By Cynthia Golomb, MD
Have you thought about getting a skin-tightening treatment for healthier, younger-looking skin? If so, now is the perfect time to learn more about some of the best skin-tightening treatments available and how to choose between them. Make saggy, wrinkly skin a thing of the past and learn all you need to know about the costs of skin-tightening treatments, whether you are a candidate and how to start the process for obtaining youthful skin.
Skin Can be Tightened Without Surgery
There are many non-surgical skin-tightening options for the face and body. They all involve energy sources that target the deep dermis of the skin to provide smoother skin. The energy causes trauma to stimulate the body’s healing response. The goal is to increase collagen and elastin, the natural supporting structures of the skin that decrease with age.
Patients are usually most interested in tightening skin on the face, neck, abdomen and arms.
Noninvasive skin-tightening devices use one of these energy sources: laser, radio frequency, microwave or ultrasound. In my 25 years of experience, I’ve learned which tools provide the best results for specific skin or body types. I’ve also found that multiple tools often get the desired result, such as combining the CO2 laser and RF Microneedling to treat the same area.
How to Decide Between Different Skin-Tightening Treatments
Your board certified dermatologist can recommend which treatment(s) would work best for your skin type and body type. By analyzing your unique skin, a dermatologist can determine which method would produce the best result for you. Also, remember that everyone’s body responds differently, so you may have to try more than one type of skin-tightening treatment to get the result you want.
Jowls
For jowls, I might not use an energy device at all. Silhouette Instalift sutures provide suspension to lift the deep layers of the skin in the mid-face or cheek area.
Upper Lip
There is also an injectable, the prescription hydrator SkinVive, that gives the appearance of tighter skin by hydrating it from the inside out. I’ve been impressed with how it smooths out the fine lines above the upper lip.
Thin & Crepey Skin
For thin-skinned patients with crepey skin, I prefer RF Microneedling with the Genius for the neck. Conversely, if a patient has a double chin, I will first use the fat-melting injectable Kybella and later do RF Microneedling.
Eyelids, Eyebrows & Periorbital Wrinkles
The CO2 laser is not typically thought of for skin tightening, but I’ve achieved great results using it to tighten the upper and lower eyelids. My fractional CO2 laser has been studied and shown to make a noticeable difference in eyelid skin tightening, eyebrow elevation and periorbital wrinkles.
To protect your eyes, I use metal shields inserted like large contact lenses after numbing eye drops to ensure the process is painless. Your skin is also topically numbed.
Severe Facial Wrinkles & Texture
The Tetra (Deka) CO2 laser is an ablative laser that vaporizes tissue and is more aggressive than non-ablative lasers that leave skin intact. C02 lasers like Tetra (Deka) induce biostimulation to initiate the body’s regenerative response and remove severe wrinkles in various areas of the face.
Although there is slightly more downtime, approximately a week, this laser can produce the most dramatic outcomes and is my number one choice for more severe facial wrinkles and texture.
My CO2 laser is also an effective treatment to remove Xanthelasma (yellow cholesterol deposits under the skin), improve acne scars, stretch marks, rhinophyma (bulbous nose of chronic rosacea) and precancerous lesions such as actinic keratoses and actinic cheilitis. I have particularly found it to be beneficial in treating the neck. It improves the appearance of crepey skin and necklace lines.
Who Is a Candidate for Non-Surgical Skin Tightening?
There are a few factors that determine whether an individual would be a candidate for non-surgical skin tightening, or if they should choose surgery instead.
For example, candidates with mild to moderate skin sagging often have great results from non-surgical skin-tightening treatments. The energy-based devices dermatologists use for skin tightening will provide results for patients with mild to moderate skin sagging, generally in 3 to 6 months, and usually with more than one treatment. Patients will have swelling and tenderness immediately after all energy-based procedures. With RF Microneedling, you may also have skin surface changes that can last a week.
If you have severe sagging, you have to be realistic. Only surgery, such as a facelift or tummy tuck, will provide the desired results if you have lots of skin laxity (sagging). Also, if you want to dramatically improve loose or sagging skin and prefer only one procedure, surgery is the best option.
In addition, some skin-tightening devices that use energy, like radio frequency, may not be safe for patients with metal implants, like pacemakers, defibrillators or glucose monitors.
What Does Skin Tightening Cost?
For non-surgical skin tightening, you can expect to pay from $850 to $1,600 per treatment, depending on the area of the body being treated. Be sure to ask how many treatments will be needed to achieve your desired result.
- Microneedling with Radio Frequency can cost from $850 to $1,200 per treatment
- CO2 Laser around the eyes can cost around $850
- Kybella injections under the chin depend on the amount of fat to melt and can range from $900 to $1500
- Silhouette Instalift sutures are $1600 for 4 threads
Empower Your Skin with Help From Cynthia Golomb, MD
Dr. Golomb aims to help you make smart and effective decisions about cosmetic procedures such as skin-tightening treatments. She’ll answer your questions and address your concerns as you work together to improve your health and appearance. Dr. Golomb stays up-to-date on the latest breakthroughs in the field of dermatology to provide you with new options. She uses her experience and knowledge to customize a treatment plan that’s best for you.
Dr. Golomb welcomes patients for skin-tightening treatments from Aventura, Sunny Isles Beach, North Miami Beach, Bal Harbour, Golden Beach, Pembroke Pines and Hollywood, Fl. Dr. Golomb is triple board certified in Dermatology, Dermatopathology and Micrographic Dermatologic Surgery (Mohs).
Book a consultation with Dr. Golomb to discuss cosmetic treatment options specific to your needs. Schedule your cosmetic consultation online.
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