Sagging After Weight Loss: Treatments to Address This Common Concern

Adopting healthy habits in the gym and kitchen can be incredibly rewarding for those embarking on a weight loss journey. With the proliferation of weight loss medications and a bevy of great exercise and nutritional advice on the internet, increasing numbers of people are committing to achieving their ideal weights.

However, with such transformations often come other changes in the body that are less than desired. Areas like the face, hands, buttocks, and breasts tend to lose volume during weight loss. These regions may become saggy or hollow due to weight loss, sometimes causing a lack of self-esteem despite success on the scale. Another common issue is loose skin after weight loss, most common after a rapid drop.

If you have experienced sagging after weight loss, skin tightening and fat transfer procedures can help you sculpt your ideal look and enjoy newfound confidence. Keep reading to discover some of the most popular minimally invasive body contouring treatments sought after weight loss.

Understanding the Science Behind Weight Loss Volume Concerns

When we lose weight, some body parts are prone to losing volume first. Typical areas of concern include the face, hands, buttocks, and breasts.

This phenomenon is primarily attributed to these areas' relatively higher fat percentage. Thus, these regions disproportionately experience more volume loss when we lose weight.

Although losing fat can be a good thing medically speaking, it can sometimes make us look aged. Losing facial volume is often the result of weight loss, and popular culture even dubbed the term "Ozempic Face" to describe this effect.

In addition, rapid weight loss often leads to loose skin in areas that have shrunk quickly. The arms, thighs, and abdomen are usually areas of concern that patients look to tighten after a transformation. Age, sun exposure, genetics, and hormones can also impact our skin's elasticity or ability to retract to its newly slimmed shape.

Adding Volume to the Face

Restoring lost face volume requires an artistic touch and a high degree of skill from your provider. Many patients turn to dermal fillers as a quick fix, as these nonsurgical injections can deliver a dramatic difference with almost no downtime.  

Dermal fillers can also be injected in precise quantities into various areas of the face. However, some of the downsides of fillers are that they do not last longer than about a year and that there is a chance of a reaction to the foreign substance in them.

Whereas dermal fillers degrade relatively quickly, a fat grafting procedure can restore lost facial volume with longer-term results. A minimally invasive fat transfer to the face allows for delicate, natural-looking results that become semi-permanent after a few months. However, this option requires additional treatment to harvest the fat injected into the face.

Augmenting the Breasts

The breasts commonly sag after weight loss. The two most common treatments for restoring this volume are breast implants and breast enhancement via fat transfer.

Whereas breast implants can be suitable for those who don't have excess fat to harvest, they tend to produce less natural-looking and feeling results. Additionally, as AirSculpt surgeon Dr. Kevin Hanz explains, while implants can provide a dramatic augmentation, they come with several possible risks, like adverse reactions or damage to the implant.   

Conversely, with a fat transfer to the breasts, patients can restore volume after weight loss with a minimally invasive procedure. This approach also removes stubborn fat from another area like the abdomen or thighs, providing dual benefits at once. Results are almost always softer and more natural than implants, and this procedure can be done with patients fully awake, avoiding the risks of general anesthesia.

Enhancing the Buttocks

Losing volume in the buttocks can significantly impact our self-confidence. Like the breasts, two of the most turned-to treatments for adding volume to this region are implants and fat transfers. Non-surgical treatments like Sculptra also exist, but the results pale compared to the options above.

Fat transfer to the butt involves careful injection of fat into the buttocks tissues to ensure proper blood supply and prevent complications. After the initial post-op window, during which patients have to sit on a BBL pillow to ensure long-term results, the changes should become permanent. Butt implants, by contrast, may move around and cause patients pain after the procedure. As long as you have enough fat to harvest, fat transfers tend to be the better long-term solution.

Skin Tightening

With weight loss also often comes loose skin, especially following fast changes. Several types of treatments exist, ranging from more invasive tummy tucks to minimally invasive and nonsurgical procedures.

The general rule of thumb is that the more dramatic the results that can be provided, the more invasive the treatment. If you have minor skin laxity concerns, a nonsurgical procedure could be more appealing due to its minimal downtime.

AirSculpt Can Combin Skin Tightening and Fat Transfer

If you want to combine a fat transfer to restore lost volume and skin tightening, the AirSculpt+ procedure can do both with a minimally invasive procedure and just two days of downtime.

Whatever your body goals may be, here at AirSculpt, your experience will be seamless from start to finish. We have body contouring clinics conveniently located in 30+ markets worldwide, so don't schedule to reach out for a complimentary consultation.