“TL;DR: Thigh lift surgery, also known as thigh tuck or thighplasty, addresses extreme skin laxity and sagginess in the thigh area by removing excess skin and stitching the remaining skin together, though it usually leaves a noticeable scar. Non-surgical treatments, such as deep-acting, high-power radiofrequency, ultrasound cavitation, and LED light therapy, suit mild to moderate skin laxity but are ineffective for severe cases, hence the need for a thigh lift in those cases. Thigh lift surgery does not treat cellulite or improve skin collagen or elastin levels, requiring separate cellulite treatments post-surgery. Skin appears firm for a few years due to skin stretching by the surgery, but looseness and cellulite may become visible again, necessitating further non-surgical treatments or, in some cases, a second surgery. To prevent loose skin, maintaining an active lifestyle and stable weight is advised, alongside timely skin tightening treatments to avoid the need for repeated surgical interventions.”
Thigh lift surgery, skin tightening and cellulite
What is best, non-surgical thigh skin tightening or thigh lift surgery?
How does thigh lift surgery work and does it also get rid of cellulite?
Skin quality remains unaffected after thigh tuck surgery
Second thigh lift surgery 10 years after?
What to do about loose skin
Have a skin tightening/cellulite treatment with London’s cellulite experts
Advanced, infrared / blue / red light therapy treatments in London at LipoTherapeia
The Cellulite School™: Get advanced training in cellulite reduction and skin tightening
What is best, non-surgical thigh skin tightening or thigh lift surgery?
Most people don’t like surgery and if they suffer from skin looseness on their thighs (or any other body area) they would prefer to have a course of non-surgical treatments instead.
Non-surgical treatments are great - and in fact the only option - for mild or medium skin laxity / sagginess. However, for extreme skin laxity and sagginess the only option that makes sense is thigh lift surgery. Extremely loose and saggy skin on the thigh area can be fixed (to some extent) with thigh lift surgery, also known as ‘thigh tuck’ or ‘thighplasty’ (what a ridiculous name).
How does thigh lift surgery work and does it also get rid of cellulite?
With thigh lift surgery, skin around the top of the thigh is cut, with the two ends stitched back together.
This removes the excess skin that causes sagginess but of course it leaves behind a usually ugly and pronounced scar. Occasionally, though, the scar can be quite subtle, especially after fading away over several years.
Sometimes thigh lift surgery involves cutting out the skin in a moon-shaped manner while other times it involves a 360º cut (and consequent scar) around each thigh.
But does a thigh lift get rid of cellulite? Obviously cellulite is not removed after thigh lift surgery, as the skin itself is not treated. Skin may appear a bit better because it is tightened but the cellulite is still there in all its glory - just a bit less visible. As soon as skin becomes a bit looser cellulite becomes a lot more prominent again.
So a course of 6-12 cellulite treatments are needed to reduce cellulite after thigh lift surgery, starting from the 8th week after surgery onwards.
Deep-acting, high-power radiofrequency and/or deep acting, high-power ultrasound cavitation, ideally followed by high-power LED red/infrared light therapy, are the most effective SAFE technologies for cellulite reduction.
Skin quality remains unaffected after thigh tuck surgery
Furthermore to cellulite remaining unaffected, skin quality (i.e. dermal and hypodermal collagen and elastin levels) are obviously not changed by thighplasty.
Elasticity and firmness - equivalent to collagen levels and elastin levels in the skin, respectively - remain totally unaffected by surgery.
Of course, due to stretching by the surgery (just like a facelift) skin looks firm and smooth for 2-3 years. However, after which time skin thinness / cellulite become evident again.
In that case, an effective skin tightening treatment (just deep-acting, high-power radiofrequency, no ultrasound needed for skin tightening) is necessary.
Second thigh lift surgery 10 years after?
Obviously, there is always the option of a second thigh lift surgery, which is what one of our recent clients did, 10 years after her first.
In her case, over the years her thigh skin became loose again, very spongy and developed quite a lot of cellulite (as we said earlier, thigh lift surgery does not improve collagen and elastin levels in the skin it just stretches it, just like a facelift stretches the face).
