Procedures What to Do About Loose Skin After Weight Loss Solutions to Prevent, Minimize, or Manage Excess Skin After Losing Weight By Jennifer R. Scott Jennifer R. Scott is a weight loss writer. She designed her own successful weight loss plan, which helped her safely lose 50 pounds in about a year. Learn about our editorial process Jennifer R. Scott Medically reviewed by Medically reviewed by Richard Fogoros, MD on August 05, 2016 Richard N. Fogoros, MD, is a retired professor of medicine and board-certified internal medicine physician and cardiologist. He is Verywell's Senior Medical Advisor. Learn about our Review Board Richard Fogoros, MD Updated on March 20, 2019 Print More in Weight Loss Procedures Basics Nutrition for Weight Loss Exercise for Weight Loss Diet Plans Medications Supplements In This Article Table of Contents Expand Overview Risk Factors Common Locations Prevention Coping View All Back To Top If you have a lot of weight to lose, you may be concerned about having loose skin once you reach your goal. Weight loss reality shows and plastic surgery makeover shows often show this loose skin after a significant weight loss. Learn why this happens and your options for avoiding or treating this problem. Overview If you lose a considerable amount of weight, you may have loose or excess skin once you have reached a normal, healthy weight. The degree to which you may experience this depends on a few factors. The elasticity of your skin before and during the weight loss process determines how much—if any—loose skin you will have. Younger skin that is more elastic is able to snap back more effectively to its original shape. Older skin is less elastic and may not shrink back as well. Risk Factors Your chance of having excess skin is significantly affected by how much weight you have to lose and how quickly you lose it. When you lose weight quickly, your skin may not shrink as fast as you'd like. Most people who lose 100 pounds or more will have an issue with excess or hanging skin when they reach their goal weight. How long you have been overweight or obese can also affect your skin's ability to rebound from being stretched out. The less time you have spent overweight, the more likely it is that your skin will return to normal. How to Successfully Lose Weight With Diet and Exercise Common Locations The excess skin is usually abdominal skin that reaches down well past the belly area. Loose skin after weight loss can happen in other areas as well. Some dieters experience saggy skin in the arms and around the bra line. Some even get loose skin in the thigh and buttocks area. Prevention A slow and steady weight loss one or two pounds a week is the ideal rate and will help save your skin's elasticity. The quicker you lose your weight, the more likely you are to have a problem with excess skin. In addition to slow and steady weight loss, you can also build muscle to shape the tissue underneath sagging skin. Coping If you notice loose skin, and especially if you are getting chafing or find the movement of loose skin annoying during activity, you may want to wear compression garments. These are widely available for both men and women for sports as well smoothing your shape under clothing. If excess skin is causing chafing that leads to skin infections, you may need to consider surgery. You might also want to have a procedure performed simply to improve the appearance of your body after weight loss. There are different types of surgery available. Some patients consider a body lift, a cosmetic surgery procedure that lifts and tightens skin at various locations on the body. Another procedure is called an abdominoplasty or "tummy tuck." This surgical method lifts and tightens just the stomach area. Some plastic surgeons can also perform a thigh lift for loose skin in the lower body. The procedures to remove loose skin are serious operations and, like other surgeries, pose a risk of complications. Insurance rarely covers these types of procedures. A Word From Verywell While you may be concerned about loose skin, if you are overweight or obese you will improve your health by losing weight. If you have loose skin after weight loss, talk to your doctor about skin tightening surgeries and methods that can improve both the function and the look of your body. How Long Does It Take to See Weight Loss Results? Was this page helpful? Thanks for your feedback! Get one simple hack every day to make your life healthier. Sign Up You're in! Thank you, {{form.email}}, for signing up. There was an error. Please try again. What are your concerns? Other Inaccurate Hard to Understand Submit Article Sources Verywell Fit uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read our editorial process to learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy. Langer V, Singh A, Aly AS, Cram AE. Body contouring following massive weight loss. Indian J Plast Surg. 2011;44(1):14-20. doi:10.4103/0970-0358.81439 Boswell CB. Body contouring following massive weight loss. Mo Med. 2010;107(3):189-94. Elander A, Biörserud C, Staalesen T, Ockell J, Fagevik olsén M. Aspects of excess skin in obesity, after weight loss, after body contouring surgery and in a reference population. Surg Obes Relat Dis. 2019;15(2):305-311. doi:10.1016/j.soard.2018.10.032