11 Things to Know About Sagging Skin

1. Your skin is more elastic than you think

Look at those pregnant women. The skin can stretch and contract to an astonishing degree.

2. Skin elasticity decreases with age

Wrinkling and loss of elasticity are an inevitable part of aging, but are also caused by external environmental factors such as oxidative stress, excessive sun exposure, and nutritional deficiencies. You can compensate for the environmental part, but you cannot change your genes and age.

Advice: Get moving and change the things you can. Be realistic and don't think too much about things you can't do anything about.

3. How much firmness your skin regains depends on your age

The older you get and the more weight you lose, the harder it is for loose skin to return to its previous firmness.

4. How much excess weight you have has a lot to do with how firm your skin can be after losing weight

Like, 9 months of pregnancy and 9 months of being over 100 pounds.

5. Weight has a lot to do with skin firmness.

Your skin can only stretch so far, and you 100% want it to stretch as much as possible.

6. How much weight you lose is related to skin firmness

Rapid weight loss makes the skin's recovery time much slower than the weight loss time. (This is one of the reasons why it is difficult for some people to lose weight, 1-2 pounds per week, at most 3 pounds. If you need to lose a lot, you must first measure your body fat content to make sure you are losing fat, not lean tissue).

7. There are exceptions to all the above.

For example, a person in their 50s or 60s can quickly lose a large amount of weight, and their skin can actually return to its previous state 100%.

8. Creams on the market that claim to reshape and firm the skin

It doesn't work, at least not permanently or measurably, especially if you have too much loose skin. So, don't waste your money.

9. Don’t undergo surgery unless absolutely necessary.

If you are considering surgical skin tightening, consult a surgeon. Surgery should not be performed unless it is extremely necessary.

10. Give your skin some time

The less body fat you have, the tighter your skin will become. After one or two years of weight loss and long-term exercise, many people's skin gradually becomes firmer, at least partially.

11. Know your body fat content before surgery

Loose skin is one problem, but still having fat is another. Be honest with yourself and calculate your body fat percentage.

This can be measured with a subcutaneous fat thickness caliper or other device (if you have large areas of loose skin, calipers may not be very useful, but you can try impedance analysis, underwater weighing, dual energy x-ray, or air displacement measurement).