Skin Tightening

Ballantyne Medical Associates

Family Medicine & Laser Aesthetics located in Charlotte, NC

Loose skin and wrinkles naturally develop as you get older due to a combination of sunlight exposure and age-related changes in your skin. The doctors at Ballantyne Medical Associates in Charlotte, North Carolina, perform noninvasive aesthetic procedures that effectively tighten skin and diminish wrinkles. When you’re ready to fight the signs of aging, or you have questions about aesthetic procedures, contact the office to schedule a consultation and to learn about services that rejuvenate your skin.

Skin Tightening Q & A

What causes loose skin?

Your skin can’t avoid the effects of time, the sun, and other environmental stressors. It’s normal for aging skin to lose collagen and elastin, which give younger skin the elasticity needed to fight wrinkles. At the same time, fat underneath the skin thins out, as skin dehydrates, and the environment damages structural proteins.

All of these factors combine to create loose, saggy skin and wrinkles. However, the main causes are the loss of collagen and diminishing subcutaneous fat. Collagen keeps skin strong to help fight aging, while a thin layer of fat softens your appearance by cushioning and filling out your skin.    

How is skin tightened?

Several types of noninvasive therapies can be used to tighten skin, but they all work in a similar way. Each one penetrates the skin with energy from radiofrequency or lasers, reaching down to deep tissues without harming your outer skin. The energy then increases the temperature of targeted tissues.

Heat from the treatment makes old collagen breakdown, and those fibers immediately contract, which temporarily tightens skin. The procedure also triggers the production of new collagen and elastin, which occurs over time. This fresh collagen strengthens and tightens skin, and helps diminish the appearance of fine lines and wrinkles.

What parts of the body can be treated?

Thanks to the diverse medical devices available at Ballantyne Medical Associates, virtually any part of your body can be targeted for skin tightening. The doctors have specialized procedures to gently treat your face, as well as other devices designed to be used on the abdomen, buttocks, thighs, back, arms, or anywhere you have loose skin.

What can you expect during and after a skin tightening procedure?

Skin tightening procedures are well-tolerated by most people. However, your doctor at Ballantyne Medical Associates always ensures your comfort with numbing or cooling products, if needed.

The amount of time each procedure takes depends on the area being treated. Whether it takes 30 or 60 minutes, as soon as the procedure is over, you can return to your normal daily routine because you won’t need recovery time.

It takes a little time for collagen to grow and migrate toward the skin’s surface. This means that it may take about a month to see the full impact of your skin tightening treatment.