Laser Resurfacing to Firm Loose Skin

A clinic may tell you laser resurfacing is the answer to loose skin. Find out whose sentence that is.

This guide takes one claim, reads it against its source, and ends with a question to put in writing before you pay. It covers laser resurfacing for sagging skin only, not the other tightening options.

The claim under review

On its page about firming sagging skin, the American Academy of Dermatology lists laser resurfacing and says: "This is the most effective procedure for tightening loose skin." The same page, the academy's firming options page, is the place to read the sentence in context.

That sentence ranks procedures. It does not describe your skin, your provider or your outcome. A clinic that quotes it is quoting a ranking, and the ranking is not a promise.

Reading the claim against the paperwork

Look at three things in anything you are given. Which procedure is named, what the document says that procedure is meant to change, and what it lists as not covered. If the brochure says "most effective" and the agreement says nothing about results, note that gap before you sign.

A second description helps with the comparison. Read the society page on laser resurfacing for sagging skin and mark any statement in the offer that neither page contains.

Before you agree to the treatment

Ask the provider to put this in writing: what is this treatment expected to change for my skin, and what does the agreement say happens if it does not? A provider who is confident in the procedure should be willing to write the answer down.