Best Way To Tighten Skin Above Knees: How To Get Rid of Saggy Knee Skin
We might not have imagined it in our twenties, but sagging knee skin is a real concern that gets bigger as we get older. Although we expect fine lines and wrinkles to show first and foremost on our faces, our knees can also be an early and frustrating sign of aging.
If you find yourself feeling less and less comfortable wearing shorts, you're not alone. Sagging knee skin is a common complaint among both women and men in the US. Many doctors and dermatologists find their patients asking about how to get rid of wrinkled knees and lift sagging skin on the legs.
The truth is, there are plenty of ways to lift and tighten the skin around the knee area, ranging from the best skin care products to more extreme options like cosmetic surgery. Not everything is going to work for you, but as always, we recommend taking a holistic approach to skincare that treats your issues from all angles. Here's our guide to knee wrinkles, including expert tips for reducing sagging knee skin and getting your confidence back!
What Causes Knee Wrinkles?
Knee skin, just like the skin on our face and neck, is prone to wrinkling as we get older. This can be put down to the way the body's natural mechanisms slow down over time. Collagen production slows down from our twenties onwards, and it's decelerated even more once we reach menopause. Collagen is also further damaged by sun exposure, stress, poor nutrition, smoking, and exposure to pollutants.
Because collagen is the protein we need to maintain firm, smooth skin, its loss is a significant factor in the formation of wrinkles. When collagen levels decline, our skin loses its base support structure and becomes crepey.
The reason that our knees are affected so badly is that we all naturally have excess skin around this area. While this extra skin is crucial to allowing movement around the joint, it will also be prone to sagging as we age. This excess skin can become even looser and saggier after sudden weight loss.
Knees are also high-impact joints that are prone to frequent movement, coming under a lot of pressure on a daily basis. When our skin starts to lose its ability to bounce back from wear and tear so easily, the knees will show wrinkles and uneven skin texture.
Learn more about what causes wrinkles.
10 Treatments for Sagging Skin Around the Knees
So what can we do to keep our knee skin firm and tight? Here's what the experts say:
1. Reduce Sun Exposure
The number one thing that you can do to prevent premature skin aging is to avoid sun damage. And although you may already be experiencing some wrinkles around the knees and elsewhere, it's not too late to protect your skin and prevent further damage.
Aside from actually getting older, sun damage is the main cause of skin aging. When the sun's UVA and UVB rays penetrate our skin, they wreak havoc on our skin cells and collagen supplies. There is a direct link between sun damage and skin aging as UV rays attack our collagen fibers, making them thinner and weaker so that our skin loses its foundational structure.
To counteract this, it's important to wear broad-spectrum sunscreen on the body as well as on the face, even on cloudy days. Protect those knees with good-quality sun protection, or even better, cover up with clothing. It's also best to avoid sun exposure where possible, especially during the hottest parts of the day (between 11 am and 4 pm).
Learn more about sun damaged skin.
2. Boost Collagen and Elastin Production
Since collagen loss is one of the main causes of wrinkles, most anti-aging skincare products and treatments will concentrate on boosting collagen production.
Elastin is another important protein in our skin. It's responsible for skin elasticity, which is essentially your skin's ability to stretch and bounce back from movement without wrinkling.
As we age, it helps our skin if we can increase collagen and elastin in the body. This will help combat the aging process and give the skin some strength. The best ways to encourage new collagen and elastin growth are:
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A healthy diet – your body needs amino acids and vitamin C to build collagen and elastin molecules, so a diet filled with proteins, fruits, and veggies will go a long way in supporting your skin health.
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Skincare products – topical collagen and elastin creams can help give your skin a boost, but sometimes the protein molecules won't penetrate far enough into the skin to have a huge effect on your dermal health.
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Supplements – the most effective way to boost collagen and elastin production is with a supplement that contains hydrolyzed peptides.
