Non-surgical skin tightening is one of the most desired but elusive goals in Cosmetic Medicine.
There are many approaches to this highly sought after outcome, with some better for prevention or maintenance, and other methods more suited for restoration of lost tissue, such as the 5% loss of skin collagen per decade associated with the normal ageing process, that leads to sagging, wrinkles and folds.
An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure as they say, and prevention of premature skin ageing relies on principles we know well –protection against harmful UV rays, good nutrition, and an effective skincare routine.
Regular IPL, skin needling or laser treatment, such as Fraxel laser, is associated with greater skin collagen integrity, and when combined with biostimulatory or bioremodelling treatments such as platelet-rich plasma or new hybrid hyaluronic acid injectables, the result is noticeably tighter, firmer skin.
The two evidence -based treatments to tighten skin and improve skin laxity are:
- High intensity focused ultrasound (HIFU) (Sometimes called micro-focused ultrasound MFU)
- Radiofrequency micro-needling (RF)
Both of these treatments are aimed at delivering heat energy to the subcutaneous collagen/elastin layer of the face known as the Superficial Musculoaponeurotic System (SMAS) which overlies the facial muscles and is the layer which is tightened in face-lift surgery. These highly focused heat treatments trigger the body to produce more collagen, resulting in tighter, firmer, visibly lifted skin.
At Skin Resus we use UltracelQ+ HIFU for skin lifting and the prevention of sagging. This has some advantage over RF:
- no needles penetrating the skin as in RF
- less downtime
- less risk
- treatment discomfort is low
UltracelQ+ HIFU from Cynosure is recommended as an initial series of 3 treatments with 6-12 monthly maintenance. To find out if this treatment is right for you, book in for a FREE consultation with one of our Registered Nurses.
Fabi SG. Noninvasive skin tightening: focus on new ultrasound techniques. Clin Cosmet Investig Dermatol. 2015 Feb 5;8:47-52. doi: 10.2147/CCID.S69118. PMID: 25709486; PMCID: PMC4327394.
