Loose Facial Skin
springlering62
Posts: 8,515 Member
I’ve had a lot of friends posting lately about facial wrinkles, so I though I’d talk about weight loss wrinkles from the shoulders up.
This is my experience. YMMV, but this might help someone who’s stressing out.
I’ve lost almost 100 pounds since 09/2018. The first sixty came off in six months, so was pretty rapid. The next 35 or so came off over the course of the next fifteen months. I’ve been in maintenance for about a year.
As more weight came off, I started jokingly (self-critically) calling myself Cadaver Face to the mirror. I had hanging skin on my face, loose bags under my eyes, deep wrinkles on my forehead, sagging jaws, and a wattle that would have been the envy of any tom turkey. Even the color and texture of my face seemed to change- sorta mottled, grayish, and unhealthy looking.
It was scary and hard to accept. I haven’t worn makeup in years, and, for me, changes to my face were painfully, embarrassingly obvious. After all, you can’t put shape wear on your face. I also loath the unctuous feeling of lotions and oils, though I did earnestly try for a couple of weeks, before giving in to utter gross out at the texture.
It was all incredibly frustrating. I’d done so well and worked so hard for the weight loss, and felt somehow punished.
TBH I’m no great beauty at the best of times, but I had become downright scary looking. Hence, the self applied Cadaver Face moniker. (Calling ourselves names doesn’t help, btw. It pains me to see people here with self flagellating user IDs, but that’s a different post.)
I had to breath deep and accept that if this was the trade off for lost weight and better health, I had to accept it for what it was. I CLEARLY felt healthier, and that was my goal, even if my face looked like a newspaper left out in the rain.
But, over the next year or so, something wonderful happened. Still no great beauty, but the wattle disappeared. The skin firmed up. Wrinkles (mostly- I mean, I’m 59!) disappeared, sags, too. Even my complexion brightened so much that a few people began asked,”What have you been doing for your skin?” It all happened so slowly that I didn’t even notice.
Time and continued nutritious eating began to pay off.
I can tell when I am dehydrated, because my skin reflects it. If I have fine lines on my inner elbows, that’s a “Level 1” warning. Level 2 is crepey wrinkles all the way up to my shoulders and/or around my knees, and very, very dehydrated shows in my face and is a immediate reminder I urgently need hydration.
So many of you MFP troopers have posted lately worrying about your faces, and anguished that friends and family have commented that you look drawn and unhealthy. Yeah, you very well may, but it’s just a step on the path to better health.
This, too, shall pass- if you continue to aim for your goal in a healthy manner, and hydrate, hydrate, hydrate. (I’m the worst for forgetting!)
And btw, this has applied to skin below the shoulders, too. Loose skin has tightened with time. Even down to an XS clothing size, I still have a roll around my midsection that I can pull out three or four inches if I relax, however, it’s far tighter now. A few months ago I could easily pull it out six or eight inches. I don’t think it’s visceral fat. I’m pretty lean, a DEXA scan last year pegged my body fat fairly low, and I’ve muscled up quite a bit even since then. It’s encouraging to know the Floam is shrinking, too.
I’m glad I didn’t resort to surgery, or the ridiculous skin freezing thing my sister tried to convince me to do with her. Nature is taking care of things her own way, a hella less cheaper and less painfully. 👍🏻
Anyway, all this is to give hope to those of you who are struggling with your “new look” and extra skin. Relief is on the way, but it does take time.
Be patient and tell the naysayers,”oh yeah? Well watch where I can go!”
Your face is your greeting card to the world, so to speak, so this seems to be a particularly tough thing for many of us. What’s been your experience, your worry, things people have said to you?
Photographic timeline of face changes. Hope this isn’t overkill!
July 2018, before weight loss
5’7”, starting weight was 222+ (I didn’t have the stomach - ha!!! - to weigh myself)
November 2018, 20 pounds down
1-31-2019 first PT training session, about 40 pounds down
Mid March 2019, fifty or so pounds down
May 2019 about 60 down
July 2019- “layers” around face
November 2019, down about 70, face really getting weird
04/2020 down about 85
January 1, 2021, 95lbs down, “Cadaver Face”, trainer begins urging me to put some weight back on
Feb 3,2021 Bags, sags and wrinkles,
June 2021, after gradually adding back five pounds. Wattle mostly gone.
This is my experience. YMMV, but this might help someone who’s stressing out.
I’ve lost almost 100 pounds since 09/2018. The first sixty came off in six months, so was pretty rapid. The next 35 or so came off over the course of the next fifteen months. I’ve been in maintenance for about a year.
