Sagging skin is, unfortunately, a natural part of aging — and it’s also a significant reason why your skin starts to look worn and tired. Fortunately, skin tightening treatments with radiofrequency energy can help. Here’s how they work.

As Ben Franklin once wittily noted, “Nothing is certain except death and taxes.” We’d like to add something else to that list: sagging, loose skin. Because no matter how well you care for your skin, eventually, it’s going to start to sag, making you look and feel older than you want.

As a leading dermatology practice serving people in the Forest Hills neighborhood of Queens, New York, Adult and Pediatric Dermatology has solutions for sagging skin, including innovative skin tightening treatments using radiofrequency energy to firm and tone skin in your cheeks, jowls, and other areas. Here’s what Dr. Michael Paltiel of Adult and Pediatric Dermatology wants you to know about how skin tightening works and how it can help restore more youthful contours.

Why skin sags

Skin depends on a network of tough and resilient collagen fibers to keep it firm and supple. When we’re young, our skin produces plenty of collagen. But as we age, collagen production slows down, leading to sagging skin, wrinkles, and creases.

But it’s not just aging that causes your skin to lose its firmness. Years of sun exposure also contribute by speeding up collagen degradation and weakening skin fibers. In fact, UV radiation causes about 90% of the visible changes we see in our skin as we get older.

If you want your skin to look and feel firmer, you need to ramp up collagen production, so your skin can rebuild the supportive network it needs to stay supple and resilient.

RF energy for firmer skin

It’d be great if we could just slather on some cream to rebuild collagen. But although topical products can play a role in keeping skin healthy, they can’t restore damaged collagen networks. For that, we need a treatment that reaches the deeper layers of skin where collagen is produced. 

To promote healthy collagen development, Zina Goldvekht of Adult and Pediatric Dermatology and the rest of the team turn to Exilis UltraTM, a state-of-the-art system designed to penetrate the deeper layers noninvasively. 

Exilis Ultra uses radiofrequency (RF) energy to reach those underlying layers of skin. Gentle, targeted heat creates controlled injury that stimulates natural collagen development. At the same time, heat energy shrinks and tightens fat cells, instantly smoothing skin and giving it a gentle lift.

Exilis Ultra treatment

Before your treatment, we’ll cleanse your skin and apply a topical anesthetic to keep you comfortable. During treatment, your provider moves the RF device over your skin’s surface while RF energy penetrates the deeper layers of the skin.

Treatments take under an hour, and afterward, there’s no downtime — you can go right back to your regular activities. You can expect some redness afterward, similar to a sunburn. 

Your results will be visible over time as collagen remodeling takes place. Most people benefit from a series of treatments over several weeks. We’ll tailor a treatment plan to help you meet your goals.

Give your skin the extra support it needs

Don’t let sagging skin make you look older than you feel. With the Exilis Ultra system, you can have firmer skin without surgery, anesthesia, or downtime. To learn more about the skin tightening treatments we offer, call 315-860-1185 or book an appointment online with the team at Adult and Pediatric Dermatology of Forest Hills today.