Taut Liquid Collagen Drink is our best supplement that can help boost the skin all over your body. The problem with topical solutions is that you'll need a lot of product to cover your entire body. With supplements, you are actually boosting your body's natural mechanisms from the inside, offering up the perfect dose of nutrients to speed up collagen and elastin production.
Each bottle of Taut Liquid Collagen contains an impressive 13,000 mg of hydrolyzed collagen peptides along with elastin peptides, vitamin C, hyaluronic acid, ceramide, and grape seed extract. It's a powerful skin booster that can visibly reduce fine lines, wrinkles, and sagging skin – your knees, décolletage, neck, and face will all reap the rewards!
Learn how to choose the best supplement:
https://www.renewskinco.com/blogs/i/7-tips-for-buying-the-best-collagen-supplement
3. Use Retinol to Tighten Loose Skin
Retinol is a potent skincare ingredient that's derived from vitamin A. Retinol has become a bit of a buzzword in the anti-aging world thanks to its incredible ability to increase skin cell turnover and speed up collagen production. This can result in thicker, firmer skin that shows fewer wrinkles.
For saggy skin on knees, you can apply a body cream containing retinol 3–4 times per week. The one caveat with retinol is that it's a harsh ingredient that takes time to adjust to. The first few times you apply it, it may sting a little, causing redness that's commonly known as retinol burn. To counteract this, start with a low-strength formula and use it sparingly until your skin adapts.
Learn more about the benefits of retinol.
4. Exfoliate to Remove Excess Skin
Wrinkly knees can be made more pronounced by the buildup of dead skin that's so common in the legs. Dead skin around the knees (and elbows, too) often looks a little scaly and dull, and this can really stand out as the skin begins to droop.
Regular exfoliation can help remove dead skin and stave off any unwanted discoloration. By removing this outer layer of skin around the knees, you can also boost circulation and encourage the growth of new skin cells. This helps smooth and tone the skin.
To get started, simply add a body scrub to your daily shower routine or apply a lotion containing exfoliating acids like glycolic acid or lactic acid.
5. Reduce Dry Knee Skin with Hyaluronic Acid
Dry skin is a common complaint as we get older, as the body changes and hormonal shifts lead to a loss of moisture in the skin over time. This can accelerate the formation of wrinkles, as dry skin has less ability to spring back from day-to-day movements.
One of the main components of hydrated, healthy skin is hyaluronic acid. This is a naturally-occurring acid that sits in the dermis, filling the spaces between collagen and elastin fibers to make skin plump and smooth. As we age, we lose a lot of our natural hyaluronic acid and this results in dry skin, volume loss, and sagging.
To combat dry and sagging skin on knees, hyaluronic acid body lotions and supplements can help. Hyaluronic acid works like a sponge to attract and retain water in the skin, so the more we have in our bodies, the more plump and smooth our skin will appear.
With Taut Hydrate hyaluronic acid pills, you can deliver an impressive dose of high-potency hyaluronic acid straight to your dermis, where topical products can't penetrate. Even better, these capsules are also packed with grape seed extract, a natural antioxidant that can support collagen production and help protect your skin from sun damage and toxins.
More helpful reading: How to get rid of dry skin
6. Do Exercises to Reduce Knee Fat
Although there's nothing wrong with a little knee fat (as if we need another body part to worry about!) it's true that any excess fat around the knee joints will accentuate the appearance of knee wrinkles. It's also true that strengthening the muscles around the knee joint can help lift your skin and make it appear smoother.
While weight loss isn't necessary, strengthening your legs can help. Here are two exercises that help reduce sagging knees:
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Leg extensions – leg extensions are great for toning your quadriceps (the muscles at the front of your thigh). To do leg extensions, use a leg extension machine at the gym that allows you to sit with a weight resting across your lower legs. While seated, slowly lift your legs up and down to tone those quads. At home, you can recreate this movement with a chair and a weight on each ankle.
