Lie back on the sofa, hold your phone above your face and open the camera. The jaw sharpens, the cheeks sit higher and you look the way you did a few years ago. Sit up and the face settles again. That small experiment sorts loose skin into three kinds. It is also how we plan skin tightening without surgery at MediZen in Sutton Coldfield.
| Performed by | Appointment | Downtime | Results | Price from |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Secret PRO: our skin specialists, under the clinical direction of Dr David Eccleston | Numbing cream first, radiofrequency usually around 3 sessions 4 to 6 weeks apart | Mild redness after radiofrequency, a few days of redness and light flaking with CO2 | Smoother texture from around 4 to 6 weeks, improving for up to 3 months | £599 for a small area of radiofrequency |
| Endolift: Dr Mattia Parducci | One session of 30 to 90 minutes under local anaesthetic | Back to normal within hours, recovery 3 to 5 days | Tightening on the day, peak at 9 to 12 months, lasting 2 to 3 years | £1,350 per treatment area |
| Profhilo Structura: a doctor or independent nurse prescriber | Two sessions about four weeks apart, then maintenance | Back to work the same day | Support builds over the weeks after each session | £400, or £750 for a course of two |
Gravity lets go of the face when you lie back, and what returns is tissue that has simply moved. What stays flat is support that has gone, and what stays creased is a surface that has worn. Each of the three lives at its own depth, and each has its own treatment on our menu. Endolift tightens what has moved, Profhilo Structura restores what has gone and Secret PRO renews what has worn.
The clever part is that the three rarely arrive in equal measure. One face is mostly drape along the jaw, another is mostly flat cheeks, and a third is mostly crepe. A classic anatomy study found that facial fat sits in separate compartments, and that the face does not age as one mass. That is why one treatment rarely suits every face, and why the order matters.
What Lying Down Shows About Three Kinds of Loose Skin
The first kind is tissue that has moved. Collagen and elastin thin every year from our mid-twenties, and the skin and the tissue beneath it loosen their hold on the face. The tissue then drapes forward and down, gathering into a jowl or a softness under the jaw. Lie back and it slides towards your ears, which is why the jawline in the phone camera looks so crisp.
The second kind is support that has gone. The pads of fat that hold up the midface shrink and slip with time, so the cheek flattens and a hollow appears beneath the eye. Lying back moves them a little, and only a little. The cheek still looks flatter than it did, because there is simply less underneath.
The third kind is a surface that has worn. Sun, years and the skin your parents gave you thin its weave, so fine lines, open pores and a crepey finish appear. Lying back changes none of it. Lying down cannot fill what has gone, and it cannot smooth what has worn.
None of this means you have neglected your skin. Every face goes through all three, at a pace set mostly by genes and sunlight. Our skin tightening guide describes the forms loose skin takes across the face, neck and body. What matters for a plan is which of the three is doing most to your face right now.
Which Treatment Reaches Which Layer
Endolift answers the tissue that has moved. It is minimally invasive and non-surgical, and Dr Mattia Parducci performs every treatment himself. Once local anaesthetic has numbed the area, he guides a hair-thin fibre through a single tiny opening to rest beneath the skin, above the muscle. Laser energy at 1470 nm contracts the collagen already there, wakes the cells that make more and breaks down a little trapped fat.
Lying down cannot fill what has gone, and it cannot smooth what has worn.
Profhilo Structura answers the support that has gone. It is a hyaluronic acid treatment placed deeper than classic Profhilo, in the fat layer of the midface. It helps restore and reposition the fat that shrinks and drifts with age, so a flat cheek is supported rather than filled. A pilot study of fifty people, run with the manufacturer, gave two treatments a month apart. The improvement still held three months after the course ended.
Secret PRO answers the surface that has worn. It is performed by our trained aestheticians, and Dr David Eccleston oversees it as clinical director. Fine needles carry radiofrequency heat into the dermis, the dense layer that gives skin its body and bounce. If rough texture or old scarring also bothers you, a fractional CO2 laser renews the top layers within the same plan.
A Plan That Starts With the Layer Doing the Most
Most faces show more than one kind of slackening, so the consultation begins by ranking them. A drape along the jaw usually comes first, because Endolift is one session and its result keeps building for months. Flat cheeks often come next, since a lifted jaw beneath a hollow midface still reads as tired. The surface is often last, finishing the skin that everyone sees up close.
Some faces need only one of the three. Where the skin is mostly worn and the jaw is still clean, a course of Secret PRO is the whole plan. Where the cheek is flat and the surface is good, Structura stands alone. Your clinician spaces any combination so that each treatment has room to work, and judges the result before the next begins.
There are limits too, and they are given as advice. Where skin has stretched into heavy folds, no energy device removes it, and a surgical opinion is the right next step. Fillers suit a cheekbone or chin that needs shape rather than support. Anti-wrinkle injections, which are a prescription-only treatment, soften lines made by movement, which none of these three touch. Our guide to jowls sets out the other routes for the lower face.
