Overview
People consider reducing a few pounds is a great accomplishment in their life and losing weight can reduce the risk of several diseases. However, people who are managed to reduced weight will be left with loose skin and that can have a serious effect on their appearance. In this article, you are going to learn how to tighten the loose skin after losing weight and the best ways to get rid of it.
What are the causes of loose skin?
Your skin can save you from dangerous environments and is considered as the largest organ of the human body. Your skin consists of the following proteins including
- Collagen
- Elastin
Collagen is one of the important protein of your skin. The structure of skin consists of eighty percent of collagen. It provides you firmness and can give great strength to your skin. When it comes to elastin, it is responsible for keeping your skin tight.
As people gain weight, they will also open a room for abdomen for the growth of skin. Pregnancy is the best instance of skin expansion. If you don’t make efforts to lose weight, then the proteins of your skin might damage. It has been observed in research that people who have undergone a weight loss surgery are far less likely to develop new collagen.
What are the factors that can contribute to loss of skin elasticity?
There are a variety of factors that can contribute to loose skin after reducing weight. It includes
- Age
- Genes
- Length of time overweight
- Amount of weight lost
- Exposing your skin to the sun
- Smoking
Let’s discuss the above factors in detail:
Age
Older people are unable to tighten their skin following weight loss when compared with young adults.
Genes
Researches show that your genes might play a big role when you are making efforts to tighten loose skin after losing weight.
Length of time of overweight
The longer you stay overweight, the looser your skin will be after the loss of weight. Due to this reason, it is recommended not to stay for too long if you are overweight and make efforts to lose weight.
Amount of weight lost
It is not the best way to lose more pounds in a quick time and losing more weight quickly can result in more loose skin than you can imagine.
Exposing your skin to the sun
Research reveals that heavy sun exposure to your skin can damage the skin’s collagen and also negative effects on the function of elastin production.
Smoking
Heavy smoking may reduce the production of collagen and can destroy the collagen present in your skin and as a result, people suffer from sagging skin.
What are the problems faced by people due to excess loose skin?
People suffer from a lot of problems due to the result of loose skin followed by weight loss. The problems include
- Physical discomfort
- Reduced physical activity
- Skin irritation and breakdown
- Poor body image
Let’s discuss the above problems in detail
Physical discomfort
Loose skin can interfere with your daily activities and can make you feel uncomfortable.
Reduced physical activity
It has been observed in a study conducted on twenty-six women, seventy-six percent of the people are stopped doing physical activities due to their loose skin.
Skin irritation and breakdown
People suffer from skin pain and various infections as a result of loose skin who have undergone plastic surgery to tighten skin.
Poor body image
Loose skin can have a serious impact on the body image of anyone.
Ten ways to tighten loose skin after losing weight
Exercise
Exercise can help you to manage your appearance of loose skin. It can also help things like improving
- sleep quality,
- mood,
- constipation, improving stiffness, and
- balance.
It is almost like one medication to cover all of those aspects. Exercises are almost as good as medication. Facial exercises are the best way to tighten your loose skin.
Firming creams
Firming creams are not effective in tightening the loose skin after you losing weight. But people who are suffering from crepey skin are improved their condition with the use of firming creams.
You will observe the results in a quick time but the bad part here is the results aren’t long-lasting. People can choose retinoid cream to prevent their skin from further damage and it works on the particles which are negatively affecting collagen.
Retinoid firming creams are available in all health stores or you can buy them online.
Collagen hydrolysate
Collagen hydrolysate is a supplement that can reduce the effects of aging and boost the levels of collagen. It is an oral supplement that can keep your skin healthy by increasing the levels of hyaluronic acid. This oral supplement can speed up the process of wound healing. It has been observed in a study that women who are consuming ten grams of oral peptides daily before sleeping have observed the improvement in their skin after using the supplement for four weeks.
Antioxidants
These antioxidants work by reducing the effects of wrinkles on the skin by equalizing the reactive oxygen species (ROS). These species can contribute to the cause of reducing the collagen effects on your body.
Zinc, coenzyme Q10, selenium, epigallocatechin gallate (EGCG), and vitamins A, C, D, and E. People can get the essential antioxidants to their body by maintaining a healthy diet. Research shows that including the supplements of antioxidants in your diet can prevent you from getting further skin conditions.
It is advised to not to use these supplements in the long run as it can cause some severe side effects including
- Nausea
- Vomiting
- Pain in the abdomen
People with the underlying medical condition should speak with their physician before taking these supplements.
Massage
To improve the flow of your blood and to stimulate fibroblasts, your physician may suggest a massage. Fibroblasts have the capability of improving the function of connective tissues and as a result, it can keep your skin firm.
It has been observed in research that using mild skin massage device daily one minute for two times in a day can increase the expression of several skin molecules including
- Procollagen-1
- Fibrillin
- Tropoelastin
Ultrasound
Ultrasound is considered as a non-surgical procedure to tighten your loose skin and generally works on the deepest layers of the skin. It is usually taking two to six months to tighten your loose skin and this treatment can have a positive effect on your appearance for one year.
Laser treatments
This is one of the best treatment for tighten loose skin after losing weight especially on body parts like upper arms and belly. Laser treatment works on the epidermis which is considered as the outer layer of the skin. To get the best results of laser treatment, people should take at least 3 – 5 treatments. This treatment is recommended for the following body parts including
- Upper arms
- Belly
Nonsurgical radiofrequency
In this nonsurgical procedure, your skin specialist will put a device against the skin to heat the tissue. People often observe the changes in their skin after one treatment.
But the full effect of the treatment is usually observed by the patient after six months. If you follow your dermatologist advice even after the treatment, then the results may last for two to three years.
Surgical radiofrequency
It is considered a minimally invasive procedure and your dermatologist will insert a tiny tube into the skin through your veins and apply the heat to the sites that require tightening. This procedure is mainly recommended on the following body parts. It includes
- Neck
- Upper arms
People can start seeing some changes after one month of taking this procedure. Your physician may give you anesthesia to make you feel unconscious before starting the procedure.
Laser resurfacing
It is the best type of treatment in minimally invasive procedures. This treatment option is for people with loose skin.
Your physician may suggest you take bed rest for five to seven days and you can observe the changes in your skin after the two weeks of this procedure.
How do you prevent loose skin?
It is not easy to prevent this condition for older people. But young adults can prevent loose skin by maintaining a well-balanced diet, reducing the sun exposure to their body, drinking water adequately, and quitting bad habits like smoking and drinking excessive alcohol can keep you away from getting loose skin.
Conclusion
Consult your doctor or a skin specialist immediately if you are experiencing any of the problems described above. Your doctor should evaluate you for other possible causes of your symptoms before treating loose skin.
Together, you and your doctor can determine the best treatment option to tighten your loose skin after losing weight. It is important to get prompt treatment and make some changes in your lifestyle as your part to prevent loose skin.
References
- https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/jocd.12174
- https://jddonline.com/articles/dermatology/S1545961616P0607X
- https://www.dovepress.com/daily-consumption-of-the-collagen-supplement-pure-gold-collagenreg-red-peer-reviewed-article-CIA
- https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0172624
- https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK21582/
- https://journals.lww.com/dermatologicsurgery/Abstract/2017/11000/Quantitative_Analysis_of_Face_and_Neck_Skin.3.aspx
- https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/jocd.12174
- https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0172624
- https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5404777/