How to Tighten Loose Skin Without Surgery: Does Ultherapy Work?

Your skincare routine might be helping with texture and hydration, but its effects are limited once your concerns start happening deeper in your skin. If you’re starting to notice your jawline doesn’t look as sharp as it once did or your brows are beginning to droop, it may be time to consider a professional treatment for skin laxity.

But what if you’re in an in-between stage, where topical products are not sufficient but a facelift feels too aggressive?

This is one of the most common points when we meet patients at South Bay Aesthetics Plastic Surgery in Torrance, CA. And one of the solutions we recommend most often is Ultherapy.

What Causes Your Skin to Loosen?

The short answer is collagen (or rather, the loss of it). Collagen is the structural protein your skin depends on for firmness and elasticity. Your body produces it naturally, but production slows as you age, roughly 1% less each year once you reach your mid-twenties.

The decline in estrogen after menopause is associated with significant collagen reduction, which is why many women notice a more rapid change in their skin during and after perimenopause. Sun exposure accelerates the process, too, which is especially notable here in sunny coastal Southern California. Accumulated UV damage adds up over time and compounds the collagen loss that is already happening naturally.

What Is Ultherapy?

Ultherapy is a noninvasive treatment that uses focused ultrasound energy to reach tissue layers below the skin’s surface. It is FDA-cleared for lifting the eyebrows, the skin under the chin and on the neck, as well as for improving lines and wrinkles on the decolletage.

A 2026 review published in Dermatologic Clinics confirmed that microfocused ultrasound stimulates new collagen and elastin regeneration in dermal and subdermal tissues. In practical terms, Ultherapy is prompting your body to rebuild what it has been slowly losing. The review also notes that clinical evidence demonstrates up to 89% aesthetic improvement rates with high patient satisfaction (84%) and a favorable safety profile.

How Does Ultherapy Work?

During an Ultherapy treatment, we use ultrasound imaging to visualize the tissue layers beneath your skin in real time. That visualization allows us to direct energy precisely where it needs to go, at the right depth, for the specific anatomy of your face.

The Ultherapy device delivers focused ultrasound pulses that generate small points of heat within the deeper layers of your skin. The heat triggers a wound healing response that encourages your body to produce fresh collagen. The surface of your skin is not disrupted at all.

What Can Ultherapy Help With?

Ultherapy is a popular choice for early aging in the face and neck. It may help improve:

• Mild jowling
• Skin laxity under the chin
• A softer or less defined neck contour
• Mild brow heaviness
• Crepey texture or lines on the décolleté

What Happens During an Ultherapy Appointment?

Ultherapy is done in a single visit at our office in Torrance. Sessions generally run 30 to 90 minutes depending on how many areas we are treating.

Before we begin, we apply ultrasound gel to the skin so the handpiece can glide smoothly across the treatment area. Once we start delivering energy, you will feel a warming sensation and some tingling, particularly in areas like the jawline and under the chin where the tissue is thinner. The intensity varies from person to person. We adjust settings throughout the session based on your comfort level.

After the treatment, you can go back to your normal day. There is no required downtime. Some mild redness or tenderness can appear temporarily, but it tends to resolve within a few hours.

When Do You See Results From Ultherapy?

Ultherapy does not create an instant visible change the way fillers do. The treatment works by stimulating your body to build new collagen. Since it relies on your natural biological processes, it takes time.

You might notice some initial firmness improvement in the first few weeks. The more noticeable improvement typically develops over two to three months, and your results can continue to evolve for up to six months after your session.

Results generally last a year or longer. You may decide to schedule maintenance sessions every 12 to 24 months to preserve your results indefinitely. Eventually, if you find you’re no longer seeing the results you want from Ultherapy, you can meet with Dr. Verbin to discuss a facelift and/or neck lift.

Who Is a Good Candidate for Ultherapy?

The best candidates for Ultherapy have mild to moderate laxity, especially along the jawline, under the chin, around the brow or on the neck. If you are noticing that your skin does not hold its shape the way it used to, but you are not at a point where surgery makes sense, Ultherapy may be the perfect option.

You may also be a good candidate if you have had a surgical procedure like a facelift or mini facelift in the past and want to extend your results.

If you have significant excess skin, advanced neck banding or expectations that align more closely with surgical outcomes, Ultherapy is likely not the best option for you. Dr. Verbin is a board-certified plastic surgeon with over 10,000 surgical procedures under his belt. He trained in plastic surgery at the University of Southern California and completed his residency in general surgery at Harbor-UCLA Medical Center.

When you come in for a consultation, you are getting an honest assessment from a surgeon who understands both the surgical and nonsurgical side of aesthetics, not someone who has one solution to sell.

Get Started With an Ultherapy Consultation in Torrance

At South Bay Aesthetics Plastic Surgery, Dr. Verbin and our team will evaluate your skin and walk you through your treatment options. We welcome patients from throughout the South Bay, including Manhattan Beach, Redondo Beach, Hermosa Beach, El Segundo, Palos Verdes and Long Beach.

Call us at 310-539-6500 or schedule your consultation online to find out whether Ultherapy is the right next step for you.