Foods That Boost Skin Elasticity
Your skins elasticity depends on collagen, a protein that helps your skin remain firm and smooth. However, as you age, your bodys collagen production declines. This can be countered by eating the right foods and taking vitamin supplements. These nutrients also have antioxidant properties that fight off free radicals that damage your skin.
Eating foods that promote collagen formation will firm up loose skin. Collagen is made up of amino acids, which are the building blocks of protein. Although your body can make some of these amino acids, its best to eat complete proteins, which contain all nine essential amino acids.
Eating protein-rich food such as fish and eggs is a good way to retain the elasticity of your skin. It also helps prevent the loss of muscle and builds new ones. Eating protein after strength training is especially beneficial. Proteins are also hydrating, which helps keep skin tight and supple. Drink at least 64 to 100 ounces of water every day.
The innermost layer of your skin is made up of proteins. Collagen provides strength to your skin and elastin provides tightness. If you gain weight, your skin may stretch and become loose. In these circumstances, your collagen and elastin fibers may be damaged, which results in saggy skin and wrinkles.
Building Muscle And Reducing Excess Skin
There are 2 layers of tissue under your skin: fat and muscle. They press against the skin to keep it from sagging loosely from your body.
When you gain a lot of weight, your skin expands with it to make room. Just the same, when you loose weight, your skin retracts with your body. If you lose weight too quickly, your skin cant shrink at the same rate as quick as fat cells. This creates loose skin. With various forms of the starvation dieting and large amounts of cardio, not only do you lose weight, but you can lose muscle, too. This creates a void between your skin and tissue.
Building muscle fills the looseness left behind by a rapid amount of weight loss. Whether you are just starting to lose weight, or youve already lost, implement weight lifting into your regime. Remember to focus on losing weight, which means losing fat not muscle.
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Skin Elasticity Is Dependent On Two Primary Factors: Age And Genetics But Lifestyle Choices Matter Too
Typically, younger patients with thicker and more sebaceous skin will have more skin contraction during weight loss due to better elasticity, Devgan says. Starting in the 20s, tissue elasticity begins to decline. Even in the absence of weight fluctuation, loss of tissue turgor and decreased firmness can be seen in midface descent in the late 20s, breast laxity in the 30s, abdominal laxity in the 40s, and extremity laxity in the 50s.
However, everyones body is different, Devgan says. There is a tremendous amount of variability in the human experience, so some patients may lose 50 pounds with minimal change in their body, while others can lose as few as 10 and see tissue laxity. If you are genetically blessed with unusually superb tissue elasticity, Devgan says, it can be less dramatic.
Also, lifestyle choices can factor in, as well, Boston-based dermatologist Ranella Hirsch says. How long were you at the weight you started losing from? Are you a smoker? Do you spend a lot of unprotected time in the sun? All these factors play into skin elasticity.
Try Regular Strength Training
Add strength-training workouts to shape and tone the muscles. Building muscle tone may also have a positive effect on loose skin.
Situps and pushups are go-to gut busters, but Pilates, yoga, and barre classes include moves like planks that force you to tighten your core, hip, and glute muscles for extended periods of time. This improves muscle tone, helping to tighten and lengthen you out.
If youre taking a class or working with a trainer, let the instructor know that you recently gave birth. There may be certain moves you need to avoid.
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Lifestyle Modifications To Tighten Skin
A combination of resistance training, aerobic exercise and a healthy diet can help you lose body fat, which will firm up your abdominal area. “Nutrition and exercise have a huge influence on skin elasticity,” Geoff Tripp, CSCS, ACSM EP-C, CPT, a certified strength and conditioning specialist and head of fitness at Trainiac, tells LIVESTRONG.com.
Once you’ve maintained your weight loss, Tripp says sticking to a healthy diet is key to keeping the weight off, especially since poor choices in your diet can lead to weight gain and an increase in fat mass, which has the potential to stretch out your skin again.
When it comes to specific exercises to strengthen your abdominal area, Tripp says exercise needs to be stressful enough to train your muscles to increase tone, so adding weights, bands, cables and other resistance tools instead of just working with your body weight can help. His go-to exercises for core muscle activation include:
Common Causes Of Loose Saggy Skin On Arms
If youve recently lost a bunch of weight especially in your arms then you may notice that you have excess skin. But, working out isnt entirely the culprit of your loose skin. Your skin contains collagen and elastin that allow it to stretch and constrict as your weight fluctuates. As you gain and lose muscle when working out, your skin will adjust to make room for the change in muscle mass. But, if your collagen and elastin are deteriorating, then your skin wont be able to snap back leaving you with loose or sagging skin.
