How Can I Get My Skin Tightened?
By injuring it. There, now you know. Not enough detail to be helpful? Suffice it to say that skin must be injured properly for it to become tighter in a pleasing way. There are only two ways that skin can be injured such that the resultant skin is firmer and tighter than the skin pre-treatment. These are either by mechanical means or by the use of heat created by any of several energy sources.
The mechanical way to tighten skin has traditionally been accomplished by cutting away loose or redundant skin, and then approximating the resulting free edges. Since the creation of the American Board of Plastic Surgery in 1937 this approach has largely been the exclusive province of these skilled surgical subspecialists. In fact the very first facelift was thought to have been performed by a German physician in 1901. Over these 100+ years there have been tremendous advances in surgical techniques that have led to more natural looking results, fewer scars, shorter down time, and more opportunities to have the surgeries done in the surgeon’s office. Generally there are still the aspects of greater cost, higher complication rate, and longer down time than with most of the non-surgical methods.
In the hope of avoiding the above less desirable aspects of a surgical approach, many physicians and associated practitioners have gravitated toward various energy sources to tighten skin. Lasers, focused ultrasound, and radio frequency make up the majority of these skin heating devices which can tighten skin. Here at Carter MD Aesthetics we have two lasers which tighten skin (Cynosure’s Smart Skin + which is a fractionated CO2 laser, and Alma Harmony’s ClearLift which is an infrared laser device). We also have two radio frequency skin tightening devices (BTL’s Exilis which is a monopolar RF machine, and Inmode’s Morpheus 8 microneedling device which combines bipolar RF with various microneedling tips). In addition to these approaches we also have an Alma Opus fractional plasma unit which one could think of functionally as a “fractionated CO2 light.” It does not utilize a laser at all but rather a fractionated nitrogen gas plasma approach to heating up the surface of the skin.
Almost all of the non-surgical approaches above require a series of treatments to achieve a noticeable tightening. However, the downtime after each one of these treatments is only 0-4 days. There is a non-surgical treatment we do that involves just one treatment and that is the fractionated CO2 laser.
Those of you who know me can tell you how much I love the fractionated CO2 laser! In fact, I’m certain that I myself have had at least a dozen of these in the past 24 years. Full disclosure coming up! First, the bad news. When all is said and done it will cost close to $3,000 for a customized full-face fractionated CO2 laser treatment. And depending upon how intense the treatment is, the downtime could be as long as two weeks. It is usually more like 8-11 days. Oh, and did I tell you that for the first week you will look like a burn victim? I’m the only one I know who works during the first week after a CO2. Everyone else stays at home. So why do I like this device so much?
I like it so much because there is no other way to get very noticeable improvements in facial texture, skin tone, and tightening with a single treatment! It’s magical. We have even seen major improvements in one of our patients who was 84 when she had this done. Usually, beginning 14 days after the treatment the patient is already looking better than before they had the treatment. And the improvement just keeps getting better for a full year afterwards. There is truly nothing like it.
So if you have noticed that aspects of your face and body are just a bit looser or saggy than 5 or 10 years ago, and you are wondering what to do, come on in for a consult with one of our skilled aestheticians, nurses, or myself to discuss the option that would best achieve your tightening goals and still fit in with your life. We love to talk about this stuff!
William A. Carter, M.D.
Carter MD Aesthetics