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What is the Best Laser for Skin Tightening?

Unless you’re an astronaut, gravity is not something that’s easy to escape. In most cases that’s good—gravity, after all, is what keeps you from floating off this earthly plane. But that same force that keeps your feet planted is also constantly pulling on your skin; over time, your skin loses the ability to bounce back from this pull. That’s one of the primary reasons that, as we age, we tend to develop a certain amount of excess skin. This excess skin can make you look old, weary, even sad and depressed. The solution for this excess skin often surprises many patients: laser treatments.

Dr. Cameron Rokhsar is a world-renowned laser treatment expert, and he has helped develop several cutting-edge skin tightening protocols using laser treatments. This is a huge relief for patients who find themselves with excess skin that causes unsightly lines and wrinkles; this is also true for patients who have recently lost weight and suddenly find themselves with a small amount of excess tissue. Skin tightening procedures using lasers can help patients achieve smoother-looking skin and, as a result, a more youthful-looking visage.

It’s worth noting that laser systems are designed to generate subtle, natural looking results. Patients who have experienced a significant weight loss or who have a large amount of excess tissue will likely be better served by a surgical procedure, such as a lower body lift or a tummy tuck. However, these procedures are quite painful and carry with them a significant recovery time, meaning that surgery is not always the best option for patients who have a small but noticeable amount of excess skin. In fact, the best option for those patients is typically one of the laser procedures offered by Dr. Rokhsar.

Ultherapy

While not itself a “laser” necessarily, Ultherapy is a device that uses directed energy to get results. By harnessing the power of ultrasound waves, Ultherapy devices are able to bypass the top layers of skin in order to excite the rejuvenating properties of your body. Ultherapy takes advantage of the way your body produces collagen and other regenerative elements. When your body releases this collagen, your skin becomes more radiant and youthful looking. Results from Ultherapy treatments generally appear gradually over 2-3 months.

If you have loose skin around your neck, face, or chest, it’s important to remember that Ultherapy is FDA approved to treat those areas of the body. This makes Ultherapy a powerful and useful tool for those who want tighter skin but who wish to avoid surgery. Because there is no down time with Ultherapy, patients are able to return to their normal activities immediately.

ThermiTight and ThermiSmooth

Among the most popular skin tightening options on the market today are ThermiTight and ThermiSmooth. Both of these procedures essentially use heat energy to improve the look of the skin. ThermiTight uses a small probe, inserted just under the skin, to create a significant amount of skin tightening. Usually, ThermiTight is used abdomen, breasts, neck or arms—areas with significant surface area. Patients usually report very little discomfort during ThermiTight procedures—most only notice a warm sensation.

ThermiSmooth is performed topically; that is, the surgeon will use a small round probe that is placed on the outside of the skin. The radio frequency energy is then able to penetrate the skin and generate results. Those results are usually more moderate compared to ThermiTight, but in many cases, that’s all a patient needs. Both ThermiSmooth and ThermiTight are available from Dr. Cameron Rokhsar, and as one of New York’s premiere laser surgery experts, Dr. Rokhsar is able to ensure that results are fantastic.

Thermage

Another popular option for tightening the skin is a directed energy device called Thermage. Although Thermage markets itself largely as a way to tone and tighten skin, the device is quite flexible in terms of where it can be applied. Patients are able to get treatments around the eyes, the arms, or even the belly area. Rather than using lasers per se, Thermage uses high energy radio frequencies to heat the skin through vibration.

The excessively lax skin on the surface is, then, replaced with a tighter more youthful skin that’s hiding just in the layer beneath. The results achieved with Thermage are usually subtle but noticeable. In other words, people will notice a change but they won’t be able to tell you’ve had work done. The reality is that’s what many of our patients are looking for in terms of skin tightening procedures.

What’s the Best Age to Get a Skin Tightening Procedure?

It’s difficult to pin down an exact age to get a skin tightening procedure with one of these directed energy systems because everybody ages differently. To some degree, the condition of your skin will depend on your genetics as well as environmental factors. It is, however, important to emphasize that young patients can get a lot out of our Ultherapy or ThermiTight treatments. In some cases, these procedures can prevent wrinkles and lines from forming and, therefore, prevent the appearances of the signs of aging.

For patients who want a way to stay looking younger longer, these procedures are an excellent fit. Broadly speaking, laser and energy treatments produce little in the way of discomfort (especially compared to their surgical counterparts) and much in the way of results.

Laser Procedures are a Popular Option

For patients that are looking to eliminate wrinkles, lines and to tighten up skin, laser and energy procedures are incredibly popular options. These procedures can usually be performed in under an hour, minimizing any interruption to your daily life. We know our New York area patients are incredibly busy, so the ability to get in and get results quickly is a definite perk of both ThermiSmooth or Ultherapy.

If you’re interested in what these procedures can do for you, contact Dr. Rokhsar to set up a no-pressure consultation. During that consultation you can discuss your desired skin tightening results and the best way to achieve those results. Contact us today to get started on your transformation.

About author - Dr. Cameron Rokhsar

Dr. Cameron Rokhsar

Dr. Cameron Rokhsar, MD, FAAD, FAACS, is the founder and medical director of the New York Cosmetic, Skin, & Laser Surgery Center. Dr. Rokhsar is a graduate of Harvard College and NYU School of Medicine. Dr. Rokhsar is double board certified in dermatology and micrographic dermatologic surgery, being one of the few select dermatologists in the country who is also fellowship trained in laser surgery. A researcher and innovator, Dr. Rokhsar is the creator of the non-surgical nose job and has been instrumental in the research and development of laser systems such as the Fraxel, CO2, Mirady, Vbeam, Themitight, and Ulthera devices. An Associate Professor of Dermatology at Mount Sinai Hospital in NYC, Dr. Rokhsar actively teaches the cosmetic dermatology clinic to the resident at Mount Sinai. An expert injector of fillers, and a trainer for many companies, patients fly in from around the world to see Dr. Rokhsar in his Garden City and Manhattan offices in New York.

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