As more weight came off, I started jokingly (self-critically) calling myself Cadaver Face to the mirror. I had hanging skin on my face, loose bags under my eyes, deep wrinkles on my forehead, sagging jaws, and a wattle that would have been the envy of any tom turkey. Even the color and texture of my face seemed to change- sorta mottled, grayish, and unhealthy looking.
It was scary and hard to accept. I haven’t worn makeup in years, and, for me, changes to my face were painfully, embarrassingly obvious. After all, you can’t put shape wear on your face. I also loath the unctuous feeling of lotions and oils, though I did earnestly try for a couple of weeks, before giving in to utter gross out at the texture.
It was all incredibly frustrating. I’d done so well and worked so hard for the weight loss, and felt somehow punished.
TBH I’m no great beauty at the best of times, but I had become downright scary looking. Hence, the self applied Cadaver Face moniker. (Calling ourselves names doesn’t help, btw. It pains me to see people here with self flagellating user IDs, but that’s a different post.)
I had to breath deep and accept that if this was the trade off for lost weight and better health, I had to accept it for what it was. I CLEARLY felt healthier, and that was my goal, even if my face looked like a newspaper left out in the rain.
But, over the next year or so, something wonderful happened. Still no great beauty, but the wattle disappeared. The skin firmed up. Wrinkles (mostly- I mean, I’m 59!) disappeared, sags, too. Even my complexion brightened so much that a few people began asked,”What have you been doing for your skin?” It all happened so slowly that I didn’t even notice.
Time and continued nutritious eating began to pay off.
I can tell when I am dehydrated, because my skin reflects it. If I have fine lines on my inner elbows, that’s a “Level 1” warning. Level 2 is crepey wrinkles all the way up to my shoulders and/or around my knees, and very, very dehydrated shows in my face and is a immediate reminder I urgently need hydration.
So many of you MFP troopers have posted lately worrying about your faces, and anguished that friends and family have commented that you look drawn and unhealthy. Yeah, you very well may, but it’s just a step on the path to better health.
This, too, shall pass- if you continue to aim for your goal in a healthy manner, and hydrate, hydrate, hydrate. (I’m the worst for forgetting!)
And btw, this has applied to skin below the shoulders, too. Loose skin has tightened with time. Even down to an XS clothing size, I still have a roll around my midsection that I can pull out three or four inches if I relax, however, it’s far tighter now. A few months ago I could easily pull it out six or eight inches. I don’t think it’s visceral fat. I’m pretty lean, a DEXA scan last year pegged my body fat fairly low, and I’ve muscled up quite a bit even since then. It’s encouraging to know the Floam is shrinking, too.
I’m glad I didn’t resort to surgery, or the ridiculous skin freezing thing my sister tried to convince me to do with her. Nature is taking care of things her own way, a hella less cheaper and less painfully. 👍🏻
Anyway, all this is to give hope to those of you who are struggling with your “new look” and extra skin. Relief is on the way, but it does take time.
Be patient and tell the naysayers,”oh yeah? Well watch where I can go!”
Your face is your greeting card to the world, so to speak, so this seems to be a particularly tough thing for many of us. What’s been your experience, your worry, things people have said to you?
Photographic timeline of face changes. Hope this isn’t overkill!
July 2018, before weight loss
5’7”, starting weight was 222+ (I didn’t have the stomach - ha!!! - to weigh myself)
November 2018, 20 pounds down
1-31-2019 first PT training session, about 40 pounds down
Mid March 2019, fifty or so pounds down
May 2019 about 60 down
July 2019- “layers” around face
November 2019, down about 70, face really getting weird
04/2020 down about 85
January 1, 2021, 95lbs down, “Cadaver Face”, trainer begins urging me to put some weight back on
Feb 3,2021 Bags, sags and wrinkles,
June 2021, after gradually adding back five pounds. Wattle mostly gone.
24
Replies
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Wonderful pictures! You're beautiful inside and out!
I lost 60 lbs between age 59 and 60, and have been super conscious of my skinny but wobbly neck. Then last night I saw a 40 year old friend for the first time since before the pandemic (and the 60 lbs) and the first thing she said to me was, " where are you hiding the stolen princess with the magic hair? You never age!"
