25 Ways to Tighten Skin after Weight Loss

There are lots of ways to tighten skin after you lose weight, and many reasons to do so.  The loose skin can come from pregnancy or even just dropping a lot of weight at one time.  While you might be at your goal weight, you might still feel bulky, and the culprit is loose, sagging skin. How do you tighten skin after weight loss, so you can fit into the clothes you want, and look as gorgeous, healthy, and toned as you know you are? My dears, I can help. If your skin is slow to rebound, keep reading. Here are 20 ways to tighten skin after weight loss… you can do it!

1. Don’t Lose Weight Too Quickly

Dropping a lot of weight at one time can be bad for you, not just for your health, but in general, it can make your skin sag.  One of the ways to tighten skin after weight loss is to lose your weight gradually.  If you are trying to rid yourself of the baby fat after a baby, just tone a lot, don’t immediately jump onto a crash diet that will make you lose a bunch of weight in a short amount of time.  Remember, time is your friend and you want your weight loss to be healthy!

2. Skin Firming Creams

Skin firming lotion is definitely one of the best ways to tighten skin after weight loss and even after a baby.  You want creams that are filled with herbal ingredients, aloe vera, and even some vitamin E and A. These are all ingredients that are designed specifically to increase the collagen and elastin in your skin!

3. Limit Your Exposure

Your skin needs to be nurtured.  Being out in the sun too long and too much exposure to hot and chlorinated water can loosen up your skin even more than it is now.  Limit your exposure to both of these things, along with tanning booths and you’ll see your skin start to firm up in no time! 

4. Mineral/Salt Scrubs

Scientists think the reason using sea salt scrubs (or other scrubs) helps tighten skin after weight loss is that they encourage increased blood flow, which in turn encourages healthy, elastic skin. Whatever the exact reason, it does seem to work for many people… try using a good scrub in the shower twice a day, at least three times a week, and see if it helps you!  Mineral scrubs are also extremely good, just a little bit of sand can go a very long way!

5. Use a Collagen Cream

Another way to tighten skin after weight loss is to keep it nourished with a collagen cream, one designed specifically to cope with loose, sagging skin. They can be pricey, but well worth the expense when they work. Note that collagen creams won’t work for everyone (nothing ever does), so ask family and friends for recommendations before you invest in a range of products that aren’t effective. Reviva Labs Elastin and Collagen Body Firming Lotion is definitely one of the best and it’s available on Amazon.com for under $10.00!

6. Try Massage Therapy

I have a particular friend who swears her weekly massage therapy helped her tighten skin after weight loss. She complained of sagging skin, particularly on her upper arms and upper thighs, and is delighted to show off her non-saggy parts now. Why not give it a go? At best, it will help tighten your skin, at worst, you get an invigorating massage.  Massages help stimulate the blood cells and really help your skin feel much firmer!

7. Spa Wrap

Another friend tells me his skin was tightened when he got a seaweed wrap at a local spa, and now he goes every 6 to 8 weeks to enjoy its benefits. Online, I’ve found rave reviews on the local spa he frequents, and not a single negative review. Find a spa near you and do some digging.  Yelp is a great place to start!  You can read reviews from people who have actually been there.  Seaweed isn’t the only wrap to try either, so ask the spa experts and see what would be great for skin tightening!

8. Add Weight Training

Chance are, you used weight training to help you get to your goal weight, but if not, it’s time to add it to help tighten skin after weight loss! If you’re worried about looking overly buff and masculine, don’t be. Simply add weights to your workout three times a week, because building toned, lean muscle under your skin will help it look tighter… and sexier! 

9. Hydrate Yourself

healthy skin is hydrated skin!  Adding in at least 8 glasses of water a day to your diet can make all of the difference in the world.  Hydrating yourself after a workout makes sure that your body stays hydrated.  When your body is hydrated, it comes out in your skin, makes it look glowing, and tightens it up!

10. Practice Yoga

Yoga will help you relieve stress, be more flexible, lose weight, and can even help your skin rebound after weight loss!  The key with yoga, and any other regimen for that matter, is to start off slow. Within a few weeks, you’ll be surprised how much more flexible you, and your skin, can be.  There are tons of yoga classes that you can take or you can even start to do it at home!

11. Raw Foods

There are a lot of vitamins and nutrients that can be cooked out of foods.  To avoid that, why not add in some raw foods to your diet?  Raw foods can be anything from fruits to veggies to even fish (sushi anyone?).  Once you start to add these raw foods to your diet, you’ll see how quickly your skin tightens up!

12. Do Calisthenics

Calisthenics are great for building lean muscle, great for your heart, and they’re even great for tightening skin after weight loss! Add a round of calisthenics to your weekly routine, three or four times a week, and enjoy the jumping jacks, push-ups, windmills, and more… they can be fun, and they’re helping your skin readjust at the same time. 

