What Can You Do About Saggy, Flabby Arms?

Summer is here with warmer temperatures tempting us to show a bit more skin. A tank top can be fashionable way to "beat the heat", but for many going sleeveless just isn't an option. Be it sagging skin or excess fat (or both), women often want to keep their arms under wraps. But before you hide your arms forever, be aware there are other options. Depending on the circumstances, there is more than one way to go about getting rid of some of that sag.

Schedule your complimentary consultation with Glow Surgical Arts to discover how we can help you get the look you want.

Firstly, it’'s worth knowing that not everything about that extra skin on the upper arms is under your control. Genetics matter. If Mom, Dad, Grandma or Grandpa have or had saggy arms, your odds of having the same condition are increased.

Skin elasticity isn'’t always going to be something you can effectively manage. Age will play a role, along with the previously mentioned genetics, and if you have thin skin, you’re going to be more susceptible to your skin losing its ability to retighten after fat or muscle loss as you age. The two other main factors that lead to flabby arms are more in your control, as both atrophy and body-fat percentage can be managed through diet and exercise.

If a healthy, portion controlled diet is already something you’ve got going, there are specific types of exercise that can be used to target the triceps — the muscle underneath your upper arm. That’'s the muscle that when it loses tone and definition can quickly lead to saggy or flabby arms. There are numerous exercises that target the triceps, and many are doable without any fancy equipment. Examples include the tricep push-up, bench dips, and simply skipping rope.

On the other hand, it’s also quite possible that the reason you’ve got flabby arms is because you already lost a significant amount of weight. In some cases, then, flabby arms simply aren’t going to respond to diet and exercise. In those cases, there are two other options:

1. Liposuction: At GLOW Surgical Arts, we use Smartlipo body sculpting, an increasingly popular, minimally invasive option for the permanent removal of unwanted fat. The fat cells are destroyed by a high powered laser, stimulating skin tightening and the Smartlipo technique also decreases downtime and increases the recovery rate as compared to traditional lipo. Typically, one procedure is all that’s needed and the results are long lasting, especially if there are no major weight gains post procedure. Smartlipo is certainly an option for dealing with saggy arms if you’re finding that diet and exercise are not making a dent.
2. Brachioplasty arm lift: If there is a great deal of redundant, hanging skin on your upper arms, treating with Smartlipo™ alone might not be enough. In fact, in such cases, lipo alone might result in the saggy arms looking worse. If you’re in such a situation, and this is something you and a cosmetic surgeon can discuss in detail during your consultation, an arm lift (brachioplasty) might make more sense.

For this procedure, after an appropriate amount of fat is removed with liposuction, the excess skin is then also removed. A GLOW cosmetic surgeon then carefully closes the incision, places wound dressings and fits a recovery garment. An arm lift does result in a scar, although your surgeon will make sure it’s on the inside of the arm and therefore less visible. Swelling and bruising may also occur, but both usually resolve within several days. It’s also crucial not to stress the triceps too much during recovery, and subsequently the timing of an arm lift procedure is important.

It’'s quite possible that an improved diet and specifically targeted exercise will prove effective in combatting saggy arms. If that doesn’t seem to work, however, you have other options. Certainly, getting an arm lift procedure is growing immensely in popularity in the U.S.

Remember, choosing between Smartlipo and an arm lift procedure is not a decision you have to make on your own. A GLOW cosmetic surgeon will talk you through all of the options available to you during a no-obligation consultation. Our goal is simply to help you make the best decision possible and, of course, get rid of those pesky saggy arms!