Skin Condition
Skin Sagging & Laxity:
Lift, Firm, and Restore Structural Support
While fine lines reflect changes at the skin's surface, sagging and laxity tell a deeper story — one about the structural framework that holds your skin up. At Dermal Glow, we offer targeted treatments designed to rebuild that underlying support and restore a firmer, more lifted appearance.
Understanding Why Skin Loses Its Lift
Skin's firmness depends on a dense network of collagen and elastin fibres sitting deep within the dermis, working much like the structural framework of a building. As collagen production declines with age — that steady loss of around a teaspoon a year — this framework gradually thins and loses density. Elastin, which allows skin to stretch and recoil, declines too, and unlike collagen, damaged elastin doesn't repair or regenerate well at all. The combined effect is skin that no longer holds its shape against gravity the way it once did, showing up as sagging along the jawline, jowls, a loosening around the neck, and a general loss of facial contour and definition.
This is also where fat and bone changes compound the picture. Facial fat pads shift and can deplete in some areas while shifting downward in others, while the underlying bone structure of the face — particularly around the jaw and eye sockets — subtly remodels and loses volume with age. Skin that has lost its structural collagen support is then draped over a frame that has also lost some of its underlying scaffolding, which is why laxity often becomes more noticeable in the lower face and neck as we move through our 40s, 50s and beyond.
How Our Treatments Work on Sagging and Laxity.
The same wound-healing principle that drives collagen renewal for fine lines can also be harnessed for tightening and lifting, just using treatments calibrated to work at a deeper structural level. Heat-based and ultrasound technologies can deliver energy precisely into the deeper layers of skin and the underlying SMAS layer — the same structural layer surgeons address in a facelift — triggering controlled thermal injury that stimulates fresh Type III collagen production. Over the following months, this matures into firmer, more supportive Type I collagen. Because this is a biological remodelling process rather than an instant mechanical lift, results with these treatments build gradually over several months, with continued tightening as new collagen matures.
This is also why we often combine deeper structural treatments with volume-restoring approaches. Rebuilding the dermal collagen framework addresses the skin's loss of firmness, while restoring lost volume helps re-establish the underlying support and contour that the skin sits on, together creating a more naturally lifted result than either approach alone.
Why it happens
What Causes Sagging and Laxity?
Collagen and Elastin Decline:
Skin's structural proteins decline steadily with age, with collagen production dropping by roughly one to one and a half percent each year from our mid-20s onward. Elastin is particularly slow to repair once damaged, meaning that unlike some skin concerns, this loss doesn't bounce back on its own — it requires active stimulation to rebuild.
Volume and Bone Changes:
Facial fat exists in distinct compartments that shift, separate, and deplete unevenly with age, often dropping lower in the face rather than disappearing entirely. At the same time, the underlying facial skeleton — particularly the jawbone, cheekbones, and the bone around the eye sockets — undergoes gradual resorption, meaning the face genuinely loses some of its bony scaffolding over time. Skin and soft tissue then settle differently over this changed foundation, which is a major driver of jowling and a less defined jawline..
Sun Damage (Photoageing):
UV exposure breaks down existing collagen and elastin fibres while also damaging the cellular machinery responsible for producing new collagen, meaning sun-damaged skin both loses structural support faster and rebuilds it less efficiently. This is why laxity is often more pronounced and appears earlier on sun-exposed areas like the face, neck, and chest.
Gravity and Repetitive Movement:
While gravity's effect is subtle day to day, its cumulative pull over decades — combined with the constant, repetitive motion of facial expressions — gradually stretches the skin and its supporting ligaments, contributing to the downward drift of tissue over time.
Our Go-To Treatments for Sagging and Laxity
At Dermal Glow, we combine deep-acting technologies with expert care to rebuild the structural support your skin has lost over time. Rather than relying on one approach alone, we often layer treatments that work at different depths — restoring collagen and elastin within the skin itself, while also addressing the volume loss happening beneath it — to create a result that looks naturally lifted and well-supported, not pulled or overdone.
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Ultraformer MPT (HIFU):
Using High-Intensity Focused Ultrasound, this treatment delivers precise thermal energy directly to the deep SMAS layer — the same structural layer addressed in a surgical facelift — triggering controlled collagen renewal for a non-invasive lift without cutting or downtime.
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Dermal Fillers:
Carefully placed to restore volume in exactly the areas where it's naturally been lost, re-establishing facial contours and support that have shifted due to underlying fat and bone changes. Our approach focuses on working with your own facial structure rather than against it, so the result simply looks like you, just with the volume and support that time has gradually taken away — never overfilled or puffy, just naturally refreshed.
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Profhilo Structura & Radiesse:
Two complementary bio-remodelling injectables we often use together to rebuild skin from within. Profhilo Structura combines stabilised hyaluronic acid with calcium hydroxyapatite to hydrate the skin while stimulating collagen and elastin production, while Radiesse provides immediate volume and acts as a scaffold that encourages your own collagen to grow around it — together delivering both instant support and long-term structural improvement.
