Laser Skin Tightening Treatment Melbourne

At ENRICH we offer the best range of skin tightening technologies available in Australia to offer you the unique TightSkin Program that best suits your needs.

One of the main concerns many of us have about ageing is skin laxity. Not only do we lose volume from loss of bone, fat, water and collagen, but we also lose elasticity. The results are sagging and the formation of creases, lines, folds and hollows.

To address this, we have treatments at our Melbourne clinic that focus on the various mechanisms that cause this: hydration, volume, elasticity and lift.

TightSkin Program – Treatment Information Sheet

Our range of technologies include:

ThermiRF – radiofrequency
UltraformerIII – laser
Portrait – laser
Secret RF – laser
Venus Freeze – magnetic pulse and radiofrequency
Slimspec – acoustic waves
Dermal fillers
Anti-wrinkle injections
Thread lift
Laser resurfacing
Platelet Rich Plasma (PRP)

Contact our Melbourne clinic for more information on a tailored TightSkin program.

*Any surgical or invasive procedure carries risks. Before proceeding, you should seek a second opinion from an appropriately qualified health practitioner.

What can I expect from tightening procedures?

We aim to get your skin to be – depending on our starting point – taut, smooth, and tight. Each of you will have a starting point from which we have to work, so if your skin is young and supple, tightening may not even be appropriate or it can be a minor procedure, but if your skin is less elastic and gravity is forcing its way into your life, then chances are we can make a big difference.

Skin tightening is a procedure that needs to be repeated, because in essence, you are non-surgically tightening, which means the cells are doing all the work producing extra collagen. Once the stimulating effect on the cell starts to diminish, so will the effects of tightening, despite this being overall quite a long-lasting strategy.

We recommend a starting point of several strategies (about six) to kick start your regime, after which your dermatologist will inform you of the frequency required to keep your skin looking beautiful well into old age.

Why does our skin stop producing as much collagen and elastin?

As we age, our cells start to lose function. They produce much less collagen and elastin, hydration starts to wane, and hydrating molecule content drops. This results in fine lines, wrinkles, and sagging, which can appear anywhere on the body. Any kind of stretching or trauma to skin can also have this effect, for example the tummy after a pregnancy, or extra skin after losing a lot of weight.

The benefits of tightening treatments:

More youthful-looking skin
Greater elasticity and strength
Extra collagen production
Smoothing out of fine lines and wrinkles
Reducing folds
Plump up sallow skin
Promote radiance

Skin tightening treatment areas

There are a few key areas that are most commonly treated, and they include:

Buttocks
Tummy/abdomen
Arms
Face
Legs

Tightening treatment schedule

Each of you will have a different schedule depending on your needs. Your dermatologist will advise, however generally you could expect to have 4-6 procedures, about 2-6 weeks apart. This allows the cells to ramp up their activity so we can capitalise on their collagen production with the next treatment.

Surgery-free tightening

We can now tighten without a single cut. New wave-based technology means we use completely different systems for rejuvenating and tightening: laser and radiofrequency.

We use lasers, LED light-based and radiofrequency-based procedures. These techniques and equipment mean results are achieved faster, more efficiently, and overall more comfortable. Laser skin tightening and radiofrequency can also reduce fatty deposits without surgery.

Laser tightening

Laser tightening is a form of tightening using heat to not only stimulate cells, but to retract the skin slightly, firming it instantly. With laser tightening, blood flow is better, and lymphatics are stimulated so the area treated looks and feels healthier.

Lasers are one way we tighten skin. We find that lasers are effective with short recovery periods, and are popular with our clients. Newer technologies, like the ThermiTight, however, are coming up a close second as tightening and fat-deposit removers of choice.

Tightening procedures can manage:

Wrinkles
Fine lines
Fatty deposits
Cellulite
Stretched-out skin
Sallowness
Loss of volume
Dehydration
Poor texture
Large pores
Sagging
Drooping

Recovery from energy-based skin tightening

Recovery is very short for most of these procedures – there is minimal downtime and you can go back to your normal activities immediately. You may have some redness in the area, but this dissipates quickly.

Your treatments will take between 15 and 45 minutes usually, depending on the area being treated (speak to your dermatologist about how long to leave for your appointment).

What you can expect to see after RF and lasers

After your procedures, you should expect to see instant skin tightening, but the beauty of these treatments is the effect increases over time as the cells regenerate and produce more collagen. Tightening can sometimes be quite profound, but it will depend on the elasticity of the skin to begin with, and what treatment number you are up to.

Fine lines and wrinkles will start to diminish from day one, with elasticity and tautness improving over the coming weeks. Tone will be rejuvenated over time as the cells produce more collagen, and your complexion gets a booster shot.

