Introduction
As the skin ages, the breakdown of collagen and elastin in the skin tissue can cause the face to sag. Even the natural effects of gravity can affect the firmness of your skin. To fight these effects, women and men alike have turned to cosmetic fixes, ranging from creams to surgery, to tighten the skin of the face and ward off the signs of aging.
Non-Surgical
By far the most popular and affordable means of tightening the skin of the face are non-surgical cosmetic creams, lotions and facial exercises. Cosmetic creams and lotions can contain both synthetic and natural products that help tone the skin and encourage the production of collagen. For example, many products contain substances such as kinetin, retinol and tea extracts, which each have natural abilities to ward off the causes of skin sagging.
Exercises have also grown in popularity as non-surgical options to facial skin tightening. The idea behind these exercises is to strengthen and grow the muscles beneath the skin. This provides more muscle base for the skin to attach to, keeping the skin tighter on the muscle tissue.
Surgical
When non-surgical measures are inadequate, many patients turn to cosmetic surgeons for surgical facial skin tightening. By far, the most popular options in this area are the thread lift and the full face lift. A thread lift is a less invasive procedure that involves inserting threads into the skin to support specific sagging areas. A full face lift is much more invasive, and involves the surgical lifting and pulling of the facial skin to tighten the face. A full face lift takes as much as six weeks to heal, but does achieve the best results.
Laser
For those looking for more of a middle option between surgical and non-surgical procedures, there is a laser lift. Laser face tightening involves the use of a laser to resurface sagging and wrinkled areas of skin. Although this does not get rid of the sagging itself, it does reduce the look of sagging skin.
Botox
Another middle option for those looking for a quick fix to loose skin is Botox. Botox involves the injection of Botulinum toxin, which helps lessen the look of sagging skin and wrinkles. Botox is often injected with other facial fillers, such as hyaluronic acid of collagen, to plump the skin and make facial sagging less noticeable. Botox and other filler injections come with some serious side effects, especially if performed by unexperienced or unlicensed practitioners.
Member Comments