But most curiously, over the years following her surgery, the (darker) area around her crotch was pulled down by the whiter - and after the surgery tight-as-a-drum - thigh skin!
This meant that her thighs below the bikini line had two different colours: darker higher up and whiter lower down, with a visible scar in the middle to separate the two layers.
Not a great look, hence the second thigh lift, which involved cutting away the darker skin on top.
What to do about loose skin
Stay active and do not put on weight, if possible, to avoid your skin getting too loose
If skin does become loose, have some deep-acting, high-power radiofrequency treatments to tighten it up
If skin develops cellulite, have some deep-acting, high-power radiofrequency and/or high-power ultrasound cavitation treatments to tighten and smoothen it up
If you neglect your skin for too long and it does become EXTREMELY loose (as in hanging), don’t even think of non-surgical treatments - of any kind. They won’t do much. Have a thigh lift surgery instead.
Just ask your surgeon to not make your thighs excessively tight, in order to avoid pulling the crotch skin down
Two-three years after surgery, if skin becomes looser again, follow up with a few skin tightening / cellulite reduction treatments, to prevent further deterioration and to avoid a second surgery. The combination of deep-acting, high-power radiofrequency and deep acting, high-power ultrasound cavitation treatments (which treats both cellulite and skin laxity) is ideal.
And if you don’t take care of your skin (as in exercise, healthy eating, perhaps some skin tightening treatments) be prepared for a second thigh lift operation. Just like liposuction, a thigh lift is not (always) forever.
Have a skin tightening/cellulite treatment in London with the experts
At LipoTherapeia we have specialised 100% in skin tightening and cellulite reduction for more than two decades and 20,000+ sessions.
This is all we study and practise every day and have researched and tried hands-on all the important skin tightening equipment and their manufacturers.
As strong, deep acting radiofrequency and deep-acting, high-power ultrasound cavitation are the technologies of choice for skin tightening and cellulite reduction, we have invested in the best RF/ultrasound technologies in the world.
Furthermore, over the last two decades we have developed advanced RF and cavitation treatment protocols in order to make the most of our technologies, for maximum results, naturally and safely.
And for even better, faster results, we now combine our RF/ultrasound treatments with high-power red/infrared light LED treatment.
Our radiofrequency/ultrasound/LED treatments are comfortable, pain-free, downtime-free, injection-free, 99.5%+ safe and always non-invasive.
(No unsafe and ineffective RF microneedling or HIFU and no safe but ineffective acoustic wave therapy, superficial RF (bipolar/tripolar/multipolar etc), low power RF/cavitation, electrical muscle stimulation, lymphatic massage, cupping, dry brushing and no ridiculous bum bum creams.)
Our focus is on honest, realistic, science-based treatment, combined with caring, professional service, with a smile.
We will be pleased to see you, assess your cellulite, skin laxity or fibrosis, listen to your story, discuss your case and offer you the best possible treatment.
Advanced, infrared / blue / red light therapy treatments in London at LipoTherapeia
At LipoTherapeia we are passionate about phototherapy (also known as photobiomodulation/PBM, red light therapy, infrared light therapy, blue light therapy, LED light therapy etc) and we use the most powerful equipment available today (up to 200mW/cm2), for best results and treatment of large body areas.
We use specialised therapy protocols for skin rejuvenation / anti-ageing, pigmentation / post-inflammatory hyperpigmentation (PIH), moderate/severe acne, skin redness, sensitive/inflamed/irritated skin, wound healing, sports injuries / musculoskeletal pain and overall wellness / well-being.
Our LED phototherapy sessions are comfortable, deeply relaxing and super-safe and are great to enhance our radiofrequency/ultrasound treatments for skin tightening / cellulite reduction.
On our booking page you can book stand-alone phototherapy sessions or combine them with our other treatments, as an add-on.
Learn more or check prices and book an expert LED phototherapy treatment at our London clinic.
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Attend a half-day, 1-day, 2-day or 3-day one-to-one masterclass and confidently offer your clients the safest, strongest and most effective treatment possible.
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