tightening skin after weightloss/pregnancy??

LessLikeHer
LessLikeHer Posts: 47
in Health and Weight Loss
What kinds of creams, compression clothing, exercises...etc worked to help tighten your skin?

I had a baby about a year ago. I lost weight right away and my tummy retracted noticeably weekly. I gained weight back after about 3 months post partum due to being a new mom and newly stay-at-home wife and mom with no set schedule mixed with not leaving the house for anything but traveling to visit family, 2 hours away due to depression with high anxiety. Now a year later I'm over all of that with flying colors and am actively loosing weight. My skin is still sagging on my tummy though (and you can see cellulite on my upper thighs and butt). It looks awful. I thought it was fat but there is no way. The fat I previously had was more firm , didn't look saggy and I couldn't pinch it like this. I've lost weight and am still losing...Im at 134 lbs and was 150 newly post partum. I have a compression top (inexpensive brand) and am using palmers stretch mark cream as of now but nothing is really changing. What has worked for everyone else?

Editing to Add:
The photo in my avi doesn't show well enough how bad it's sagging...it looks worse than what the photo shows.

Replies

  • asprague917
    asprague917 Posts: 28
    i need to know to for when i start loosing weight...had my daughter 10 months ago. lost 30lbs instantly then thru being a stay at home mom i gained back 40 after getting mirena (wether that had somthing to do with it or not idk).
  • Jamie65toloose
    Jamie65toloose Posts: 152 Member
    Im so glad you posted this as I was going to search for the same thing this morning. I started at 260 and am now at 199 (Im 5'9 though) and have noticed my weight of course, but my stomach is sagging a little as well and my belly button is stretched more now. I have been thinking about ways to make it go away but have not tried anything yet. I just figured I would have to have surgery or something to fix it all. I will sty tuned on this for sure and see what all the other ladies say.
  • GaidenJade
    GaidenJade Posts: 171
    First off, how fast your skin retracts depends on your age, and genetics and how much your skin has been stretched.

    Sure there are creams out there, but I haven't found anything that is a magical fix. Unfortunately. :cry:

    What I do know is that the key to helping your skin retract is three parts.

    #1 keep your skin moisturized. I like using pure vitamin E oil, but use whatever floats your boat.

    #2 Drink lots of water. Water helps hydrate your skin further.

    #3 and this is important. Time.

    I've heard the time table of two years float around here. Though I don't know. I know after your child it all retracted easily, but it won't always do that, the older you get, the more your body changes. Especially after having children.
  • yancymichele
    yancymichele Posts: 66 Member
    bump
  • ChasingStarlight
    ChasingStarlight Posts: 424 Member
    I don't think there is any cream or exercise which will help. I have had 3 kids and I was quite worried as mine did hang down, but now I have lost most of my weight it is much better. It looks fine now standing up and is a bit loose when I lean over but I am hoping that losing body fat, doing ab exercises and a bit more time will assist. I have heard it can take a couple of years for it to improve.

    Don't panic yet, lose the weight and give it some time. Good work getting on with things. Good luck.
  • Yanicka1
    Yanicka1 Posts: 4,564 Member
    Sorry to be the bearer of bad news but cream or exercise will not help the loose skin. Don't get me wrong moisturizing is important but genetic will dictate how much loose skin you will be left with. The best way is to lose the fat under the skin.... after being at goal weight for one year or 2, your skin will tighten as much as your genetic allow.

    That being said, drinking plenty of water and filling the skin with muscles really help. I gave birth to 6 kids and I have loose skin that only surgery could take care of...... it does not stop me from wearing a bikini. :wink:
  • eatrainsmile
    eatrainsmile Posts: 220 Member
    My mom (who is 50 years old) makes a mixture with real cocoa butter, real sesame seed oil, real orange peel oil (not the fake stuff sold in Body shop) and use it as lotion weekly. She has the best skin I have ever seen. She is firmer than anyone I know. I wish I was a bit like her. :indifferent:
  • skinny_cigarettes
    skinny_cigarettes Posts: 49
    bump :P
    i need to know this, after just over 50 pounds i'm already getting pretty bad saggy skin!
  • grimsin
    grimsin Posts: 78 Member
    it is going to depend on genetics and how much your skin was stretched and for how long it was stretched. best thing you can hope for is to exfoliate your skin, drink lots and lots of water, keep it moisturized and do strength training, but the main thing that will help is genetics :) many have no options other than to live with it or have surgery to remove it, unfortunately that is a big side effect of gaining weight :(
  • DawnieB1977
    DawnieB1977 Posts: 4,248 Member
    First off, how fast your skin retracts depends on your age, and genetics and how much your skin has been stretched.

