How to Tighten Facial Skin

Time and circumstance can make skin age prematurely, causing not only wrinkles but also sagging. This can make you look much older than you really are. Fortunately, there are a variety of ways that you can turn back the clock to achieve tighter facial skin and a more youthful appearance.

Focus on Skin-Boosting Nutrients

When it comes to repairing sagging skin, five key nutrients take center stage. These are selenium, vitamin C, collagen, zinc and vitamin A (retinol). Collagen provides skin with raw materials. Meanwhile, vitamin C is crucial for enabling your skin to assimilate that collagen. Vitamin A improves the condition of elastin, which is what helps skin maintain its shape and firmness, and selenium and zinc support proper skin maintenance and repair.
These nutrient can be supplied easily through diet, supplements or both. Vitamin C can be found in fresh fruits and vegetables. Selenium is obtained from pork, nuts and seeds, coconut and tuna. For vitamin A, liver and cod liver oil are the best sources. To get more zinc, try eating more beef, eggs, oysters and peanuts. Finally, to improve collagen levels, consider adding more gelatin or bone broth to your diet.

Facial Exercises

Exercise works for toning and firming the rest of your body, so why not your face, too? Improving the condition of facial muscles can go a long way toward preventing or minimizing sagging because they provide a support structure for your skin. For sagging skin around the neck and chin, try tilting your head back with your mouth closed and work your jaw like you’re chewing.
For the skin around your mouth and cheeks, press your lips together, put pressure on either side of your mouth with your fingers and smile to try to force your fingers outward. If you want to address sagging in your forehead area, place two fingers horizontally above each eyebrow with a firm but gentle downward pressure. Try to lift your eyebrows against the resistance. Repeat these exercises for approximately 50 repetitions daily. It’s like a weightlifting regimen for your face.

Make Use of Firming Products

There are numerous creams on the market for facial firming. While they don’t all deliver on their promises, some of these products do provide improvements for minor sagging. If possible, find one that contains skin-enhancing ingredients like retinol, vitamin C, collagen and antioxidants. For sagging under eyes, choose a quality eye-firming gel or serum, which is easier to apply and helps you avoid additional skin stretching during use.

Stay Hydrated

Your body is composed primarily of water, and your skin contains a significant portion of it. When you’re dehydrated, your body starts rationing water, diverting it away from your skin to more important systems like your organs and blood. If you’re frequently exposed to sun and wind, this will only accelerate water loss from your skin.
As a result, the particularly delicate skin of your face becomes dry and brittle and loses its volume, leading to premature sagging. To avoid this, it’s important to drink plenty of water. Try to get at least eight glasses each day, or more if you sweat considerably or spend a lot of time outdoors.

Use Sun Protection

Few things age your skin as severely as the sun. Ultraviolet rays break down collagen and elastin, promoting wrinkles and thin, loose skin on your face. It’s strongly recommended to use a product that offers at least SPF 25 protection. This should be done even in the winter as the sun’s rays are still potent enough to age skin. Be sure to apply some to your neck, too. Many women forget this area, which is why it’s often an easy place to see her true age.

Try Facial Masks

Facial masks are among the best ways to naturally tighten skin without surgery. The best ones are those you prepare yourself. Wholesome, widely available ingredients like lemon, honey, cucumber, yogurt, egg white and oatmeal all provide nourishment and hydration to your skin. Furthermore, astringent ingredients like lemon, white wine and witch hazel help to provide an instant facelift, reducing the appearance of sagging.
There are also commercially available masks that can provide huge benefits. Aim for those containing ingredients like collagen, protein, retinoic acid or alpha hydroxy acids. Masks featuring these ingredients deliver them directly into your skin to give you almost immediate results.

Avoid Harsh Chemicals

Many skin care products contain ingredients that actually work against your skin. Harsh chemicals like alcohol, perfumes, dyes and preservatives can irritate skin and dry it out, and may even cause direct damage to the skin cells themselves. When shopping for facial care products, read the ingredients list carefully. If there are any of the above ingredients in them, move on to something else.
You even have to watch out for harsh chemicals when washing your face. Typical bath soaps are not designed with sensitive skin in mind, and many people find that they make their skin feel dry, itchy and constricted. This is because the cleansers in the soap are made to be strong enough to remove grime from the rest of your body. However, because they’re too potent for your face, they strip it of its natural oils, irritate it and allow it to lose more moisture through evaporation.

Dermatological Treatments

If your face shows a significant degree of sagging, you’ve likely noticed that many at-home treatments either don’t help enough or are completely ineffective. In this case, you may want to consider laser skin tightening from a dermatologist.
While the price may be rather steep, stop and consider how much money you might otherwise spend within a year on treatments and products that do little or nothing. It may actually turn out to be a more financially justifiable investment. Best of all, laser skin tightening is safe, highly effective and fast, and the results can last for several years when you maintain them through healthy lifestyle habits and face care.

It’s natural for skin to lose its elasticity and firmness as you age, but that doesn’t mean it has to happen so soon. By following some of these face tightening tips, you can help correct sagging facial skin and enjoy a younger, more vibrant appearance.