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If you have a fine line or wrinkle, most people know Botox can obliterate that crease with just a pinch of a needle (and a few hundred dollars). Crave more volume in your face? Injectables like Juvederm Voluma can, for a price, make that happen. Neither of these solutions is permanent, but there’s no denying their effectiveness.
Things get a little more complicated when you have sagging skin that you want to address. Sure, a great doctor may be able to lift in certain areas of your face using injectables, but that isn’t the preferred method for dealing with sagging skin and preventing skin from sagging even more. Don’t waste your time with pricey creams and treatments that don’t work. Once and for all, this is the right way to deal with sagging skin, according to dermatologists.
Why Does Our Skin Sag?
Our skin begins to sag when we naturally lose collagen and elastin, which happens during the aging process. Smoking and eating a diet filled with too many processed foods and simple sugars can accelerate the breakdown of collagen.
Using Retin-A and retinol can help repair skin and encourage new collagen growth but, to be honest, none of these factors will make a serious dent when it comes to treating sagging skin. Especially if you crave more dramatic results.
Laser Resurfacing
Here’s what can help: laser resurfacing. The in-office procedure involves concentrating beams of light at specific areas of the skin and slowly peeling back skin layers to reveal younger, healthier skin.
“Laser resurfacing can tighten skin, usually better than any other skin-tightening procedure,” according to the American Academy of Dermatology. “It can also diminish fine lines, wrinkles, and dark spots on the skin, such as age spots. The tradeoff is that it requires downtime and has a greater risk of possible side effects, such as scarring.”
Not ready for something so intense? There are other, non-invasive procedures that can work wonders and won’t require downtime.
Non-Invasive Procedures For Sagging Skin
Laser resurfacing isn’t for everyone. To take care of sagging skin on your face or body with minimal or no downtime, you can consider non-invasive procedures like ultrasound, radio frequency, and laser treatments that focus on superficial skin layers. All of these in-office procedures prompt the body to produce more collagen over time. It often takes more than one session to see results (you may even have to wait a few months to notice a subtle tightening effect) and remember: nothing lasts forever.
But experts say these procedures really work.
Nuface Mini Facial Toning Device ($199)
Home devices are not as effective as in-office procedures, but they can provide subtle results--especially if you are patient, use yours often, and aren’t expecting major results.
This mini facial toning device provides a microcurrent treatment in about five minutes to help tone and tighten your jawline, cheeks, and forehead. Reviewers say they see more firmness in their faces after using this device for a few weeks and that it makes skin look plumper and healthier. But consistency is key: you have to keep using it to see results.
For more skincare tips, check out:
--The One Ingredient Dermatologists Swear By For Clear Skin
--5 Vitamins Dermatologists Swear By For Sagging Skin
[Photos: Shutterstock]
