4 Ways to Tighten Sagging Skin Without Surgery

Skin sags when fat, collagen and elastin break down. It's a common concern associated with ageing. As we age, our skin not slows down its ability to repair and regenerate itself, the production of essential fibres collagen and elastin also slows down. Collagen and elastin being the key scaffolding proteins that provide firmness and tightness to the skin, the natural fallout is lax and sagging skin.

Dr Kiran Sethi, an integrative aesthetic and wellness doctor based in New Delhi, says, "While being a part of the natural ageing process, laxity or loss of elasticity is also caused by extrinsic and environmental factors such as lifestyle, diet, UV exposure, stress and smoking. So, while we cannot prevent ageing, we can certainly adopt a series of practices and skincare products that will slow down the ageing process and replenish the lost reserves of collagen and elastin."

Here are some ways suggested by Dr Kiran that will help you firm up your skin without going under the knife.

Skin tightening creams

Skin tightening or firming creams are based on ingredients that help boost the skin’s production of collagen and elastin. Retinoids which are vitamin A derivatives and peptides which are building blocks of proteins are two of the most popular and widely used ingredients in skin firming creams. While retinoids help inhibit the breakdown of collagen, peptides help boost collagen generation. However, creams need regular and long term application to show positive results on the skin.

Hyaluronic acid products

Hyaluronic acid (HA) is another highly trending product in the skincare world today. A hydrophilic substance, HA lends the skin ability to retain moisture, helps boost generation of collagen and elastin and results in a tighter and plumper looking skin. HA based skin bio remodelling procedure Profhilo is a new approach to anti-ageing which works by administrating highly pure forms of HA in multiple points on the skin to result in visibly younger, firmer and vibrant looking skin.

Facial contouring

Face contouring procedures use energy based devices to achieve a contouring and tightening effect on sagging and lax skin. Face contouring platforms like Accent Prime use powerful ultrasound and RF energies to burn undesirable fat cells and mobilize collagen fibres into action and achieve a tightening effect across the face including at jaws and neck.

Laser skin resurfacing

Laser skin resurfacing procedures use laser energy to remove the damaged layers of the skin and induce the skin’s natural healing mechanism. The new skin cells that develop following the procedure give the skin a tighter and firmer appearance.