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Inner thigh lift – a thigh lift can tone the inner thighs, helping to tighten those muscles and reduce the appearance of saggy knees. To do it, lie on your side on your exercise mat, with your lower leg stretched straight and the top leg crossed over in front of your hips. Lift the lower thigh off the ground and hold.
Exercise classes like yoga and pilates can also help strengthen your knee joints and smooth wrinkles around the knee area.
7. Radiofrequency Microneedling
Microneedling is a non-invasive treatment in which your doctor or dermatologist uses a handheld device to roll tiny needles over your skin. This creates minuscule pinprick wounds that trigger what's known as a wound repair response in your dermis, triggering your skin cells to produce more collagen. Although it's commonly used as a facial treatment, microneedling can also be performed on many other parts of the body to tackle sagging skin.
For sagging skin above knees, a radio-frequency microneedling treatment can be very effective. Radio-frequency microneedling combines traditional microneedling with radiofrequency energy to deepen the wounds and maximize your skin's collagen production. Although it sounds like a slightly scary treatment, radio-frequency is actually a non-invasive process. Thanks to numbing creams it won't really hurt, and any post-treatment redness or sensitivity should clear up within 24 hours. 1
Radio-frequency microneedling is an effective form of collagen induction therapy that can have significant results for tightening loose knee skin. Just make sure you find a board-certified dermatologist to perform it for you, and be aware that most patients need 3–6 initial sessions plus annual maintenance treatments to see long-term results.
More helpful reading: What is microneedling?
8. Ultrasound Treatments
It's also possible to treat loose and sagging knee skin with ultrasound therapy. Ultrasound can be used as a non-surgical and non-invasive collagen treatment, and recent studies show promising results for tightening sagging knees. 2
In ultrasound treatments, your doctor or dermatologist will apply an ultrasound gel to the area being treated before using a handheld device to send ultrasound energy through the skin. This ultrasound energy can reach deep into the dermis and encourage your skin cells to produce new collagen fibers. This can be very effective at lifting and toning crepey skin above knees.
Unlike radio-frequency microneedling, ultrasound therapies don't cause any trauma to the surface of the skin, so they may be preferable for some patients with sagging knees. Ultrasound treatments also offer long-lasting results, with skin tightening effects that can last up to five years after the initial course of treatments. The downside is that ultrasound therapy is likely to be more painful than microneedling, and the treatments tend to cost more.
9. Laser Treatments
Laser skin resurfacing is a powerful treatment that can be used to treat all kinds of skin concerns such as pigmentation, acne scars, varicose veins, wrinkles, and sagging skin. It's a skin-tightening treatment that also helps to even out your skin tone and create an overall more youthful look.
Laser treatments work by creating a controlled injury to your skin (much like microneedling does) in order to stimulate new collagen growth. Using energy from both light and heat, laser treatments can penetrate deep into your dermis and trigger your skin cells into productive action, which over time will have a smoothing and tightening effect on your skin.
For saggy skin above knees, a laser treatment from a board-certified dermatologist or doctor can have a positive lifting and toning effect. Many patients will see results after just one session, but it's generally recommended to come back for multiple treatments to get the best results for your skin.
10. Dermal Fillers
If your primary concerns are wrinkles and loose skin on your knees, dermal fillers may be a good treatment option for you. Filler treatments can be used to smooth wrinkly knees, filling out the space below excess skin to create a more toned and taut appearance.
Dermal fillers are anti-wrinkle injections containing poly-L lactic acid, an ingredient that also stimulates collagen production. This can help strengthen and firm the skin at the dermal level, smooth wrinkles, and improve the appearance of sagging knees.
The great thing about fillers is that they can be done quickly and they require no real downtime (other than a little swelling and numbness for a few hours after the appointment). However, since the knees are such a big area and there may be a lot of wrinkles and sagging skin to treat, you may need a lot of injections to treat them. This can add up to be much less cost-effective than other forms of collagen induction therapy, like the radiofrequency microneedling, ultrasound, and laser therapies listed above.