There are many reasons you may be losing skin elasticity. The most common include:
- Chronic conditions including Ehlers-Danlos syndrome
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How To Tighten Skin After Weight Loss: Loose Skin Vs Excess Fat
Before you tackle trying to get rid of any excess skin, make sure what you are trying to get rid of is loose skin. Many times, after weight loss, loose skin is mistaken for excess fat which is soft and jiggly. If you are able to pinch more than an inch of skin between your fingers, than you probably have more fat to lose before tightening your skin.
Until the fat is gone, your skin will not retract. Your skin adapts to its surroundings, internally and externally. This means as long as fat remains, it will stay molded to the fat. It is not until there is a void that the skin will retract.
If you are considering surgery, you should wait until your body fat percentage hits 10% for men, 20% for women. This allows your body levels to fall where the subcutaneous fat becomes low enough for your body to assess the state of your skin. If you become lean enough, you might resolve the problems with your loose skin.
Its also important to remember that certain fat stores more in places where its harder to burn than others and can be associated with loose skin like:
The Hassle Of Saggy Skin After Weight Loss
Many people have the misconception that weight loss results in a younger, more attractive appearance. They spend hundreds of dollars on diets, exercise regimens, and surgery in hopes of shedding those pesky pounds and looking good. However, many peoples body changes do not turn out as expected after this strenuous lifestyle change.
One particular group people that can fall victim of this are people who have lost weight through any avenueother than surgeryand have shrunken skin. People who suffer from loose skin after weight loss may think the issue stems from muscle loss, but the body is actually holding onto weight for purposes beyond utility.
Shedding pounds for the first time, your body will have to shrink down in order for you to fit into small size clothes. This can cause loose and wrinkled skin around your stomach, hip, or thigh areas. It is possible for these areas to tighten up again after losing weight. Care to know how? Read on.
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What Causes Loose Skin After Weight Loss
Those who have undergone significant weight loss because of exercise or through bariatric surgery, often find the loose skin frustrating. Dr Kapoor says, The amount of loose skin is not proportional to how much weight you lose but it is also affected by many factors such as your eating habits, genetics, smoking and sun exposure.
The good news is that some simple treatments can help prevent or treat loose skin. He adds, Loose skin happens because of loosening of collagen and elastic fibres. This not only makes you look aged but the skin folds can also be a breeding ground for bacteria, causing infection and chafing.
Forma Skin Tightening Treatment
The FORMA skin tightening treatment is one of the best ways for removing excess skin after weight loss. This technology uses radiofrequency energy to target the deep layers of the skin. The energy stimulates new collagen in the targeted area. Collagen is a natural ingredient in your connective tissue, which firms the skin and significantly improves elasticity. The process also helps to restore skin texture and hydration.
The FORMA treatment can apply to different body parts, including loose skin in the arms, legs, or abdomen. This non-invasive technique is virtually painless and comes with little downtime. You may experience mild redness after the procedure, but it will naturally subside after a few hours.
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If You Are Having Weight Loss Surgery Consider A Surgical One
Though I personally havent opted for weight loss surgery, many doand there is zero shame in that. But because of the more rapid pace with which weight is lost after surgery comes the greater likelihood of excess skin. Why do we have to worry about excess skin, especially after more rapid weight loss? Its because collagen and elastin fibers are destroyed when skin is stretched significantly and remains stretched for an extended amount of time, New York City plastic surgeon David Shafer says. Patients should plan on staged procedures if having a weight loss surgery followed by a skin removal surgery.
Most Tightening And Lifting Without Surgery
Minimally invasive skin tightening proceduresWhile these procedures can give you more noticeable results, they still cannot give you the results of a surgical procedure like a facelift, eyelid surgery, or neck lift. Minimally invasive skin tightening, however, requires less downtime than surgery. It also carries less risk of side effects.
You will be sedated during this type of procedure and will have a few days of downtime.
If you have a minimally invasive skin tightening procedure, heres what you can expect.