We are, indeed, often our worst critics :-)7 -
Wow! You are a true inspiration! Like you, my first 60 fell away fairly quickly. The I slowed down with the next 20 and would like to lose another 20-25. I loved being thinner but not the ugly saggy wattle under my chin. I told myself that my one-year at maintenance gift to myself would be a mini-lift. But looking at your pictures has given me hope.2
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I'm so conflicted over this post because I don't see what you see @springlering62. Like at all. But I completely understand the sentiment (my "Mindf🤬 Area" is my stomach).
What your series of pics made me realize* is that what I consider problematic is going to be imperceptible to the vast majority of people.
So why am I spending (don't type the amount... DON'T TYPE THE AMOUNT! 😭) on my stomach again?
Thank you for the mental realignment. Let's see if it sticks. My brain is a sassy 'n stubborn lil thing.
Sidenote: the other realization (more like reinforcement) is that I hate all the odd terms we use for our bodies. I had to look up wattle (and I still don't see a correlation to your pics). Last week, I had to look up hip dips because I could have sworn it was just an exercise move. A few months before that, someone here on MFP was talking about their banana bum?! The amount of ways we impose negative associations on our gracious bodies is just mind-boggling.7 -
I'm so conflicted over this post because I don't see what you see @springlering62. Like at all. But I completely understand the sentiment (my "Mindf🤬 Area" is my stomach).
What your series of pics made me realize* is that what I consider problematic is going to be imperceptible to the vast majority of people.
So why am I spending (don't type the amount... DON'T TYPE THE AMOUNT! 😭) on my stomach again?
Thank you for the mental realignment. Let's see if it sticks. My brain is a sassy 'n stubborn lil thing.
Sidenote: the other realization (more like reinforcement) is that I hate all the odd terms we use for our bodies. I had to look up wattle (and I still don't see a correlation to your pics). Last week, I had to look up hip dips because I could have sworn it was just an exercise move. A few months before that, someone here on MFP was talking about their banana bum?! The amount of ways we impose negative associations on our gracious bodies is just mind-boggling.
That’s a great way to look at it! We do tend to hyperfocus (aka endlessly gnaw) on perceived imperfections. Hence the ladies here bewailing their busts, hips, thighs, underarms, “back fat” and more.
I still don’t like having my picture taken- a throwback to the Damn I’m Fat days, so most my photos are culled from video my trainer take every week and are not the best examples. But there was a very distinct and pronounced wattle, layered geologic-like triple chins, and sagging jowls.
In celebration of our 35th (!!!!!!) anniversary today, I’ll repeat the best thing my husband ever said to me, which has been my mantra ever since:
“Don’t cry, honey. It’s better than it was before!”
That was in reference to a nightmare renovation project, but has applied to soooooo many things since then.
Please continue to be “sassy and stubborn” and fabulous!
6 -
Ohhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh....
!!HAPPY ANNIVERSARY!!
This is, apparently, your "coral year" (if you're into traditional, thematic gifts). How sweet!2 -
Oh boy, so appropriate right now. I just took some selfies for a friend, something I've always hated, but I found myself so annoyed at my 'jowls', saggy skin around my mouth and loose skin on my neck.
Ironically, a close friend recently told me I look younger now after weight loss.
Only being 38, this post reassures me that things will probably firm up again. Not necessarily below the shoulders (stretch marks and all that) but at least above 🙂
I'll keep that in mind if people start commenting that I'm looking gaunt!3 -
Great transformation. You don’t look older to me now. I feel like extra weight ages people.3
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I'm with @MaltedTea on this. I simply don't see what you are describing. The penultimate picture from 2021 is badly lit and clearly unflattering, but even so I don't see anything objectionable.
That said, I do understand where you are coming from. Many of us obsess over small things that others don't even notice. As an aside - who even decided anyone should get hung up about hip dips? I have them - actually I'm grateful to have lost enough fat to discover that I do! But for a long while I got most peeved about my neck. It had not been an issue until I caught a glimpse of it once in the rear view mirror of a taxi. It was a jolly fine wattle. We use that taxi driver a lot, so I kept seeing it and it kept bugging me. Then lockdown happened so at least I didn't have to see it any more, and when we were allowed back in taxis again the problem had all but disappeared.
I'm really trying to embrace myself at the point I am. That's not to say I'm not working to improve things that bug me when I think about them, but my husband laughs (and threatens to put on his sunglasses) at the array of vividly coloured gym kit I now own. Whereas I used to wear black, baggy stuff, I now think nothing of turning up in skin tight orange leggings. People can think what they want. I've put in the work and if I want to wear said leggings every one else can just suffer!
Seems like you are doing similar - good for you. You've made great progress - and it was a great idea to post this thread, so people know what they may be in for both short and longer term.2
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