If only unicorns were real.
I hear patients say all the time “I can tone that skin up later when I start to exercise again.” Ug. I am the poor girl who has to correct them. I have to tell them that unicorns and faries are not real. I wish you could retighten the skin.
Things that do not tighten the skin:
- exercise
- improving the underlying muscles “toning”
- creams
- lasers
- massage
Wouldn’t it be great if we could just take off our skin and throw it in the dryer? Shrink it right back up like those jeans you can barely get on after the wash?
But alas, it does not work like that.
Skin is like a bathing suit. Skin tone is like the elastic in the suit. When the elastic is gone, it is gone. The only way we have of tightening skin is to cut it out. Volume makes skin look better (ie fat under the skin), as it puffs out the skin. Hydration keeps skin better, though drinking lots of water doesn’t go to the skin- you likely pee most of it out. I do see lasers which improve the look of the skin for a short time- 3-4 weeks- due to the swelling following the procedure. When the swelling goes, so does the “improvment.”
Don’t let someone sell you a rainbow. Many people use tricks with photography to try to convince you.