No acne, no blemishes, fewer pores, tight texture — standards for the so-called perfect skin have many facets today. And one of the latest techniques to enter the scene, the Morpheus8 laser treatment, has once again put the spotlight on skin tightening treatments with reality TV personality Kim Kardashian posting about them.

Kardashian, who received a Morpheus8 laser treatment to tighten her stomach from US-based plastic surgeon Dr Ashkan Ghavami, called the experience a “gamechanger” on social media.

“Skin tightening requires controlled micro injury at different levels of the skin. Usually, heating the skin with energy-based devices (EBDs) is done to tighten it. After the initial treatment, one to three months are needed for collagen building and subcutaneous fat contraction, which leads to firmness and tightening,” informs Dr Sachin Dhawan, senior consultant, department of dermatology, Fortis Memorial Research Institute, Gurugram.

Talking about its types, Dr Geetika Mittal Gupta, head at Isaac Luxe, says, “There are various skin tightening treatments and technologies to improve the sagging of the skin especially in face, neck and stomach such as ultrasound skin tightening, radiofrequency (RF) therapy, ultrasound HIFU, laser treatment, fractional Co2 laser, microneedling and fillers.”

Morpheus8 is a bipolar microneedling RF device, which has microneedles that can penetrate from 0.5mm-7mm. It delivers heat to the skin and fat layer to shrink it. “Each session lasts for about 15-30 minutes,” says Dr Dhawan. Dr Kiran Lohia, Isya Aesthetics, informs the procedure is done four to six weeks apart with around six sessions. “Its side effects are rare but might include some marks that are treatable,” she says. One would feel mild needle pricks during the treatment and some mild burning, swelling and discomfort for one or two hours afterwards. If too much energy is given or adequate sun protection is not done for a few days after treatment, discolouration and pigmentation can happen. Infection is rare but possible if the needles are not changed.

Cost of the treatment can vary from ₹ 10,000-20,000 per treatment based on the area involved.

In a recent case, a 59-year-old woman from the UK, Jayne Bowman, paid £500 ( ₹ 48,000) for a fibroblast therapy treatment to tighten the skin on her neck, but was left with a lizard-like skin instead.

Fibroblast therapy is a newer non-surgical skin tightening procedure that pushes fibroblast cells to repair and remodel skin and maintain firmness. “In this case, the person went to an unqualified therapist. Only a trained dermatologist or plastic surgeon should be consulted. Overstimulation may have led to scarring of the skin which in turn resulted in lizard or reptile-like neck,” says Dr Dhawan.

According to experts, face tightening is most in demand in India. Among other areas of the body, waistline, love handles, breasts, hips, thighs, double chins and jawlines are commonly treated. “Women consult more often for these than men. However, for jawline tightening, men visit more. Among treatments, ulthera, radiofrequency and thread lifts are the most popular,” informs Dr Lohia.

In rare cases, the treatments can cause burns, skin indentations, subcutaneous fat loss, permanent scarring, changes to pigmentation, open sores and infections. Always consult an expert and get the procedure done from a reputed skin clinic. Such treatments are advisable after the age of 30.

Take these precautions after treatment:

Apply ice packs to reduce swelling

Do not forget to wear sunscreen whenever you go out in the sun

Use prescribed medicine by doctor

Gently cleanse your skin after treatment for some days

Avoid wearing makeup for 1-2 days

Do not do any exercise which increases body temperature

Do not take hot shower

Also, follow a diet that includes citrus fruits like oranges, sweet limes, and Indian gooseberry. Eat lean proteins like soy, skim milk, low-fat yogurt, tofu and low-fat cottage cheese.

Inputs by Dr Geetika Mittal Gupta