Q: My Facial Skin is Starting to Sag. What Can I Do?
Hilary Bekelis, NP, owner of Hello Gorgeous in Babylon, shares her favorite non-surgical solution for lax skin.
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Hilary Bekelis started her nursing career in critical care before making the switch to aesthetics.
A: “Skin laxity, or sagging, is one area in which topical skincare products aren’t that effective. Serums and moisturizers help with skin texture, acne, and discoloration, but they’re not great for lifting and tightening. My go-to is microneedling with radiofrequency (RF), specifically Matrix by Candela.
Microneedling is a treatment that causes micro-injuries to the skin. When your skin realizes it’s injured, it says, ‘I need to heal!’ To do so, it has to produce collagen, which makes skin plump and firm. Adding RF to microneedling, a type of energy that heats the skin to stimulate collagen, accelerates this process.
Plus, with this machine, I can go deeper than I can with regular microneedling, varying the depths depending on the part of the face I’m working on. The Matrix RF device lets me know what the needles are targeting as I’m using it, and I can adjust as needed. Many other devices on the market don’t have this feature.
Why is that important? You don’t want the needles to penetrate too deeply into the face because then they target fat. The goal is to create plump collagen, not lose fat. I only target fat under the jawline—the double chin. Targeting that fat while tightening the skin in that area creates that sculpted jawline everyone wants.
Before the treatment, I numb the face and neck with a topical numbing cream. The whole process takes about an hour and a half. After the treatment, your face will be red, and you may have some pinpoint bleeding. That’s normal! We apply a cooling mask and a cold compress to bring down the heat. The next day, you may have some residual redness and a texture to your skin, but at this point, you can apply makeup to conceal it. By days three to five, your skin should be back to normal.
Because you’re stimulating collagen, you won’t see the skin-tightening and -smoothing results for about four to six weeks. I recommend a series of three treatments spaced one month apart. You’ll see the best results six weeks after your last treatment. Then, for maintenance, you can do one treatment every six months to a year. This device works on all skin types and tones. I don’t recommend it if you have acne breakouts, and those with pacemakers should avoid RF.
It’s important to know that you won’t get a surgical facelift-like result with RF microneedling, but you will see a nice improvement in skin tightness and texture. My patients have all been happy with their results.”
A before and after a Matrix series. Courtesy of Hello Gorgeous.
RF microneedling for the face and neck costs $950; a series of three costs $2,200, and financing is available through Cherry Payment Plans.
About the expert: Hillary Bekelis is a nurse practitioner and owner of Hello Gorgeous Skincare & Esthetics in Babylon, NY. She started her career over a decade ago in neuro critical care. She’s always been passionate about skin, so she switched to aesthetics. Bekelis brings the same science-based, research-driven approach from her neuro-care days to her aesthetics practice—always doing what is safest for the patient.
Hello Gorgeous is located at 258 East Main Street in Babylon. Follow along at @hellogorgeousli on Instagram.
