Loose Crepey Skin

Time can often takes its toll in the form of loose crepey skin.

At Pulsar Health, we have a lot of effective technologies to help reverse that. Below, we discuss some of our tools: IPL, shockwave therapy, microneedling, Radiofrequency Microneedling, Cool Peel carbon dioxide laser, Threads, Hydrafacial booty / lymphatic drainage, Renuvion J-plasma skin tightening, and PRP bio-filler.

For more guidance on what work best for you, come on in for a consultation with Dr. Gill at Pulsar Health in West Palm Beach, FL.

Over time, you skin can start to lose its elasticity. This can happen simply with aging, or due to sun damage or weight fluctuations. It's not a look most people want.

At Pulsar Health, we can help!!!

Firstly, where is the problem area and do you have other issues such as changes in the pigment (dark spots...) or thickening? For example, in the decollete area, a small amount of loose skin can be nicely addressed with a series of IPL (pulsed dye) treatments that remove discoloration and increase collagen in the skin. Of course, prevention is very important so protect the area with sunblock before and after treatments. IPL treatments can be done all over the body and the face, but only in people of light to moderate skin tones. Dark skin cannot be treated with IPL.

Everyone can benefit from shockwave therapy. This remarkable acoustic technology improves blood flow and tissue regeneration. It is simple, taking a few minutes, and repeated treatments over time can tighten the skin and even help with the appearance of cellulite by improving tissue quality in the area. See the section on Soft Tissue Injury Recovery for more details on how it works. It is not as powerful as other treatments for tightening skin, but is fast, simple and pain-free. Treatments can be done two to three times weekly, which may be helpful if you are actively losing weight.

Skin quality is also directly improved by microneedling treatments. At Pulsar Health, we can combine microneedling with products that either contain stem cells or stimulate your own skin's stem cells. This helps regenerate skin strength and elasticity. A series is needed to give the skin enough time and treatments to strengthen adequately, with treatments spaced about a month apart, but the results can be remarkable. Not only is the skin quality better, but pigment can be reduced, especially if combined with peels that lift off the pigment whilst the microneedling breaks it up. 

To have more of a tightening effect, it is best to combine microneedling with radiofrequency, called RF-MN (radiofrequency microneedling). Our preferred modality for this is the Virtue DEEP or SMART treatments, that produce great tightening with minimal discomfort (thank you subpulse technology!) or downtime (just a few hours!!!). We again recommend combining these with stem cells or defensins for best results, and a series spaced four to six weeks between treatments is most effective. The collagen building and tightening effects continue for three months, but spacing the treatments this way helps get results faster whilst allowing adequate healing time. These treatments can also be good for stretch marks (the red stretch marks rather than the white ones) and are great for somewhat loose skin of the abdomen or for back rolls made mostly of skin. They are also wonderful as a gentle non-invasive breast lift, which does require repeated treatments but avoids scars or surgery.

To smooth crepey skin of the neck or back of the hands, and refine its appearance, the Cool Peel carbon dioxide laser is a wonderful tool. It "ablates" (similar to evaporation, makes tissue go poof!) tiny cores in your skin which heal by tightening and smoothing down lines and reducing pore size. You are somewhat red and slightly swollen for a couple of days, and then the small areas that got ablated can feel like sandpaper or a tiny brown scab as they heal. It usually takes about 10 days to fully heal the skin surface, but the results are remarkable. It also helps with reduction of unwanted skin discoloration. Although it is not as good at tightening as the microneedling with radiofrequency treatments, it is better at smoothing out fine lines, so we like to combine RF-MN treatments with the Cool Peel for the best results.

Skin can also be tightened with the use of Threads. Smooth Threads are attached to needles and inserted into the deeper layers of the skin to help with strengthening it. Lifting Threads can be used to reposition slightly loose skin of the abdomen. As the Threads melt away over time, they leave behind collagen, so although the procedure may need to be repeated after a few months to a year, over time the effects build up and strengthen the skin. This can even be done over crepey skin of the elbows and knees, but activity has to be restricted for a few weeks while the area heals to avoid undoing the lifting effect.

For a very comfortable but temporary smoothing and lifting effect on the skin, the Hydrafacial system has a "hydrafacial booty" as well as lymphatic drainage tools to gently lift skin of the face and body. The facial lymphatic drainage can even improve your breathing for a bit! We also offer body wraps that can detox, hydrate, smooth or temporarily firm the skin for a special event. These can be combined with the sauna / cryotherapy for a spa pampering session.

A little more "invasive", the Renuvion J-plasma system of radiofrequency soft tissue tightening can be used to improve tissue contracture under the skin by 40 to 60%. We often combine this with liposuction as an awake procedure, but we also perform it by itself for slender people who simply have loose crepey skin, and want just one simple treatment to help take care of it. The procedure takes a couple of hours, depending upon how many areas are to be treated. Wearing a garment afterwards will help give you the best results as your skin gradually tightens down over time. The final result can take as long as 9 months, but most of the benefits are seen by 3 months following treatment. We can work on most areas of the body including the chin, arms, upper breasts, abdomen, and thighs. 

Skin rejuvenation is helped by using PRP (platelet rich plasma), which can be added on to other treatments such as microneedling or be used as a "bio-filler" to plump up loose skin including the cleavage or genital area. We have a special PRP with hyaluronic acid designed just for the labia. We can also make skin care recommendations, as adequate skin turnover and hydration are important for skin health, and we emphasize beauty based on health. 

If you're not sure which treatment is best for you, come on in for a consultation so that we can answer your questions and look at your skin to help determine what would be the most effective options for you.