Gravity and the passage of time have a cumulative effect on our skin as we age. Collagen and elastin, two proteins found in the dermis that provide structural support, progressively break down as we age, leaving our skin sagging and lacking the elasticity it had when we were younger. This aging process is accelerated over time by several factors, including damage from the sun, atrophy of facial muscles, and repetitive facial expressions. As a consequence of this, many of us, by the time we reach our 50s, 60s, and beyond, may appear and feel dissatisfied with the condition of our skin.
Causes of Sagging Skin
The most typical reason for drooping skin is just becoming older. Because your skin ages at the same rate as the rest of the body, it is inevitable that it will begin to display signs of advancing age. For the skin to have a youthful appearance, it needs the appropriate quantity of collagen and elastin. When you’re young, these proteins are found in high quantities within your body; but as you become older, their levels begin to drop. Because of this, your skin will begin to droop, which will make it appear older.
The aging of the face muscles can also cause your skin to start to sag, in addition to the loss of elastin and collagen that occurs naturally. As you get older, it is only normal for your skin to begin to give in to the strain and start to sag since gravity is such a powerful force that pushes on your body each day of your life. Because of this, it’s only natural for the skin to begin to droop.
Excessive time spent in the sun is the second most prevalent factor contributing to drooping skin. The sun’s rays emit UV radiation, which, when exposed to the skin over an extended period of time, can cause substantial damage to the cells of the skin. Anyone who spends a lot of time in the sun and gets tans frequently may notice that their skin begins to sag as a result of too much contact with the sun’s ultraviolet (UV) rays. Because of the damage they do to the skin’s elasticity and collagen, the intense sun rays hasten the process by which the skin ages.
The process of collagen and elastin levels decreasing is accelerated by exposure to ultraviolet light, pollution, weight loss, and lifestyle decisions such as consuming an excessive amount of alcohol.
The decrease in weight in persons who were formerly overweight or obese is the ultimate prevalent cause of sagging skin. If you lose a significant amount of weight in a very short period of time, then you’re at an exceptionally high risk of developing sagging skin. When you start to put on weight, your skin will progressively stretch and expand to accommodate the additional volume, but if you become obese, it will not be able to contract and return to its previous size. As a result, you will have a great deal of skin that has sagged everywhere in your body.
These variables produce the ideal storm for the development of sagging, weary, and wrinkled skin in those who are over the age of 50. Sagging skin may, thankfully, be tightened and revitalized without surgery through non-invasive sagging skin treatments.
Ultherapy
Innovative ultrasound treatments such as Ultherapy are exceptionally efficient in restoring youthful levels of elasticity and firmness to the skin of older patients. In Utherapy, non-harmful sound waves are used to stimulate the body’s natural synthesis of elastin and collagen proteins and to restart their reproduction. Its activating thermal energy warms up skin cells, which in turn kickstarts the synthesis of healthy cells in parts of the skin that have been hollowed out.
Thermage
In addition, radiofrequency (RF) technology like Thermage can rejuvenate and improve the appearance of aging skin. Radiofrequency treatments, such as Thermage, release heat energy, which serves to promote the natural process of skin rejuvenation that occurs within the body. Thermage tightens the skin’s current collagen reserves while simultaneously kicking off the creation of new ones. This is accomplished by heating collagen-rich areas of the skin in a three-dimensional manner. Patients who are over the age of 50 are the best candidates for this treatment since it can safely lessen the look of skin problems that are common among people of this age.
Dermal Fillers
With the assistance of injectable sagging skin treatments such as dermal fillers, it is also possible for us to achieve firmer skin. Deep-set wrinkles can be filled in by using dermal fillers made of hyaluronic acid, which can be applied to skin that is drooping or wrinkled. During our 30s and 40s, our bodies natural levels of hyaluronic acid begin to deplete, which leads to an increase in the visibility of lines and wrinkles.