These procedures are very comfortable. The equipment that we use is approved by the FDA and TGA in Australia for skin tightening, and all of our staff are highly trained in all our equipment.

All of our technologies are chemical-free and use just the equipment. We can provide consistent, reliable results ongoing as part of your anti-ageing strategy.

Surgical tightening as part of your plan

Surgical skin tightening has traditionally been done using facelifts, blepharoplasty (eyelid surgery), and brow lifts. These procedures lift and tighten the skin on the face, though they require a very skilled surgeon to pull off well. Surgery is also not necessarily an option for everyone. It can be expensive in both time and energy, as the skin must heal, which means time out from life.

The laxity required to benefit from a facelift is reasonably significant compared with the gentle and lightweight nonsurgical variations, which can be done on much younger people, and used as a tool over a lifetime, rather than ‘waiting until things are bad enough to warrant it’: a facelift.

Some people are not able to undergo surgery due to medical conditions or being generally unwell. Being unwell doesn’t mean you don’t want to look good, so collagen-stimulating can be an effective alternative.

Comparison of different treatments

It can be difficult to know what you need, which is why your cosmetic dermatologist will explain – after listening carefully to your desires – what your options are. Here is a brief overview of the differences between treatments so you know what you’re in for.

Results (most effective tightening at top)

ThermiTight radiofrequency/laser/ultrasound
Thread lift
Anti-wrinkle injections/dermal fillers/radiofrequency

Recovery (shortest to longest)

Ultrasound
Radiofrequency (mild redness)
Laser (mild redness)
ThermiTight radiofrequency
Anti-wrinkle injections (possibly some mild bruising)
Dermal filler injections (possibly some mild bruising or swelling)
Thread lift (swelling and bruising for a week)
CO2 laser (two weeks recovery at home, significant downtime)

Cost (lowest to highest)

ThermiTight radiofrequency
Radiofrequency
Anti-wrinkle injections/dermal fillers/
Ultrasound
Thread lift/CO2 laser

Non-surgical RF and laser skin tightening is the new kid on the block

Skin tightening used to be the domain of the surgical facelift, but now we have such a great range of excellent devices that do the hard work for us, no scalpels in sight. We use heat and light waves to stimulate cells right into their centres, to the heart of each cell, the mitochondria. The mitochondria then kickstarts the cell into action.

Ultrasound or radiofrequency or light/heat beams from a laser can penetrate where nothing else can without literally piercing the skin. Now we can get deep without causing damage.

Adjuncts we might use in your tightening regime

Anti-wrinkle injections
Dermal filler injections
Laser resurfacing
Threadlift

Anti-wrinkle injections as part of your tightening plan

Anti-wrinkle injections are muscle relaxant injections that can help stop wrinkles from forming or getting deeper, but can also be used to create lift. One muscle lifts the face up, while another muscle pulls it down à la frowning versus smiling. We can selectively moderate the action of the downward-pulling muscles, causing the upward-pulling muscles to become stronger. This creates a natural-looking lift.

We can use this to great effect under the brows to create a brow lift, or at the sides of the mouth to help bring the ‘sad-face’ tendencies upwards. The neck, jowls, jaw and cheeks can also be lifted.

This may be part of an anti-ageing strategy that your dermatologist puts into place for you, ongoing. Skin that moves more often tends to get saggier quicker, so immobilising some small muscles (without ruining your ability to express yourself of course!) is useful for future-proofing your face to a certain degree.

Dermal filler injections as part of your tightening plan

Dermal fillers are a range of collagen-stimulating substances that are injected into the layers to stimulate collagen and provide hydration. We tend to use dermal fillers here, which is a substance naturally found in your connective tissue, but in particular in your skin. It holds up to 1,000 times its weight in water, making it one of the biggest contributors to anti-ageing ever discovered.

Dermal filler injections can provide much-needed volume in a face or neck that is starting to see the effects of gravity. Sagging and wrinkling can be arrested using volume and collagen-stimulators to do the work, while other anti-ageing and skin tightening procedures can be applied.

Laser resurfacing as part of your tightening plan

Laser resurfacing, as the name suggests, takes off the top layer or layers of skin using a specific technique and one of our handful of excellent skin resurfacing lasers. But that’s not all it does. Laser resurfacing stimulates the skin cells to bump up their collagen production, to firm and rejuvenate your skin. Laser resurfacing is not for everyone, but it can be a very useful adjunct in skin tightening anti-ageing plans.

A thread lift as part of your skin tightening plan

A thread lift is a gentle variation of a nonsurgical facelift using – you guessed it – actual threads. The thread is strategically placed with tiny hooks to lift the facial skin. No cuts are made, and the threads can be taken out at any time. Skin is pulled backwards and upwards, with the threads invisible.