Loose Skin After Weight Loss: Non-Surgical & Surgical Ways To Tighten Excess Skin

Weight loss is surely one of the fancy things the overweight people would love to behold in them. However as they say, “One problem ends and begins another”; If you have made it possible to lose some extra pounds of your body, it might also happen that you are now probably faced with the issues of loose skin or extra skin after weight loss. In this current article we will be talking about the loose skin after weight loss, where we will lay emphasis on why exactly this happen and also will let you know about some of the effective ways to tighten loose skin or excess skin after weight loss.

Skin is an active living organ that is known for its wonderful property of elasticity. This elastic property of the skin allows it to shrink back and fit the new body size in case of moderate weight loss. The collagen protein present in the skin provides it the special property of elasticity which assists the skin to shrink back and fit the changing body size as we get older. However with aging these collagen fibers in the skin get weak and this in turn leads to wrinkles. It must be noted that everything has its limit and so does the Collagen fiber present in the skin. So, in case it is a rapid growth or rapid weight gain, collagen production in the skin can increase greatly leading the areas to overstretch. This can lead to stretch marks, like in case of pregnancy. The same thing happens with weight loss where the outstretched skin (from the excessive weight gain condition) hangs from the thinner body after losing weight.

Now, what exactly can be the cause of loose skin after weight loss or excess skin after weight loss? When we go into a deeper note it can be understood that weight loss is not just about the loss of body fat, rather it is also about the loss of body muscles. In any type of weight loss, it is about 20% of the body muscle which loses its weight and about 80% of the weight loss occurs from the loss of body fat. When there is an excessive muscle loss during the weight loss program, there occurs the loose skin issues. The muscle layer beneath the skin contains collagen, elastin etc and helps in retaining elasticity of the skin. When there is a loss of the muscle, collagen production gets reduced and thus skin elasticity simultaneously reduces. This condition is generally seen when losing weight depends either on the crash diet or the bariatric surgery which sacrifices a tremendous amount of supporting muscles or the lean body mass during the weight loss procedure. It is also found that people fasting just on water for days also meet with the weight loss due to loss of body muscle (About 60%).

True it is, “Nothing tastes as good as feeling skinny!” Well! You are happy with the amount of loss occurred to your body weight. Now grows another issue in your body and i.e. the hanging of outstretched or excess skin from the thinner body. So check out the ways of tightening loose skin or excess skin after weight loss.

Non-Surgical approach to tighten loose skin after weight loss can be done by following ways.

1. Give Importance To What You Eat: Loose skin or excess skin mainly caused when there is a loss of the elasticity or loss of the collagen fiber and the elastin protein in the skin. This can be gained with protein rich diets including nuts, cheese, seeds, beans, milk, fish, legumes etc. These foods contain collagen and elastin producing components and also contain essential oils for healthy skin.
2. Keep Your Body Hydrated: It is essential to keep yourself hydrated when you meet with loose skin. Water actually helps in maintaining skin elasticity. You must take at least two liters of water every day for managing a healthy and tight skin.
3. Skin Care As The Essential Key For Tightening Loose Skin Or Excess Skin: “Caring is the way of loving!” If you actually love your skin, do keep a good care of it. You can treat the loose skin by using skin care lotions and creams containing herbal formulas like the ingredients including aloe vera, yeast extract, soy protein, Vitamin A, C and Vitamin E. Apart from this, do take a regular hot water bath with salt added to it. This helps in growing the skin tone.
4. Hard And Strong Exercise For Tightening The Loose Skin Or Extra Skin Muscles: Going for strength training with the use of various resistance like tubing, machines, body weight or free weights so as to strengthen your major muscle groups etc. This help in growing the muscle layer beneath the skin which helps in skin elasticity.

There is also surgical approach available to help you deal with loose skin after weight loss. This is usually known as corrective surgery and is most commonly done in obese people undergoing the weight loss surgery. Though this surgical procedure is included under the cosmetic surgery types, it is a highly invasive procedure and may cost as high as $100,000. Here the plastic surgeon would space out the extra skin or the skin tucks over months or a year. However this is relatively new procedure and also the patient might meet with some kinds of risks or complications including infection, dead skin, open wounds etc. There are also greater chances that the person undergoing such kind of surgical treatment for treating loose skin might have to wear scars from the surgeries for entire life.

If you are thinking when do you actually need a surgical treatment for loose skin, then it is exactly when you have been carrying a real heavy weight of say around 120 pounds and all of a sudden reduced your weight drastically by any means. Here it is the case when a plastic surgery or a corrective surgery for treating loose skin might be required. But in case of conditions like in women during pregnancy, you do not require surgery for treating the loose skin after delivery and the skin will once again regain its elasticity with time and with necessary care.

You do not have to live on regrets. Look for the best possible treatments in case you are encountering with loose skin or excess skin problems after weight loss. Prefer the non-surgical treatment procedures wherever possible, go for the necessary and effective exercises for skin tightening, take absolute care of your skin, eat and drink healthy.