Have you noticed lately that your skin has started to get loose in some areas? Is it having a negative impact on your self-esteem, or causing you to lose self-confidence? If you are suffering from “saggy skin” as the result of aging, then maybe it’s time you knew about the cutting-edge treatment called Thermage. This is a revolutionary, non-invasive treatment for loose skin in the face, arms, abdomen, thighs, and elsewhere, and you can get it now from the attentive medical professionals at Artful Aesthetics in Oakland, CA.
Where Does Loose Skin Come From?
As we age, our bodies start to produce less of the proteins that our connective tissues need in order to retain their shape. Two of the proteins that are frequently mentioned in skin are collagen and elastin. Collagen is a fibrous protein that helps skin stay strong, while elastin helps skin “bounce back” when it gets stretched. When there are fewer of these proteins running through your skin, the net effect is a gradual sag and loss of tightness.
What Can We Do About Loose Skin?
It’s no wonder that people can be self-conscious about loose or sagging skin. It may be a normal part of the aging process, but it is often one of the first signs of aging. If it is more pronounced than normal, people discover that their skin laxity makes them look older than they really are.
Face and Brow Lifts
For many years, the most effective treatment for loose skin was getting some sort of facelift that would require surgery and a recovery period lasting one or two weeks. Lifts can be extremely effective, and millions have certainly benefited from them. But despite this, not everyone wants to get a surgical procedure like a facelift, brow or forehead lift, or even a laser therapy treatment.
A Gentler Option
With Thermage, you now have a gentler treatment option, and you can find it at Artful Aesthetics. Our experienced medical staff has spent over 15 years serving patients from Oakland, Alameda, Berkeley, Walnut Creek, San Leandro, and the Greater San Francisco Bay Area. What exactly is this treatment, and how does it work?
Is Thermage Really Effective? How Does It Work?
This treatment has achieved widespread popularity because it uses an effective but non-invasive technology called radiofrequency energy. Radiofrequency energy is delivered by a handheld device, and it has the ability to warm certain targeted areas without resorting to injections or surgery. When this radiofrequency energy is delivered to the lower layers of the dermis, it stimulates the production of collagen.
Tightening and Stimulating Collagen
The effect of this is twofold. First, the radio frequency energy will have an immediate effect on the collagen that is already present in your skin. It will cause this collagen to shrink and contract, causing an immediate tightening of the skin. Second, the production of new collagen will ensure that you get long-lasting results as your body begins to change the composition of your skin over the following weeks and months.
Targeting the Right Spots
When the radiofrequency energy is delivered by the handheld device, it only affects the deep levels of the skin, and only in the areas of the body that you want to be targeted. It completely passes by the surface of the skin and the upper levels, meaning that you won’t have any negative effects in these areas, or your surrounding tissues and organs.
What Are the Benefits?
No Injections or Incisions
Let’s face it––not everyone wants to get surgery. Even if they desire the swift results that can come with it, there is a feeling that it might be too serious a procedure for some people. Thermage is non-invasive, requiring absolutely no needles and no incisions. If the idea of surgery is stressful or simply unappealing, you don’t need to worry about missing out. You can still achieve amazing results and get a complete skin rejuvenation.
Only One Treatment Necessary
Although some patients might benefit from multiple treatments, many of them will only need one session in order to see enormous changes in their skin. A session will usually last somewhere between 30 and 90 minutes, depending on the area being treated.
No Downtime Necessary
This is one of the major benefits. You can go about your day immediately after thermage treatment. Unlike a facelift that could leave you recovering for days or even weeks, a radiofrequency treatment will not require you to take any time off or curtail your other activities for long.
Long-Lasting Results
Patients often wonder if such a non-invasive thermage treatment can really work. Can something this quick and easy really be effective? The secret is in the fact that increased collagen production is a long-term process. It should be noted that this is a slower process than a lift or some laser treatments. Collagen production can often take weeks or even a couple months to show the best results, but the change does come, and it will continue to have a positive impact on your skin laxity for 3-4 years after treatment.
