Why Does Skin Sag?

 

A lot of things are happening (and all at once) that causes the skin to sag. But it's important to realize that while we can't reverse all signs of aging, we can definitely improve some. The first step is understanding how that process unfolds so you can best address what's affecting your personal facial anatomy. 

 

Factors that Cause Skin to Sag

 

- Collagen breaks down (collagen is made of structural proteins).

- Muscles become lax (where the muscles go, skin goes too). 

- Sustained tension held in the neck will pull downward on the jawline and entire face. 

- Excess fat stored in the face gets weighed down with gravity. 

- Extreme weight loss leaves behind skin tissue that's been stretched out for extended periods of time. 

- Fluid retention and toxins stuck under the skin weighs down loose skin tissue. 

 

Depending on what is causing your skin to sag, here are 5 things you can start doing today! 

 

1. Nutrition 

To build and maintain collagen, it is essential to supply your body with amino acids (protein), minerals, antioxidants, and water. Collagen needs these important nutrients to regenerate and stay healthy. Most of these nutrients should come from your food, but if you need something to fill nutritional gaps I have a few favorites, like this grass-fed collagen protein powder: Snap Collagen and Greens. I also enjoy a cup of boosted matcha every morning from Kroma Wellness, which is full of antioxidants, protein, and other superfoods like turmeric and mushrooms. 

 

To get in the necessary minerals you need for building muscles and skin tissue, you may need some supplementation. The standard American diet tends to lack minerals (soil depletion is a real problem). One easy way to add absorbable minerals to your diet is by mixing a few drops of  Fulvic Ionic Minerals into your water.

 

Ditch processed foods, non-organic foods and excess refined sugar. These foods are either not natural or are contaminated with chemicals and your body could react to either of these by creating low level inflammation (add that up year after year and it will start to affect every organ in your body). If your food is healthy, your cells will use that "information" to build healthy skin, muscles and collagen. If your food offers "bad information," you'll start to see signs of aging much faster; puffiness, droopiness, wrinkles, acne, and dull skin. 

 

2. Massage 

Daily facial massage is a no-cost action you can take to maintain the health of your collagen and fascia. Collagen needs a constant supply of fresh oxygen to stay healthy and plump, while fascia needs flexibility in order to prevent wrinkling. Massage will also help to relieve tension in the face, which can give a boost to sagging skin.

 Some people are scared to massage their face because it will "stretch the skin." While it's understandable to think this at first, it's important to realize that massaging your face is a temporary action (in other words, you are not massaging or manipulating the face for 24 hours a day). If this were the case, then yes, you would eventually stretch the skin (an example is when people increase the size of the earring gauge after piercing their ears and eventually the skin gets completely stretched out). This is not what we are doing with massage. Since massage is only for about 5-20 minutes a day, this temporary manipulation brings fresh oxygenated blood to skin cells and collagen and is actually great for improving skin elasticity. Massage also helps relieve muscle tension that may be causing wrinkles, stagnation or puffiness in the face. The fascia (or connective tissue) of the face and body can get hard, sticky and stiff with immobility and when this happens we start to see more collagen breakdown, more puffiness and more skin sagging. Massage will bring your fascia "back to life" and give your whole face a youthful lift. I offer tons of massage classes that you can access here.

 

3. Skincare

 Using nutritious natural products will help keep skin cells healthy. Just like feeding your body what it needs to function best, we want to do the same thing for the skin (and yes, your skin is using what you apply as an important "food" source). Seawater can be your skin’s best friend because it has an abundance of minerals that are necessary for collagen production. All of my products are formulated with seawater (vs. plain aqua), and seaweed extracts, so your skin will get plenty of nutrients every day!

Seaweed is known for being one of the richest sources of beta-carotene which converts to vitamin A in the skin. Seaweed has all the building blocks (like vitamin C, zinc, iron, magnesium, etc) to create the amino acid chains needed to create healthy collagen as well. Using marine based skincare provides the entire "package" of nutrients but when it comes to what exact products to use, I recommend: a cleanser, a balancing toner, an exfoliant you can use a few times a week, an active serum, a hydrating serum, a facial oil and daytime/nighttime moisturizer. I created bundles for specific skin types and concerns to make it easy to create your regimen. You can view them all here.

 

 

4. Exercise 

The muscles of the face need exercise! The face is the only area of the body where the muscles and skin are attached, so where the muscles go, the skin goes also.  

 If your skin is sagging, consider exercising your facial muscles using Face Yoga techniques. Face yoga helps to relax overworked muscles of the face, while strengthening and toning the muscles that don't get enough exercise. The result is a more lifted face and smoother lines and wrinkles. 

 If you’re ambitious (and trying to avoid dermal fillers), you can also use microcurrent in your routine. This is an at-home device that helps tone and lift muscles using tiny electrical impulses. I have found that using this as a compliment to my face yoga routine has really made a difference, even at age 40!

 Here’s where you can buy the NuFace PRO+ that I use, and here is a tutorial on how to use microcurrent.

 

5. Gua Sha 

We accumulate toxins and fluid under the skin as a result of stress, diet, poor sleep and the grind of daily life. To make matters worse, if you carry tension in your body, this can slow the movement of lymph and you'll soon start to see sagging skin as a result of fluid retention. 

Gua Sha is an ancient practice that works with the lymphatic system to release toxins and fluids that get trapped under the skin. The more waste you can detoxify, the firmer your skin will be. Check out some Gua Sha tutorials for free here. And to choose which Gua Sha tool is best for you, use this guide. 

 

 Preventing and correcting sagging skin takes a multimodal, holistic approach. By addressing your inner health and adopting daily practices you can see changes within about 30 days, sometimes sooner!