Aging, sun exposure, and heredity can thin out skin over time, making it sag and making you look older. Luckily, there are many options out there to help you prevent your skin from sagging.

Can Sagging Skin Be Reversed?

Collagen and elastin, the compounds that give skin its youthful shape and appearance, reduce production as you age, leading to saggy, loose skin. While the aging process can’t be reversed, you can dramatically reduce jowls with the following procedures:

• Facelift (surgical)
• Neck lift (surgical)
• Laser resurfacing using needles to reach treatment areas (minimally-invasive procedure with five to seven days of downtime)

What Helps Sagging Skin?

If you don’t want to invest in surgery, you can try these less invasive treatment options that don’t puncture or break the skin, which means little to no recovery time. Many of these treatments can be completed in an hour or less, and you may need just one or two treatments to see satisfactory results:

• Radio Frequency (RF)- A wand delivers heat deep into the skin to promote collagen growth.
• Ultrasound- Similar to RF, this procedure also delivers heat deep into the skin to promote collagen production.

How Can I Prevent Sagging Skin from Aging?

You can take a number of proactive steps to help reduce the appearance of a saggy chin and neck. Try the following steps:

• Eat a healthful diet full of antioxidants and healthy fats
• Drink plenty of water to hydrate your skin and flush out toxins
• Apply a quality firming cream that contains retinoids, Vitamin E, and Vitamin C
• Exercise
• Get enough sleep
• Reduce stress
• Stop smoking
• Reduce alcohol intake
• Use sunscreen daily
• Avoid expressions that lead to saggy skin like frowning and chewing gum
• Sleep on your back rather than your stomach

What is the Best Skin Tightening Treatment?

Aside from surgical and other medical procedures mentioned earlier, you can add facial exercises to your skincare routine to firm up your jawline. Try these exercises at least eight to 12 times in a row while holding the pose for about five seconds each:

• Open your mouth as wide as possible (like a yawn) and close it without your teeth touching.
• Lie down and pucker your lips outwards. Use your fingers to pull the mouth downwards.
• Blow up your cheeks and release.
• Chew with your head tilted up.
• Smile as wide as you can while moving your head up and down.
• Tilt your head back while your mouth is closed.
• Lie down and pull your chin down to your neck.
• Hum with your tongue pressed against the roof of your mouth.

How Can I Tighten Loose Skin on My Face?

You can see your dermatologist for fillers, which are compounds injected into the skin to temporarily tighten the area. Common fillers are:

• Juvederm
• Voluma
• Restalyne

If you’d like to reduce the appearance of loose, saggy skin on your jawline, make an appointment today with Hollywood Dermatology at one of our six South Florida locations. Our team will help you choose the best treatment option based on your needs.