Healing and Results on Three Timelines
Endolift asks for a few quiet days at most. Most people pick up their normal routine within hours, and any pinkness or puffiness has usually faded by the next morning. Hot rooms and hard training are paused for three to five days. Firmness shows before you leave, and from the fourth week to the eighth fresh collagen brings a second change. The jaw goes on refining until nine to twelve months and usually holds for two to three years.
Structura is quieter still. Tiny marks where the needle went in fade within a day, and you can be at your desk that afternoon. Makeup, saunas and strenuous exercise wait for twenty-four hours. Support returns slowly in the weeks that follow each visit, and the cheek ends up looking rested rather than changed.
Secret PRO asks for a little more patience. Radiofrequency alone leaves the skin mildly flushed for a day or two, while the CO2 laser leaves it pink and lightly flaking for several days. Texture and tone improve from around four to six weeks and keep improving for up to three months. A radiofrequency top up roughly every twelve months holds the result.
Where Your Tightening Plan Starts
Every plan begins with a consultation, and it starts with the same question the phone camera asks. You look together at what moves when the face is lifted, what stays flat and what stays creased. Endolift consultations are with Dr Mattia Parducci (GMC 7635663), who assesses how much elasticity your skin still has. Structura is planned by one of our doctors or nurse prescribers, and Secret PRO by our aestheticians.
Endolift is priced by area: the area under the chin is from £1,350, the jaw and jowls together from £1,950, and the neck from £1,750. Profhilo Structura is £400 a session, or £750 for a course of two. Secret PRO radiofrequency on a small area is from £599, and across the full face from £999. You leave with an itemised plan and the order in which it happens.
You will find us in Astor House on Lichfield Road, and people travel to Mere Green from Erdington, Walmley and right across Birmingham. If the face in your phone camera looks younger lying down than sitting up, come and find out which kind of slackening is yours. The skin tightening page is a good place to read before you visit.
Your Questions About Skin Tightening Without Surgery
Loose skin raises the same handful of questions for nearly everyone who wants to avoid an operation. Here are the ones we hear most, and you can raise anything else face to face in Mere Green.
Yes, for mild or moderate laxity. Endolift, Secret PRO and Profhilo Structura each prompt your own tissue to rebuild, so the change looks like you on a well rested day. Where skin has stretched into heavy folds, surgery removes the excess that no energy device or injectable can. Your clinician tells you which side of that line your skin sits on.
Endolift is usually the first choice for a jaw that has softened. It works beneath the skin, contracting existing collagen on the day and building fresh collagen for months, and it can clear a little trapped fat beside the chin. Dr Mattia Parducci confirms at consultation whether your skin still holds enough elasticity to respond.
It firms mild laxity while it refines the surface. Radiofrequency heat delivered through fine needles rebuilds collagen and elastin in the dermis, which tightens pores and fine crepe over a course. For a jaw that has dropped, it is usually paired with Endolift rather than used alone, because the drape sits deeper than radiofrequency microneedling reaches.
It is better described as a support treatment. Structura is placed in the fat layer of the midface, where it helps restore and reposition fat that has shrunk with age. Flat cheeks look supported and the skin above gains hydration. Where the main concern is loose skin along the jaw or neck, Endolift is the closer match.
It depends on the treatment and the areas. Endolift is from £1,350 under the chin and from £1,950 for the jaw and jowls together. Profhilo Structura is £400 a session or £750 for two. A small area of Secret PRO radiofrequency is from £599. You receive an itemised price once your plan is agreed.
Yes, and many faces benefit from two of the three. Each works at its own depth, so they complement rather than repeat each other. Your clinician decides which comes first and how long to wait between them, so each result is judged before the next treatment and your skin never heals from two things at once.
Endolift typically holds for two to three years, with an optional maintenance session at twelve to eighteen months. Secret PRO radiofrequency is long lasting, with a top up roughly every twelve months. Structura is maintained after its first course of two, and your clinician sets that rhythm for your face at consultation.
Dr Mattia Parducci (GMC 7635663) performs every Endolift himself. Profhilo Structura is placed by a MediZen doctor or nurse prescriber. Secret PRO is performed by our trained aestheticians, with Dr David Eccleston overseeing it as clinical director. Your consultation is with the clinician who plans the treatment you are considering.
Very little. After Endolift most people return to normal within hours, and saunas and the gym are paused for three to five days. Structura lets you go back to work the same day. Secret PRO ranges from a day or two of mild redness after radiofrequency to a few days of flaking after the CO2 laser.
Find Out Which Kind of Loose Skin Is Yours
If your face looks younger lying down than sitting up, we can tell you why. Phone 0121 308 4373 and ask MediZen for a skin tightening consultation, or reach us through WhatsApp if a message suits your day better.
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