Crepey loose skin on inner elbows - will any procedures help to tighten this skin? (Photos)

Question

Hi there .late 40s..lose skin and some flab on my inner elbow annoys me. Any procedures guaranteed to address this? Normal weight

Anna Chacon, MD, FAAD · Answer

I’m glad you brought this up — the inner elbow area is one of those spots that many people notice as they get into their 40s and beyond, but it’s not talked about as often as arms or neck. It can feel especially frustrating when your weight is stable and you otherwise take good care of yourself, yet the skin there still looks loose or crepey.

The honest answer is: yes, there are treatments that can help — but none that can truly guarantee complete tightening, especially in a thin, flexing area like the inner elbow. That said, improvement is absolutely possible.

Let me walk you through what works best and what to realistically expect.

✅ Why this area gets crepey

Inner elbow skin tends to show laxity earlier because:

The skin is naturally thinner there

It bends and stretches constantly

Collagen loss with age shows more quickly

Even small fat loss can make looseness more visible

So this is usually more of a skin quality and collagen issue than a fat problem.

✅ Best nonsurgical options
Energy-based skin tightening (most helpful first step)

These treatments stimulate collagen remodeling:

Radiofrequency microneedling

Ultrasound tightening devices

Radiofrequency skin tightening

They can:

Improve crepey texture

Create mild to moderate tightening

Thicken dermal collagen over time

Results are gradual and typically require a series of treatments. Improvement is real — but subtle to moderate, not dramatic.

Biostimulatory injectables

Collagen-stimulating injectables (such as diluted hyperdilute biostimulators) can sometimes be used off-face to improve thin, crepey skin texture.

They work by:

Stimulating your own collagen production

Improving skin thickness and elasticity

These are technique-sensitive but can be helpful in the right hands.

⚠️ Treatments that usually do not help much here

Standard fillers — not ideal for this thin, mobile area

Fat dissolvers — can worsen laxity if fat is reduced

Topical creams alone — helpful for texture, but not tightening

✅ Surgical option (most definitive, but least chosen)

The only true tightening guarantee would be surgical skin excision — but for the inner elbow, this is rarely performed because:

Scarring risk is high

Healing tension is significant

The tradeoff is often not worth it cosmetically

Most patients prefer nonsurgical improvement rather than surgical scars in this location.

✅ Realistic expectations

The goal here is:

Better texture

Less crepey appearance

Mild tightening

Smoother look when arms are extended

Not perfection — but noticeable refinement.

This is a very common and very normal change with age, even in fit individuals. With the right approach, you can improve the appearance, just with realistic expectations and collagen-focused treatments rather than volume or fat-based approaches.

Crepey loose skin on inner elbows - will any procedures help to tighten this skin? (Photos)

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