How to Tighten Loose Abdominal Skin

That unsightly, sagging abdominal skin may keep you from fully appreciating the fact that you have reached your ideal weight. Whether you've lost weight too quickly or are dealing with a postpartum pooch, you may be wondering if your stomach will ever be beach worthy. The answer has a lot to do with genetics and time, but there are a few tips and tricks you can use to tighten that loose abdominal skin.

Is It Fat or Skin?
It's important to first confirm that you're dealing with actual excess skin and not additional, soft body fat. Mark Sisson, fitness author and founder of Primal Nutrition, believes that most cases of loose skin are really just stubborn patches of residual body fat. He states that if the loose skin is more than a few millimeters, this is likely this case. If you can grab a fistful of loose skin, you're dealing with body fat. In this case, you need to keep working at reducing your body fat percentage with a combination of healthy eating and exercise.

Give It Some Time
If you really are dealing with excess skin, give your body some time to return to its former shape. Postpartum women should consider that it took almost 10 months for their stomachs to stretch during pregnancy, so the prospect of returning to normal in a few weeks may be unrealistic. Likewise, anyone concerned with loose abdominal skin should consider how long their skin was stretched. Fitness and lifestyle coach Charlene Johnson says that it could take up to a year after losing weight for skin to tighten up.

Improve Elasticity of Your Skin
Your genetics play a major role in the elasticity of your skin, and this characteristic is the key to tightening loose skin. Keeping yourself hydrated and eating a healthy diet with an appropriate amount of protein can help your skin regain some elasticity. Also, skip sun tanning, harsh detergents and other skin irritants. You can also try a regiment of exfoliation and moisturizing to nourish your skin. Don't skip on stomach crunches and other abdominal exercises, which can help your skin flex and regain its shape.

Learn About Wraps and Other Treatments
If you're looking for a quick fix, some body wraps and other treatments may be able to help, however, these results are usually temporary. Body wraps, usually a 45- to 60-minute chemical treatment applied to the skin under a material wrapped taught around the midsection, reduces inches and tightens skin by pulling fluid out. Once the skin rehydrates, the inches and sag will return. Belly binding treatments, used for centuries for various medical reasons, take place over the course of weeks. During this treatment, a person can use a special wrap or girdle to hold skin in a position that allows it to shrink and reattach to muscle. If it works for you, this is a permanent fix.