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Skin Tightening – How Laser Treatments Firm Your Face and Stomach ...

Loose sagging skin on our face, stomach, arms and other areas is very distressing to many of us. Loose skin or integument (integument – medical term for skin) makes us look old and out of shape, no matter how hard we work out and try to stay fit. In the past, effective skin tightening required plastic surgical procedures like face lift and tummy tuck. However, in the past few years, many new non-surgical and laser skin tightening methods have been developed. The new skin tightening technology has been steadily getting better as the machines improve and as doctors learn how to maximize the results achieved.

Today, often using a combination of different methods, substantial skin tightening can be achieved without surgery, a very different situation than just 3-4 years ago when Thermage, Titan, Refirme, and LuxIR Deep were introduced. There are many skin tightening advertisements that can be misleading, so you really need to be an informed consumer and understand the technology if you are going to achieve the result that you desire. Below I will explain how the new skin tightening technology works and which methods are the best.

How Non-surgical Skin Tightening Works

Tight, firm skin requires good elasticity. Elasticity means the ability of the skin or integument to snap back or tighten after it has been displaced or pulled away from the body. Good elasticity depends on healthy collagen and elastin fibers that lie very deep, near the bottom of the dermis, the deep layer of our integument below the surface. Collagen and elastin fibers act like small rubber bands that hold the integument tight against our body, and pull the loose tissue back when it is stretched or pulled.

Aging, sun damage from ultraviolet (UV) light, smoking, stress, excessive alcohol intake and an unhealthy diet and lifestyle all destroy collagen and elastin in the dermis and cause the integument to loosen and sag. Stretching caused by pregnancy or rapid weight loss after dieting or gastric bypass surgery also destroys collagen and elastin in the dermis and results in sagging and loss of tone.

All laser and non-surgical skin tightening methods work by stimulating the growth of new collagen and elastin in the dermis. When you heat collagen and elastin to 66 degrees centigrade, the collagen and elastin fibers shrink or tighten, and are remodeled with new collagen and elastin formation. The effect of this skin tightening and new collagen and elastin formation is that the deep dermis contracts and becomes firmer and the loose tissue is tightened.

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