skin. Most people prefer non-surgical methods. And the following are the reason because of which people prefer to go for non-surgical methods:
- You can perform these treatments at your convenience
- Though it takes longer, results are persistent
- The non-surgical methods do not involve any risk
- Results are notable and appreciable
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How To Tighten The Skin On Your Stomach
Saggy skin on the tummy always seems wired, and it is pretty challenging to snap it back. Remember that it will never return to its original place, but you have to take the required steps depending on the causes!
There are many ways to get rid of saggy skin, which improves your skins elasticity and tightens it up back. So, cheer up, take a sip of your coffee, continue reading, and find them all here!
Saggy skin is not only frustrating, but it can also steal your self-esteem as well. So, take some serious steps to get over it. Keep in mind that multiple options exist besides those medical procedures. So, why not choose a pain-free method?
Skin Tightening Treatments At Their Best
These 13 at-home skin tightening treatments can provide a number of amazing benefits for your loose and sagging skin. But theyre best used as a supplement to the most effective treatment for sagging skin: SiO Beauty patches.
Our SiO Beauty patches are made from two key elements: Silicon and Oxygen . Working together, these elements encourage your skin to hydrate, plump, and rejuvenate itself over time.
Pair the SiO products mentioned throughout this article with the amazing home remedies weve given you to achieve maximum skin tightening and revitalization! Heres to healthy, youthful skin. Enjoy!
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What Causes Loose Skin
Loose skin after weight loss is a result of several contributing factors. Our skin is partially made up of proteins called collagen and elastin fibers. These proteins give skin its firmness and allow it to snap back in place after being stretched. When the skin is stretched for an extended period of time, the collagen and elastin fibers become damaged. After weight loss, your skin may lack the necessary proteins to return to its original shape. The skin loses its firmness and tends to just hang on the body.
In addition to losing elastin and collagen, the makeup of the collagen left in the skin changes as well. After losing weight, our skin contains less collagen and its composition is different than the collagen in young, healthy skin. The makeup of your skin is also determined by other factors like age, history of smoking, general health, and family history.
Tighten Loose Belly Skin With Exercise:
If sudden weight loss has caused your body to lose belly skin, exercise will help. Working out will build and strengthen your abdominal muscles and help you to lose belly fat. Once the fat is gone, the belly skin will slowly start to stitch itself to the muscles giving it a firmer and more muscular look. So what are those exercises that can help you to tighten loose belly skin?
Several exercises will help you fine-tune your body and help you tighten loose skin on your stomach. According to fitday.com, the following physical activities help greatly to get rid of loose skin on the belly:
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