13. Lean Protein

Adding lean protein to your diet will also help tighten skin after weight loss. How? First of all, it helps build lean muscle, which will make you appear more toned (well, you WILL be more toned!). But lean protein also contains the collagen and other nutrients your skin needs to stay elastic. Protip: consuming lean protein after a workout will help boost the muscle-building effect. 

14. Avoid Junk Food

foods that are high in fat are a dieter’s worst nightmare on two fronts. First, obviously, they can wreck your diet. Second, they do your skin no favors. If you’re trying to keep a healthy weight or tighten skin after weight loss, avoid foods that are high in fat. Even the ones that taste really, really good. ESPECIALLY the ones that taste really, really good! Studies have shown that these high fat foods can even be addictive… so stay away! 

15. Fruits & Veggies

The USDA recommends we eat five servings of fresh fruits and veggies every day, to give us nutrients we need and to help us maintain healthy weights. But did you also know these five servings will help tighten up your skin?  Whether your weight loss is from a pregnancy or you’re doing it just because you want to, adding in these fruits and veggies is the best idea! The reason they work to help tighten up your skin is  because most fruits and veggies have a high water content, which your skin needs to rebound.

16. Avoid Sulfates/Harsh Soaps

Sulfates are used in lots of body washes, soaps, and shampoos because they’re good, cheap cleansers and they make lush lather. But sulfates can also over-dry and irritate skin, stripping it of vital moisture and making it less elastic. If you’re trying to tighten skin after weight loss, shop around for sulfate-free products. L’Oreal offers a great line, for a very reasonable price. 

17. Don’t Tan

The tanning process is horrible for your skin, especially when you’re using a tanning bed to boost your melanin. You might think it makes your skin look smoother and healthier, but it doesn’t. Wear sunblock when you’re outdoors, and don’t fake and bake. You’ll see your skin tighten more quickly, and you’ll also avoid a greater risk of skin cancer. 

18. Rinse Away Chlorine

Excess chlorine from swimming pools and hot tubs can dry out your skin, making it less elastic, and less likely to rebound after weight loss. If you swim to keep fit, be sure to shower immediately after, and use cleaners designed to remove chlorine and moisturize your skin. Also, remember that you don’t need HOT water to rinse chlorine away, use warm water instead, which will also help keep your skin hydrated (hot water can strip away natural oils). 

19. Castor Oil

Castor oil is another great natural way to tighten up your skin.  Weird right?  But if you combine a little castor oil with some lemon juice or even lavender oil and rub it into your skin, you’ll see your skin start to tighten.  To be honest, this is one of the greatest ways that you can tighten up your skin!  Only use a few tablespoons of castor oil every night and you’ll see a difference!

20. Essential Oils

Whether you’ve lost weight because you were pregnant or you just want to get to your goal weight, tightening up your skin is so important!  Essential oils can really help your skin tighten up, if you are using the right ones!  Lavender essential oil is truly one of the best!  Just a few teaspoons every night along your stomach can work wonders!

21. Tightening Mask

I know that it might be weird, but have you ever tried to put a mask on your stomach?  Tightening masks work wonders for your face, why wouldn’t they work for your stomach?  For me, I use a single egg white mask on my stomach at least three times a week.  You let it dry and then rinse it off and gently scrub it dry.  Within a few months (it does take a while), you’ll see a difference!

22. Tightening Astringent

A lot of people forget that they can make their very own tightening astringent which can really tighten up your skin and give you the results you are looking for.  A little honey, some rosemary, and some witch hazel can go a very long way!  I typically do a teaspoon of honey, a tablespoon of witch hazel, and some chopped up rosemary and use that on my stomach.  Rosemary has been known to improve circulation and will really help your skin tighten up!

23. Almond Oil

If you are looking for a really great moisturizer that will rid you of stretch marks and tighten up your skin, almond oil is the key!  Just a small amount of this rubbed along your stomach every day will really make your skin super soft and tighten it up!  Use about a teaspoon of this every night and your skin will look so much better!

24. Soy Protein

Did you know that soy protein and even aloe vera are two things that can really help up the elastin in your skin and make it tighten up?  You can add soy to your diet and even find creams that have both of these ingredients in them.  If you apply that cream twice a day, every day, you’ll see quite a bit of difference to you skin!

25. Cleanser

Finally, you need to think about what you are using to cleanse your skin with.  Did you know you can make your own cleanser?  Mixing things like sugar, milk, and a few mashed up fruits such as grapes, papaya, berries of any kind, and even oranges can all tighten up your skin!

Now follow these tips to tighten your skin after weight loss and you’ll be bikini ready in no time… well, at least within 6 months! You can do it! Or… perhaps you already have? Which of these tips worked to tighten your skin after weight loss? Or do you have another skin care tip to share? Please do share!