For small to moderate amounts of weight loss, your skin will likely retract on its own. Natural home remedies may help too. However, more significant weight loss may need body-contouring surgery or other medical procedures to tighten or get rid of loose skin.
Loose skin can be tightened with collagen supplements, bariatric surgery, or radiofrequency treatments.
“In general, it can take anywhere from weeks to months—even years,” says Dr. Chen. If after one to two years skin is still loose, it may not get any tighter, she says.
Body Contouring Surgery
The most effective way to tighten loose skin after weight loss is by going through medical or surgical treatment. Natural remedies do not work when there has been significant weight loss. Surgical treatment is often necessary to deal with loose skin after major or extreme weight loss.
However, larger amounts of weight loss, such as 50 pounds and over, especially over a short period, can considerably increase your risk of loose skin. Your genetics and age will also play an important role in determining how much weight loss causes loose skin.
The loose skin is caused by losing a huge amount of weight – as in, 100 pounds or more – in a very short amount of time. It can happen when the weight is lost through diet and exercise, but it happens more often to weight-loss surgery patients.
What age does skin lose elasticity? Women who are 20 years or older can experience their skin start to lose elasticity,2 but there isn't a specific age when this occurs for everyone.
The good news is that elastin can be restored. But, according to Dr. Harshal, don't expect dramatic results. "It's more important to prevent rapid loss of elastin in the first place."
Collagen is a fibrous, supportive protein. It is found in bone, cartilage, tendons, ligaments, and skin. It helps skin cells adhere to one another and also gives the skin strength and elasticity. Collagen production decreases with age, contributing to skin wrinkling and sagging.
For some patients, even though they lose hundreds of pounds, their skin bounces back quite successfully. Unfortunately, this is quite rare. What often happens is that patients are left with excess, sagging skin after significant weight loss.
You should include foods that are rich in collagen and elastin to your diet. Milk, legumes, cottage cheese, beans, nuts and fish are examples of foods that contain elastin and collagen. They help with skin firmness, strength and elasticity.
When you lose a lot of weight, such as 100 pounds or more, your skin may not be elastic enough to shrink back to its natural shape. This can cause the skin to sag and hang, especially around the upper face, arms, stomach, breasts, and buttocks. Some people don't like the way this skin looks.
Does Collagen Tighten Saggy Skin? Studies have indicated that supplemental collagen is beneficial for skin health, including tightening sagging skin (known as elasticity), boosting hydration, and lessening the appearance of wrinkles.
“Your skin may not contract back to its smaller shape if weight is lost too quickly.” This inability for the skin to contract as well as it once would have, due to the weakening of the fibers over time, is what leads to excess or saggy skin during weight loss.
Vitamins A, C and E
Vitamin A helps to hydrate the lower layer of skin, vitamin C preserves and protects skin-firming fibers such as collagen and elastin, and vitamin E safeguards skin from sun damage.
Most loose skin treatments, from creams to laser resurfacing, focus on boosting collagen production. Lifestyle changes can keep collagen from slowing down even more. Take your vitamins, stop smoking (if you do), avoid tanning, and swap out harsh skin care for products with nourishing, medical-grade ingredients.
Collagen and elastin are two essential proteins associated with skin firmness. The production of these two proteins decreases as people age .
For small to moderate amounts of weight loss, your skin will likely retract on its own. Natural home remedies may help too. However, more significant weight loss may need body-contouring surgery or other medical procedures to tighten or get rid of loose skin.
Collagen is a protein that serves as one of the main building blocks for your bones, skin, hair, muscles, tendons, and ligaments. "Collagen is what keeps our skin from sagging, giving us that plump, youthful look," says dermatologist Dr. Ohara Aivaz.
A good moisturizer can plump up your skin, making fine lines and wrinkles less noticeable. This result is temporary. To continue seeing any benefit, you need to apply the product every day. As for the claim that a cream or lotion can lift sagging skin, dermatologists say that's not possible.
In recent years, a number of nonsurgical procedures have been developed to help tighten the skin on the face or elsewhere on your body using radiofrequency, ultrasound, and lasers. While these treatments are nonsurgical, they should only be performed by a licensed professional and under the supervision of a doctor.
Skin-Tightening Treatments: Chemical Peels, Facials, and Ultherapy. In old Hollywood, many celebrities got plastic surgery to tighten their skin. But today, more celebrities are turning to modern, less invasive options, like chemical peels, specialized facials, and Ultherapy.