RadiofrequencyWhen you have this type of radiofrequency, a thin tube , is inserted into your skin to heat up the tissue beneath. This allows your dermatologist to provide heat exactly where you need it to tighten loose skin. Dermatologists often use this procedure to tighten the neck or upper arms.
Bottom line: Putting the heat where its needed allows you to see results faster usually in about 1 month. In some research studies, patients see gradual tightening and lifting for close to 1 year.
After the procedure, youll need someone to drive you home and you may need to wear a compression garment for 4 or 5 days. Youll also need to care for the wound.
Laser resurfacing This is the most effective procedure for tightening loose skin. Unlike the laser treatment described above, this procedure requires some downtime. Youll need to stay home for 5 to 7 days.
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Can Compression Garments Help Loose Skin
You must have already seen compression garments in the market that claim to take care of loose skin. However, keep in mind that they do not improve loose skin but only minimize the cosmetic side effects of loose skin. It can help reduce irritation, pain, itching, and the risk of infection but doesnt tighten the skin.
Discuss with your cosmetic surgeon about the right treatment for maintaining weight loss and preventing and treating loose skin.
Contact Innovations Medical For Skin Tightening Treatments
If youre suffering from loose and sagging skin, Innovations Medical is here for you. Our skilled professionals help you decide which treatment is best for you keeping you informed and confident in the next steps. Weve been helping our patients look and feel their best since 2005, and even our most advanced procedures are often minimally invasive.
To find out if skin tightening treatments are right for you, and to learn how Innovations Medical can improve your life, call us at or schedule an appointment.
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How To Tighten Loose Neck Skin Without Surgery
- Loose neck skin develops due to aging, overexposure to the suns harmful ultraviolet radiation and rapid weight loss.
- Consistent use of at-home creams or lotions and exercise can mildly improve skin laxity of the neck.
- Nonsurgical skin tightening treatments improve skin elasticity in the neck with little to no downtime.
- Cosmetic surgery is the quickest, most dramatic and longest-lasting method to tighten loose neck skin.
Loose neck skin, or turkey neck, is a common cosmetic issue that becomes more prominent over time and with age. Fortunately, excessive and sagging skin on the neck and jowls can be treated through a variety of at-home treatments, nonsurgical methods and plastic surgery.
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Tightening Skin: Potential Solutions To Loose Skin
Fortunately, there are solutions to the problem, ranging from natural remedies to surgical options.
While having loose skin after weight loss can be distressing, there are many options to reduced its prominence. Sometimes it retracts on its own, other times further procedures are required. But it is not something that needs to be lived with.
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Preventing Neck Skin From Sagging
Maintaining a healthy lifestyle and skin care routine can impede the development of loose neck skin.
- Maintain a healthy diet sugar-heavy diets can increase signs of aging.
- Maintain a consistent weight avoid rapid, excessive weight loss.
- Moisturize and use creams and lotions to hydrate your skin.
- Use a sunblock with SPF 30 protection to protect against photodamage.
- Avoid smoking this habit will increase skin aging.
What Is Saggy Skin
From a literal meaning, when something is saggy, it simply means it has become loose or it has lost its firmness. So, saggy skin is loose skin. A saggy skin loses its definition due to a lack or inadequacy of collagen and elastin which are the primary factors that enable the skin to be firm and even maintain its firmness after contracting or stretching. Loose skin mostly manifests on the face, thighs, arms, legs and stomach.
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Medical Practices That Are Not Conventional
While body-contouring surgery seems to be the most popular technique for removing loose skin, there are less invasive alternatives that have a lower risk of complications:
- Treatment with radiofrequency. This treatment to reduce loose skin from extra weight loss may combine massage, radiofrequency, and infrared light. Although this treatment does not cause weight loss, it may aid in the reduction of tiny fat cell sites.
- Ultrasound. Controlled research of ultrasonic therapy in people who had bariatric surgery found no objective effect on loose skin. People did, nevertheless, report relief from physical pain following treatment.
Although these alternative techniques tend to have fewer dangers, the effects may not be as striking as body-contouring surgery. They are usually gradual, and they take time.
Factors That Influence The Loss Of Skin Elasticity After Weight Loss
Your skin needs elasticity to bounce back to its original shape and size after being flexed. When you lose weight, the skin will be looser in some spots than in others because the fat is distributed unevenly underneath your skin. This loss of elasticity can have an impact on your appearance and body image after weight loss since it takes a lot of work to keep things looking good!
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