Treating Sagging Knees with Surgery
Most patients who struggle with sagging knees tend to find good results from natural and non-invasive methods. However, some patients prefer to speak with their doctor about surgical intervention for severe sagging knees, and there are some options if you're willing to go under the knife.
Knee contouring surgery is a multi-step process, so it's no easy feat. It starts with surgical liposuction before following up with skin-tightening surgery and finishing with a treatment like laser or ultrasound. Liposuction can be used to remove excess fat around the knees, most commonly targeting the fat above the knee joint.
The problem with liposuction is that it leaves behind sagging skin, which is the opposite of what you want. So the next step is needed to tighten and lift sagging skin using surgical methods (similar to a facelift). Finally, collagen induction therapy can be performed to tone up the skin around the knees and leave you with a smoother, wrinkle-free look.
Why Surgical Intervention Should Be Your Last Resort
If you're wondering how to get rid of saggy knees, consider surgical intervention to be your last resort. There are a number of surgical treatments out there that can technically help with the reduction of sagging knee skin and knee wrinkles, but the negatives generally outweigh the benefits.
When it comes to the knee contouring surgery outlined above, you'll have to go under anesthesia for the initial procedure. After the liposuction surgery, you're likely to experience swelling, bruising, and bleeding for approximately 2 weeks. The recovery time is 6 weeks, meaning that you may need to keep your legs bandaged for this period. This is before you can even start the skin tightening procedures, too. Overall, it's a very lengthy and uncomfortable process.
Other surgical options include the direct excision of loose skin around the knees – essentially cutting away excess knee skin. Unfortunately, this leaves behind a visible scar that may be worse than the original issue.
If you do decide to seek surgical intervention for your knees, make sure you visit a reputable and board-certified doctor with a good track record of prior patients.
The Natural Way to Lift and Tone Sagging Knees
If you're wondering how to get rid of crepey knees, you'll now see that there are plenty of options out there for you. Before diving into clinical or surgical knee treatments, we always recommend that you start with the basics. Sun protection, skincare, exercise, and a healthy diet will help prevent and treat knee wrinkles and loose skin naturally.
A good-quality collagen supplement is a great next step to take, as it works from the inside out to trigger your body's natural processes into improving your skin. Even better, it works on your entire body, so your face, neck, and arms will also see the benefits. Supplements can also combat other skincare concerns on the legs such as cellulite and stretch marks.
For anyone struggling with wrinkles and sagging skin, we recommend starting with our Intense Transformation Program. It contains a three-week supply of our most powerful supplement – Taut Liquid Collagen.
Why Choose Taut?
There are so many skincare supplements out there, all claiming to work magic on your skin. Unfortunately, not every supplement can be trusted to actually work. Some contain low-quality ingredients while others lack the range of nutrients needed to effectively change the appearance of your skin.
So what makes the supplements in Taut's Intense Transformation Program better than the rest?
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They contain a high dose (13,000 mg) of marine collagen peptides, hydrolyzed to ensure maximum absorption in the body. Marine collagen has the best bioavailability, meaning that it can get to work in the body almost immediately after consumption.
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They're packed with antioxidants like vitamin C and grape seed extract to enhance collagen synthesis and protect your skin from free radical damage.
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They also contain hydrating and soothing ingredients like hyaluronic acid and ceramide to help smooth wrinkles and create a smooth, supple skin texture.
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Not only are they gluten-free and preservative-free, but they also have a delicious orange flavor that's naturally sweetened with Stevia.
Just one tiny bottle per day can significantly improve the quality of your skin from the inside out. This transformation program is a three-week treatment to kickstart your journey to firmer, smoother, younger-looking skin!
Pssst! Did you know that you can save up to 15% on Taut when you subscribe to our skin care subscription?
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