Our Best Tips to Fix And Prevent Saggy Skin
In this article:
- Causes of Saggy Skin
- Common Areas of Saggy Skin
- 5 Natural Skin Tightening Ingredients
- 5 Amazing Ways to Tighten Skin
- Final Thoughts
Skin sags due to many reasons, but most of the time saggy skin happens because of the loss of collagen and elastin.
Skin sagging is a gradual progression – one day you wake up to find your skin much looser than the night before, almost as if it had happened overnight, but it has been happening since probably the day you were born.
Saggy skin, or loose skin, is a common skin condition that can manifest anywhere on the body. On the face, on the belly, under the arms, or on the back. The skin appears loose, stretchy, and often fragile in texture with wrinkles.
While anyone is susceptible to saggy skin in various ways, aging is likely the biggest reason why it occurs.
Naturally, to prevent skin from sagging further, and to restore skin to its firm and supple original state, the solution is to tighten skin.
Skin tightening is such a broad concept that could involve many devices, surgical and non-surgical methods. Skin tightening techniques also vary based on the area of skin you would like to tighten.
For example, if you think your face is sagging a little, you can choose to tighten your facial skin through skincare or a facelift. If you have loose skin under your upper arms, you can tighten it through exercises, massages, or surgical procedures.
To help you tighten the skin in the most natural ways possible, we have compiled an ultimate guide in skin tightening.
Main Causes of Saggy Skin
Aging & Gravity
Aging and gravity pull, the two causes of saggy skin which are beyond our control. Skin aging is no myth.
Every organ in our body will lose its functionality over time as we age, including the skin, the biggest vital organ in the human body.
The loss of collagen and elastin over time makes skin unable to hold its firmness. Facial muscles can also weaken over time, resulting in the droopy appearance commonly seen among older people.
Skin is also affected by gravity whenever the body engages in an upright position, eventually, our skin would give up the fight and sag in defeat.
Drastic Fat Loss
Dramatic change in weight during a short period will definitely cause saggy skin. Many people who have gone through a drastic weight loss transformation have to undergo surgeries to remove excess skin.
"Skin has a finite elasticity, and if pushed beyond the limit of that elasticity upon weight gain, the skin cannot fully contract back down upon subsequent weight loss,” explains Joshua Zuckerman, M.D., surgical director at New York City-based Zuckerman Plastic Surgery.
Regardless of the weight-loss method, let it be a year-long sweat session in the gym or bariatric surgery, the only way to tighten post weight loss loose skin is through surgery.
UV Radiation
UV radiation present in the sunlight is also an ever-present reason why skin sags, but it can be easily prevented by wearing sunscreen.
UV radiation reduces skin elasticity by killing off collagen and elastin existing in the skin, destroying the skin’s support network, causing wrinkles to deepen and skin to sag.
If you are already suffering from loose facial skin, sun exposure could worsen the saggy appearance if you fail to care for your skin before and after sun damage properly.
Common Areas of Saggy Skin
Face
Your face starts to droop between the age of 35 and 40 years. Because we spend so much time checking out our face through all kinds of reflective surfaces, saggy skin on the face usually catches our attention right away. These could appear under eyes, around the cheeks, and on the chin.
Neck
Sagging jowls and turkey neck are two strong pieces of evidence of aging-related saggy skin. When your jowls begin to sag, you will have a fixed angry look because the lines and loose skin make your lips look downturned. Moreover, saggy skin around the neck will make your neck resemble a turkey’s wrinkly, droopy, bunched-up neck, not a great sight.
Upper Arms
You might have noticed how soft your arms feel if you have lost weight, or how stretchy and soft your grandparents’ upper arms are. There is usually more fat stored in upper arms, weight loss, and aging will induce saggy skin under upper arms.
Stomach
Similar to upper arms, loose skin on the stomach area is usually due to fat loss if not aging. The excess skin is often abdominal skin that reaches down well past the belly area, appearing wrinkly and bunched up. However, kudos for trying to be healthier!
5 Natural Skin Tightening Ingredients
Aloe Vera
One of the most hyped natural skincare ingredients, Aloe Vera is truly omnipotent. From treating burns to calming acne, this gel-textured plant deeply nourishes the skin and feeds the skin with its bounty of antioxidants. Aloe vera tightens skin by strengthening the skin’s barrier. You can use it as a face mask or apply it on the skin where it needs to be tightened.
Egg White
Egg white masks are known for creating a skin tightening aftereffect. Egg white mask often dries down and pulls skin tighter while nourishing it with its high concentration of protein.
The protein albumin in egg whites helps improve the elasticity of the skin, boost skin cell regeneration, and give skin an overall healthy glow.
Honey
Raw honey is not just a powerful superfood, it benefits skin greatly too. Honey is produced by a combination of enzyme activity and live bacteria which makes it an incredible antioxidant with great anti-inflammatory and healing properties.
The components in honey speed up skin cell’s metabolism, which helps achieve a skin tightening effect.
Yogurt
Another skin-benefiting superfood that can be eaten or applied topically to tighten skin.
A study has found that the high calcium, antioxidants, and probiotics content in plain yogurt increase the skin’s elasticity to a certain degree. People often find their skin appearing suppler, more radiant after using yogurt face masks.