    Sure there are creams out there, but I haven't found anything that is a magical fix. Unfortunately. :cry:

    What I do know is that the key to helping your skin retract is three parts.

    #1 keep your skin moisturized. I like using pure vitamin E oil, but use whatever floats your boat.

    #2 Drink lots of water. Water helps hydrate your skin further.

    #3 and this is important. Time.

    I've heard the time table of two years float around here. Though I don't know. I know after your child it all retracted easily, but it won't always do that, the older you get, the more your body changes. Especially after having children.

    I've heard that it takes 2 years for your body to properly get back to normal. I've got 22 months between my children, so I didn't give my body chance after my first child! I'm 34 now so it is harder. I got very big in my 2nd pregnancy, and I went 12 days overdue too.

    My youngest is now 15 months old and I'm now smaller than when I got pregnant with my first, but I still have the loose skin. It is getting better though, and I think it's just a case of continuing to eat right and doing lots of exercise. I've got a personal trainer, so I do work on my abs.
  • trud72
    trud72 Posts: 1,912 Member
    :noway: LOL this is called a mirical cream! :wink:
  • Angie__1MR
    Angie__1MR Posts: 388 Member
    Time is the only thing that works. I've had two babies, and would say that it takes at least a full year for your body to recover completely.
  • aliciar876
    aliciar876 Posts: 32
    I was wondering the same thing. I've lost around 115 pounds and I have alot of loss skin. I do drink a ton of water and i'm hoping that since i'm only 31 that some of it will go back to normal but was wondering what anyone else was doing to try and tighten up skin.
  • Sublog
    Sublog Posts: 1,296 Member
    Building muscle helps as well as getting really lean will help as well.

    Most of the time moderate loose skin is simply stubborn fat. Which is difficult to get rid of but the skin will usually tighten up as you lose the fat.

    The problem is most people can't or won't get a lean as needed to tighten up loose skin.
  • doneatfour
    doneatfour Posts: 120 Member
    Hate to say it, but I read that there could still be fat in there. According to that article, loose skin would feel thinner like the back of your hand. I don't know if that is what is happening with you or not, but losing more body fat could help. I have this hanging thing on my lower belly, too. It's become more prominent I think with more weight I lose. But it seems to be lifting, or not hanging over as much. Ive had 4 kids, the last three are only 18 months apart. I'm 120, but still around 25% body fat according to some calculators I've used. so I'm hoping it will go away with exercise to lose body fat.

    If it is loose skin, as others have said, time should tighten it up depending on age and the elasticity of your skin. Staying hydrated inside and out was another suggestion I read about.
  • Mindmovesbody
    Mindmovesbody Posts: 399 Member
    I wish I had answers for you but I have the same issue. From what I understand, once we lower our body fat percentage and get rid of the layer of fat over our abs then we can see if it's really skin or fat. If its fat, lowering body fat will take care of it but it's going to take patience and a lot of hard work. If it's skin I think a tummy tuck is the only answer. I saw pictures of that and I'm pretty sure I am not willing to go that route! Your skin doesn't just repair itself, not if it's been stretched beyond its max anyhow!
  • LessLikeHer
    LessLikeHer Posts: 47
    Thanks everyone!!
  • KaiteAllewe45
    KaiteAllewe45 Posts: 4
    i am using Dermelastic serum after my first baby delivery now i am continuously using that serum and i notice my stomach skin healthy and tighter and stretch mark almost gone.
  • mtnstar
    mtnstar Posts: 125 Member
    It has been about two years since my last baby (I have 3 kids), and I still have some loose skin in the belly area, but it's remarkably better than it was a year ago. I've just been doing a lot of ab work, plus taking biotin and bio-sil (purported to be a collagen generator) supplements. I also use coconut oil daily on my stomach. I'm not sure if the exercise and supplement regimen has helped, or if it has just been time and genetics. The only time the loose skin is noticeable now is in plank position.
    It has taken a lot of work, and I had to go 5lbs below my original goal weight to make this happen.

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