Multiple Treatment Areas Covered
Because we use a highly advanced delivery device, we are able to target treatment areas by changing both the intensity of the radiofrequency energy and the area it covers. For instance, we are able to use a gentler intensity for delicate skin closer to the eyes, and a stronger dose for thicker skin around the abdomen, buttocks, or thighs.
What Areas Can Be Treated?
This particular thermage treatment is effective for multiple areas of the body. Because the intensity of radiofrequency energy can be adjusted, this technology can easily be adapted for different patients and treatment regions.
Face
Many people find that, as they get older, their foreheads gain lines or creases. In many cases, the earliest telltale signs of age can appear on the face in the form of drooping brows, frown lines, and crow’s feet on the sides of the eyes. Thermage can be an excellent gentle treatment for people who don’t want to go through the process of getting a lift. It can also help maintain the results from a previous brow or forehead lift.
Eyes
Are you suffering from puffy eyes? Do you have a sunken look, dark circles, or bags underneath your eyes? The eyes are the window to the soul and often the first thing people notice about you. When your eyes shine and communicate energy, the rest of you does too. In addition to alleviating crow’s feet, this treatment can help the area around the eyes in general, promoting a rejuvenated look and giving you back your self-confidence when you meet people.
Arms and Hands
The arms and hands can often be a major problem area for skin laxity. Sagging skin around the upper arms is incredibly common, and although it isn’t always as visible, this is the area many people want to be treated. Radiofrequency energy can tighten the drooping skin around the triceps, giving the arms a more toned and youthful appearance.
Thighs
For many people, the thighs and upper legs are the most challenging region. When skin becomes loose on the thighs, it doesn’t always appear as “sagging skin” in the way that the arms or face might. It can often be most noticeable as a wrinkled or “crepey” look, with the front of the thighs showing extensive wrinkling as a result of skin laxity. If you have noticed a significant increase in the wrinkles on your thighs, just one treatment can completely change your look, and return a smooth and tight surface.
Abdomen
Very often, patients discover loose skin on their abdomen for what is normally a healthy reason: they have adopted a new lifestyle and have shed a lot of unwanted pounds. Unfortunately, this can sometimes have an unplanned side effect. Many people who lose weight find that they have increased energy, better moods, an improved outlook, and also excess skin in their abdominal region.
With this treatment, we can help you experience all the benefits of your hard work, tightening the skin around the abs and belly to give you a fitter, slimmer look.
Buttocks
This treatment can even be used on the buttocks to help tighten the skin in this region. It’s true that we often gain weight here as we age, but it’s also true that some people lose volume in this area and are left with looser or sagging skin. If increased skin laxity is making you self-conscious about getting into a bathing suit, you can take back control and re-tighten your buttocks.
What Sort of Results Should I Expect?
One of the amazing things about this treatment is that you get the best of both worlds: instant and long-term benefits. You get immediate results from the tightening of the collagen that you already have. You also get long-lasting, gradual results from increased collagen production.
Because of this, you may see a noticeable change only days after treatment, but the best results are waiting for you between three to six months after your session. By this point, your body has produced new collagen that has been absorbed and integrated into your skin.
How Often Should I Get Treatment?
Positive effects from one session can often last for years. However, if you want to see the best results possible, it is often recommended to get annual follow-up treatments. In this way, you can make sure that your collagen production gets a regular boost.
Will I Be Awake for Treatment?
This is not surgery, and you will not need to be put to sleep. A topical anesthetic is typically applied to the surface of the skin on the treatment area to make the session more comfortable.
Am I a Candidate?
This treatment is a safe and easy solution for men and women, and the radiofrequency energy can work with any skin type.
How Do I Start?
The first step is to contact our office and schedule a pre-treatment consultation. This consultation is a one-on-one meeting with our staff, and during this time we will be able to get a sense of what your goals and expectations are. We will go over your medical history, and any special conditions or medications you may have. You can ask questions and we will prepare a treatment plan together.
Contact Us Today!
Are you ready to get rid of that loose and sagging skin, and take back a smooth, youthful look? If you’d like to know more about Thermage or any skin-tightening treatments, we are here for you! We have an amazing team with years of skin treatment experience, and we would love to meet you and help you on your journey. You don’t need to wait any longer. Contact Artful Aesthetics in Oakland, CA, today!