Epsom Salt
A lesser-known ingredient for skin tightening, Epsom salt has been a regular component in any salt bath products.
Doctors have prescribed Epsom salt for detoxification due to its magnesium content. By getting rid of the toxins and moisture that could cause the skin to sag, adding Epsom salt into your skincare routine also improves blood circulation, boosting skin’s reproduction ability thus tightening the skin.
5 Ways to Tighten Skin Naturally
1. Endurance Training
If you have loose skin on your body, a great way to tighten the skin naturally is by adding more strength training to your normal gym routine.
If the excess fat on your body has distended the skin for a long time, the skin will lose elasticity, and the lost fat will leave room that skin could no longer snap back to. Strength training builds lean muscles that fill in the looseness of the skin and create a visibly tighter, more toned look.
Weight lifting is a good way to start. If you have loose skin from weight loss and pregnancy, speak to a doctor or consult a professional for a planned endurance training in order to tighten the skin naturally.
2. Homemade Masks & Anti-Wrinkle Masks
Making your own face masks or body masks for skin tightening is the ultimate home remedy for loose skin.
Make sure you use the aforementioned ingredients which are scientifically proven to tighten skin effectively.
An egg white and honey mask is a classic face skin tightening mask, or you can apply straight aloe vera gel all over your body.
For the face, jowls, chin, and décolleté skin tightening, you can try Oia’s all-in-one silicone anti-wrinkle patches.
These patches are designed in shapes specifically targeting the area where loose skin commonly appears. Backed by science and experiments, the silicone material effectively smoothes out wrinkles and fine lines, strengthens skin and under skin muscles, therefore achieving a skin tightening result when used long term.
Oia’s Derma Facelift Mask is fortified with all-natural ingredients (vitamin E, seaweed), and is designed to tone, hydrate, and sculpt the jawline without the consequences of surgery.
A great product to tighten skin on the chin and jawline area, the facelift mask replenishes the skin while shaping and firming the loose skin on all angles.
3. Apply Topical Vitamin C Treatments Daily
Vitamin C aids the body in the production of collagen and elastin.
As a powerful antioxidant, Vitamin C also fights against free radicals which accelerates skin aging. To tighten skin, reduce the appearance of saggy skin, Vitamin C is recommended for both consumption and topical application.
Oia’s Vitamin C serum is formulated with both Vitamin C and retinol, two powerhouses in the anti-aging department.
With the addition of Vitamin E and hyaluronic acid, your skin will retain maximum moisture while Vitamin C works its magic to tighten skin overnight!
4. Derma Rollers for Loose Skin
Similar to the science behind micro-needling and acupuncture, the derma roller is a roller equipped with many fine needles which creates micro-injuries as you roll it over your face, or elsewhere.
These micro-injuries stimulate collagen production, boost cell regeneration, and leave your skin new and radiant. It is not a painful process and frankly, you probably wouldn’t feel anything except great relaxation.
5. Avoid Drastic Diets, Eat Healthy
If you are contemplating a serious weight loss change for your health, do it slow and steady, avoid yo-yo diets or weight-loss surgeries.
Fast weight loss doesn’t allow enough time for the fat-stretched skin to spring back, the loose skin will droop and stay that way unless you opt for a skin removal surgery.
Furthermore, a slow and steady diet is much easier to maintain and healthier than any drastic measures.
If you can lose 1-2 pounds a week, you won’t suffer too much loose skin consequence as someone who just had a weight loss surgery.
Eating a balanced combination of antioxidants, healthy fats, and proteins will do your body good, and help to tighten your skin naturally.
Skin needs nutritional boosters to stay healthy and refreshed, check out the 10 superfoods for the best skin health.
Our Thoughts
NYC-based dermatologist Doris Day couldn’t summarize skin tightening better in her statement with Goop.
“I think you get the best results doing a little of a lot of things—skincare, neuromodulators, diet, exercise, fillers, devices. It isn’t about going big in one particular area. We age in many different ways, and so it’s better to do a little of one thing and a little bit of another.”
Because skin tightening is an expansive concept, ways to prevent, combat, and treat loose skin vary differently.
If your problem isn’t too severe, start with non-invasive home remedies. As long as you are persistent in taking care of your skin the right way, results will come through in the long run.
Fellow NYC dermatologist Robert Anolik believes that prevention is the key for saggy skin. “There’s no substitute for regular sunscreen use and a good lifestyle—no smoking, low alcohol, and sugar consumption, exercise, keeping down inflammation in general.
Do it and you won’t have as much visible aging to begin with, and any results you get with anti-aging dermatology will be better and hold longer.” Indeed, the secret to great skin isn’t the best product to use but excellent life choices and consistent skincare routine. Little things as small as drinking water, moisturizing, and wearing sunblock can make a huge difference in skin tightening!
While you are still evaluating the options for skin tightening, how about we interest you in our non-invasive, at-home, just-as-effective skin tightening range? All of our products have been vigorously tested by doctors to provide the safest, most effective, and natural skin solutions.
Feel free to express your thoughts on how to tighten the skin naturally with us, and do reach out if you have any skin problems, we would love to lend a helping hand!
Stay radiant,
Oia Skin Team