What You Can Do When Your Skin Starts to Sag

If you’re like many people, then you’re probably constantly monitoring your skin for signs of aging such as new lines and wrinkles, dark spots, and sagging skin. 

For some, the first signs of skin laxity are a signal to panic. After all, wrinkles and lines are relatively easy to deal with, thanks to laser treatments and non-invasive injections. Even dark spots can be easily concealed with makeup or banished with a laser treatment or chemical peel.

Sagging skin often seems more difficult to deal with than other signs of aging. In reality, though, there are plenty of things you can do when you first notice that your skin has started to sag. So what can you do to reverse sagging skin? It all depends on how much the skin has already changed.

Why Does Skin Sag?

Before you start to take action against sagging skin, it helps to understand what makes your skin loose and droopy in the first place. Essentially, it has to do with age-related changes in two essential components of the skin. Everyone’s body produces collagen and elastin, two types of proteins. Collagen and elastin both play a role in supporting the skin and helping it stay firm and supple.

As you get older, the production of these two key proteins drops. External factors like sun damage can also damage collagen and elastin. When these proteins become less plentiful or are damaged, the skin loses its firmness and starts to droop.

Step 1: Preventative Measures to Slow Down Future Sagging

While you can’t stop the march of time, you can do a few things to protect your skin and slow down the aging process. Preventative measures involve preserving collagen and elastin and minimizing damage to the skin.

Protecting your skin from sun damage, by limiting the time you spend in the sun and by wearing sunscreen all day, every day, will help considerably. If you smoke, it’s a good idea to quit, for the sake of your skin and your overall health. Tobacco damages collagen and is one of the leading causes of skin aging.

Step 2: Creams and Lotions

Using skin care products can be both a preventative measure to slow down skin sagging and a way to subtly improve any sagging that’s already taken place. If you’re going to use skin care products to help minimize sagging, you should try to manage your expectations and have an understanding of which ingredients will help.

You won’t get dramatic results from slathering a lotion or moisturizer on your face and neck day and night. If you’ve already got a substantial amount of skin laxity and droopiness, skincare might not do much at all. But lotions that add moisture to the skin can create a subtle plumping effect almost instantly, which can make you feel better about the way your skin looks.

When looking for skin care products to help minimize sagging, keep an eye out for retinol or retinoids in the ingredients list. While retinol isn’t a miracle worker, it does help to stimulate collagen production, which can give your skin a boost.

Step 3: Ultherapy

If skin care products aren’t doing the trick, your next step is to consider an in-office, minimally-invasive treatment, such as Ultherapy, to help treat sagging skin.

While most non-surgical treatments don’t specifically target sagging skin, Ultherapy does. It uses ultrasound energy to stimulate the production of collagen in the dermis (the lower layer of skin). Ultherapy tightens and firms skin that is just beginning to droop and sag. The results are long-lasting and the treatment itself is short and simple. Many people need just one session, which takes less than an hour. After the session, however, it can take a few months for the final results to appear.

Step 4: Facial Plastic Surgery

In some cases, skin sagging is severe enough that creams, lotions, and non-surgical treatments aren’t enough to reverse the problem. For some people, the best way to cope with sagging skin is through surgery. Facelifts and other facial surgeries are specifically designed to tighten loose skin and to help tone underlying tissue, creating a more youthful look.

What steps should you take when it comes to keeping your skin looking firm and youthful? Dr. Paul Vitenas and the staff at Mirror Mirror Beauty Boutique can evaluate your skin and help you decide what to do to slow down or reverse sagging. Call 281-810-9083 to schedule a consultation today.