Old time CO2 and Erbium laser resurfacing did effectively tighten loose tissue. However, recovery was very difficult with lengthy healing time, prolonged redness and hyperpigmentation or loss of color after the procedure. These techniques are no longer widely practiced. You can also get the best skin tightening services from newagelaser.
New fractional laser resurfacing techniques are a great improvement. By fractionating or breaking up the laser into many small beams, untreated areas are left to speed healing and complications are less common.
The new fractional resurfacing techniques also can go deeper into the dermis to firm up the deeper collagen and elastin layers. Fractional laser resurfacing machines include the Starlux 1540 and 2940, Fraxel, ActiveFX, DeepFX, Profractional, and Affirm machines.
These skin tightening techniques can be used on and are most effective on the face. Because integument healing is required, these fractional resurfacing techniques are less effective in other areas such as the neck, stomach, and arms.
Lasers are not the treatment of choice for sagging and laxity of the neck, abdomen and arms. These areas require more heat energy that can only be delivered by infrared and radiofrequency machines.
Infrared and Radiofrequency Skin Tightening
The most effective surface applied skin tightening machines today use either radiofrequency or infrared heat energy to firm loose and sagging tissue on the neck, arms and tummy. These machines have sophisticated cooling hand pieces to prevent burn injury.
These machines can penetrate deeply into the dermis, down to 2000 microns where the elastin fibers are most plentiful. These deep treatments are necessary for maximum firming and skin tightening. Commonly available machines are Palomar's LuxIR Deep, Thermage, Titan, and Refirme among many others.
Understand that 4 treatments are usually required for the best result with most machines. New collagen and elastin production will not occur until 6 months after your last treatment, so it takes time to see your final result.
In my opinion, the best results are about a 20-30% improvement. Even better results are possible with higher energies using the LuxIR Deep which has superb new cooling system which allows us to more than double the energy we are using. The new LuxIR Deep cooling with increased energy delivery also shortens the duration of treatments.