Skin Tightening Treatments and Areas

All laser skin tightening methods are non-surgical, which opens up the vast majority of your skin's surface to treatment. While the face may be the main area of concern for most individuals, laser treatment systems can be applied nearly anywhere. Women who have uneven abdominal skin following a pregnancy may wish to smooth their stomachs. Treatment to the thighs can be a confidence booster for swimsuit season. Many skin tightening patients have found great results in their hands, which can become uneven in coloration and tightness over time.

Because skin tightening devices can deliver great, long-lasting results to almost any area of the body with a few sessions, there are many popular treatment areas, including:

• Neck
• Hands
• Entire Face
• Upper Face
• Lower Face
• Arms
• Saddle Bags
• Back
• Thighs
• Abdomen
• Buttocks

Combination Areas:

• Entire Face
• Abdomen and Love Handles
• Lower Face and Neck Combined

If you have a problem area that you believe is unique to you, don't be shy in asking your physician about skin tightening possibilities. An experienced physician will have treated many individual concerns and has most likely addressed your problem previously. Laser skin tightening offers a world of options for the face and body.

Combination Technology

Some newer skin tightening equipment combines laser and radio frequency to provide skin tightening while simultaneously improving skin tone. If you have sagging skin and uneven skin tone, both can be addressed in the same session. Inquire with your skin tightening physician to see if a combined treatment system is ideal for your particular needs.

Laser Skin Tightening Systems

Since laser skin tightening's release, a host of manufacturers have shown up with their own individual products. Some of the machines and techniques are branded by the companies that create the technology behind skin tightening systems. As you research, you may run into more than one claiming the best results. We cover a number of the most popular ones on this site. However, a trained physician will be able to offer the best perspective. During your consultation, spend time asking questions about the best skin tightening systems and her experience with them. The physician's answers will help you sort through the hype and find the best system for your particular needs.

Skin Tightening Treatments

Skin tightening treatments are extremely safe and effective, especially when compared to risks and costs of cosmetic surgery. Treatment is performed with either radiofrequency or laser methods, depending on the patient's unique needs.

Let's look at the special features of this developing area of skin tightening.

Non-surgical Treatment

Radiofrequency and laser skin tightening sidestep the risks traditionally associated with surgical methods for tightening the skin. Surgery requires incisions in the skin, which creates a risk of infection and requires a healing period. There is also a need for anesthesia, which is an additional risk and undesirable requirement for a number of patients.

Non-surgical skin tightening treatments use technology to treat the skin without cutting it open. Radio frequencies and light therapies are able to reach to penetrate the lower layers of the skin with either waves or light, respectively. This means that there is no healing or recovery time required. The face may become reddened for 24 hours, but this is the extent of negative symptoms to treatment.

In addition to the avoided risks, non-surgical treatments also provide a different type of skin tightening. For example, a face lift cuts away excess skin and pulls it back, which can result in a windswept look. However, skin tightening treatments that target the natural collagen clusters in the skin, return the fullness of younger skin. Wrinkles and contours in the skin fill back out and firm the skin. This restored fullness is more natural to youth as excess skin becomes a problem as the collagen within the face is damaged and depleted. While a face lift surgery provides more dramatic results, a non-surgical skin tightening approach provides more natural results. Some patients have found their friends commenting on how "well rested" they look - an ideal comment for a person who doesn't want anyone else the wiser about her treatment.

Treatment Schedule

RF and laser skin tightening require far less commitment in treatment time, especially when contrasted with surgery. Each treatment lasts from 15 minutes to 2 hours, depending on the scope of areas being treated. Treatment can be done on a lunch break as no preparation or recovery time is required. Whether or not repeat treatments are needed depends on the method being used. Some skin tightening methods benefit from several repeat visits at two-week to one-month intervals. Other methods require only one treatment.

Surgery, on the other hand, requires a lengthy visit for the surgery and several return visits to a physician to monitor progress and recovery. Preparation must be made ahead of time with changes to supplements, diet and other things to mitigate the risk of surgery. Initial recovery time may take days to weeks, requiring a lengthy interruption to a patient's work schedule. This fact alone makes RF and laser skin tightening methods more desirable as the cost of missing work isn't added to the final price tag.

Treatment Procedure

Skin tightening surgery can be an extremely uncomfortable process. While a patient is under anesthesia, skin is cut away and incisions are sewn back together. During a face lift, the face is cut away from the layers beneath before being stretched and pinned farther back. While a patient is under anesthesia during this process, discomfort begins as the first set of pain killers wears off. Recovery lasts for days and weeks.

Non-surgical skin tightening techniques result in far less discomfort. During the procedure, the patient will experience a warm massaging sensation. As the lower layers of the skin are heated, the physician will use the patient's own discomfort threshold as a barometer. No incisions are necessary and the worst possible symptom is reddened skin that lasts for 24 hours.

Treatment Results

Compared to surgery, radiofrequency and laser skin tightening techniques may be shorter lived, but neither are permanent. However, both treatments can reveal beautiful results for a long time. For people who do not want a facelift, skin tightening sessions are a great choice. Non-surgical techniques usually reveal themselves in full after six months. These effects can last up to two years. The effect may not be as long as surgery, but the cost and recovery time are significantly less. Like stated above, some non-surgical skin tightening methods may require repeat visits for optimal results, while others are just a one-time visit.