What will help with stomach laxity above belly button? (Photos)

Question

Is there anything someone can please recommend to assist with the skin laxity above my navel? I’ve tried Morpheus, burning dots into my skin, tretinoin but nothing has helped thus far. Any advice would be greatly appreciated. I

Anna Chacon, MD, FAAD · Answer

I can understand why this has been frustrating, especially after you've already invested in treatments like Morpheus8, fractional "burning dot" resurfacing, and topical tretinoin without seeing the improvement you were hoping for.

Based on your description and photo, the issue appears to be true skin laxity rather than simply poor skin texture. That's an important distinction because different treatments address different problems.

Morpheus8 and tretinoin are excellent for stimulating collagen and improving skin quality, but they can only tighten the skin to a certain extent. If you've already completed a full course of Morpheus8 with minimal improvement, it's possible that you've reached the limit of what collagen-stimulating treatments can achieve for your skin.

The next step depends on how much excess skin is present:

If the laxity is mild, another energy-based treatment such as radiofrequency or fractional CO₂ laser may provide a small additional improvement, but I would set realistic expectations. The change is often modest rather than dramatic.
If the skin has moderate to significant looseness, the most predictable treatment is a surgical procedure that removes the excess skin. Unfortunately, no non-surgical device can physically eliminate redundant skin.
If there is simultaneous fat beneath the skin, body contouring procedures that combine fat reduction with skin tightening may help improve the overall contour, although they still won't match the results of skin excision when excess skin is the primary issue.

One thing I'd also consider is what caused the laxity. Pregnancy, weight loss, genetics, and natural collagen changes can all influence both the severity of skin laxity and how well non-surgical treatments work.

Since you've already tried several collagen-stimulating approaches without success, I would be cautious about continuing to repeat the same treatments expecting a very different outcome. Sometimes the most valuable part of treatment planning is recognizing when the skin simply needs a different approach.

The good news is that your skin appears healthy overall, and the concern seems to be localized to the area above the navel. While non-surgical treatments may still offer subtle refinement, if your goal is a noticeable tightening of that loose skin, surgery is generally the option that provides the most reliable and long-lasting improvement.

I know that isn't always the answer people hope for, but it's important to match the treatment to the problem so your expectations align with what each procedure can realistically deliver.

What will help with stomach laxity above belly button? (Photos)

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