“How can I tighten my skin without surgery?”
I want to tighten my facial skin. I am afraid of the surgery. How can I tighten my skin without surgery?
5 Answers
PlasticSurgeonPlasticSurgeon
There are really no great devices available today that will tighten skin.
Daily or near daily (nightly) application of 0.1% tretinoin to facial skin stimulates dermal collagen synthesis and preserves youthful features. Radiofrequency, CO2 or erbium laser, chemical (croton oil or deep TCA) peels, plasma (Renuvion), and/or dermabrasion tighten facial skin also, but are mainly indicated for textural aging, fine superficial wrinkles and roughness of the skin. Injectable fillers also create an appearance of tighter skin by volumizing underlying soft tissue. The gold standard for treatment of gravitational contour aging remains surgery, and there are many minor surgical procedures besides facelift that can produce major improvements.
There are a variety of non-surgical options for facial rejuvenation or resurfacing:
* Laser - ablates or removes the outer layer of skin by shooting beams of light to target molecules in your tissues, usually water or else pigment-containing material in your skin (like melanin or tattoo ink). Nowadays, lasers are usually administered in a "fractionated 'manner (like aerating soil). Good for lighter complexioned individuals; caution for those with darker skin types, as you risk post-inflammatory hyperpigmentation (PIH) and may require pre-treatment with a skin bleaching agent called Hydroquinone.
* Chemical peel - resurfaces the skin by chemical exfoliation. There are many off-the-shelf peel kits out there, but it would be advisable to have your skin treated at a plastic surgery or dermatology practice, staffed with those comfortable applying chemical peels, which are essentially controlled but well-tolerated chemical burns to the face.
* Microdermabrasion - an applicator rapidly injures the outermost layer of skin with tiny needles that lead to pinpoint bleeding and stimulates recovery with production of fresh, healthier skin cells. Among the brands you may see out there is Skin Pen, originally approved by the FDA to treat acne scarring. Some med spas will combine microdermabrasion with administration of your own serum ("vampire facial") or with hyaluronic acid (HA fillers are what are given to correct facial wrinkles or to augment your lips or cheeks). However, current data is not strong regarding the addition of these materials to your dermabrasion.
* Radiofrequency - ablates skin as a laser would, but by administration of energy other than light. Non-surgical RF is very popular these days and can be utilized to resurface skin on par with what microdermabrasion can do. Heavier duty RF is often combined with liposuction (called 'RFAL' or radiofrequency assisted liposuction), and those procedures tend to be done in an operating room for your comfort.
There are an overwhelming number of other technologies out there, either variations of the above or newer and more experimental treatments. But the above four options are a good start, and many offices have at least one of them to help you out. Take care!
* Laser - ablates or removes the outer layer of skin by shooting beams of light to target molecules in your tissues, usually water or else pigment-containing material in your skin (like melanin or tattoo ink). Nowadays, lasers are usually administered in a "fractionated 'manner (like aerating soil). Good for lighter complexioned individuals; caution for those with darker skin types, as you risk post-inflammatory hyperpigmentation (PIH) and may require pre-treatment with a skin bleaching agent called Hydroquinone.
* Chemical peel - resurfaces the skin by chemical exfoliation. There are many off-the-shelf peel kits out there, but it would be advisable to have your skin treated at a plastic surgery or dermatology practice, staffed with those comfortable applying chemical peels, which are essentially controlled but well-tolerated chemical burns to the face.
* Microdermabrasion - an applicator rapidly injures the outermost layer of skin with tiny needles that lead to pinpoint bleeding and stimulates recovery with production of fresh, healthier skin cells. Among the brands you may see out there is Skin Pen, originally approved by the FDA to treat acne scarring. Some med spas will combine microdermabrasion with administration of your own serum ("vampire facial") or with hyaluronic acid (HA fillers are what are given to correct facial wrinkles or to augment your lips or cheeks). However, current data is not strong regarding the addition of these materials to your dermabrasion.
* Radiofrequency - ablates skin as a laser would, but by administration of energy other than light. Non-surgical RF is very popular these days and can be utilized to resurface skin on par with what microdermabrasion can do. Heavier duty RF is often combined with liposuction (called 'RFAL' or radiofrequency assisted liposuction), and those procedures tend to be done in an operating room for your comfort.
There are an overwhelming number of other technologies out there, either variations of the above or newer and more experimental treatments. But the above four options are a good start, and many offices have at least one of them to help you out. Take care!
Options such as laser and radiofrequency treatments are my go to treatments for many of my patients, and I often combine this with fillers for optimum effect, but of course, the treatment must be ideal for you
Ultherapy
