"That scar! I don't think I can handle it", I said out loud to no one but myself.
The truth is I had lost all my "baby weight", but even on my size 2 frame the stretched skin lingered.
The best word I can use to describe my postpartum stomach is c-r-e-p-ey. Yes, there's these little folds of crepey (like crepe paper) excess skin that really was bothering me.
For some perspective, I live in Hawaii and its unavoidable to stay covered up all but maybe one month a year which we all claim is the "winter season, but really its when the temperature drops from 85 to 75.
"An image like these showing my stomach would bother me, I'd stand in the mirror pulling up the loose skin imagining what it could look like more firm."
Trust me I put in the work. I run on average 45 miles a week , I do the crunches I eat healthy.. but stretched skin from two kids is stretched skin.
After 6 years I've kinda given it all the firming creams, exercise, and good vibes I could think of.
Too scared to go under the knife for a mini tummy tuck, I turned to my esthetician for any non-invasive skin tightening treatment she could recommend.
To my surprise she recommended a treatment I was already doing on my face and neck; only this time she said we could do it on the body!
Ultherapy:
The treatment recommended was Ultherapy, also known as Ulthera. Ultherapy is a non-surgical, non-invasice cosmetic treatment that uses ultrasound energy to tighten and lift skin. It's FDA-approved to treat sagging skin, wrinkles, and improve skin volume.
I was admittedly familiar with Ultherapy. I've used it on my face to jump-start the body's ability to create collagen. In the past two years I've used it on my neck to minimize and prevent tech/neck + keep the neck skin firm.
Here's my abbreviated version of how it works:
Ultherapy uses focused ultrasound waves to treat deeper layers of the skin.
- 1.5 mm: Treats the superficial dermis
- 3 mm: Treats the deep dermis
- 4.5 mm: Treats the SMAS/platysma (muscle and connective tissue)
The waves come through a hand held device, kind of what it looks like when getting an ultrasound.
The waves are hot, so this can give a bit of discomfort if your provider has not used enough numbing or ultrasound gel. The ultrasound gel is KEY to making this a painless experience.
Ultrasound waves then heat the skin tissue, and this stimulates the body's natural production of collagen and elastin. These are the two proteins that lift and strengthen skin.
The process of heating the skin tissue without breaking the surface gives the result of younger and brighter looking skin.
While I've always noticed brighter looking skin soon after treatment, the effects of ultherapy are more evident as weeks and months go by and your body continues to create more collagen and elastin. The more produced, the stronger the foundation and structure of your skin becomes.
My Treatment:
I decided to work on three areas of my body; for my first Ultherapy postpartum procedure. First and foremost the stomach, also decided to hit by thighs, and the bit if aging skin on my knees.
In my appointment I changed into a pair of lounge type short shorts and a bralette. I would highly suggest this because you want to be in something comfortable and loose so that you aren't worrying about ultrasound gel getting on something you love.
I sat on the chair above and fully reclined so we could start on my stomach and so forth. I honestly didn't feel any heat or pinch until we got to the thighs and knee area and that's where your leg nerves can be set off a bit.
In less than an hour the treatment was over. What I love about ultherapy is there is ZERO downtime. It's recommended to inhale plenty of antioxidants to keep skin glowing and healthy, and I take my Baby Blues Skinglow supplements every day to encourage collagen production and repair.
I'm also currently training myself, to run the Honolulu Marathon so I was excited it wouldn't conflict with my training. In fact I ran 13 miles the very next day with zero issues.
Results:
I'm really looking forward to updating my results in a few months. I'm hopeful that I'll be able to be more confident in a bikini this summer.
A week in and I've already seen improvement on my knees and my thighs.
Less than a week in I'm seeing the lower area of loose skin on my stomach already appearing firmer. Stay tuned for results at the 3 month and 6 month post-treatment mark!
Before 
3 days after
If you've tried ultherapy for postpartum stretched skin, PLEASE let me know in the comments, I'm dying to hear about others experiences with using this treatment for this phase in the postpartum journey.
