Would you pay £2,500 to banish elephant elbows?
That’s what surgeons call the flabby skin that betrays your age no matter how good the rest of you looks
Our elbows are probably the most overlooked parts of our bodies. It makes sense, after all, we can’t even see them without performing contortions in front of the mirror.
You might think they are one area we can safely ignore in the seemingly endless battle against ageing.
Sadly not. Sagging elbows are, say experts, a surefire indicator of a woman’s age. It was therefore only a matter of time before cosmetic clinics started offering ‘elbow lift’ procedures to restore their youthful firmness and smoothness.
Vanity beyond belief? Perhaps. But in the world of anti-ageing, no problem is too niche.
Cosmetic doctor Dr Sherif Wakil says: ‘We tend to think our face, neck and hands give away our age first, but actually our elbows are culprits, too. We can’t see them, except in photographs, but other people can.
‘Aged elbows are often referred to as “elephant elbows” due to their baggy appearance. As we grow older, skin at the elbows tends to gather in folds. This is because skin slackens with age due to the natural loss of collagen, which acts like scaffolding to keep skin taut, and of elastin, which gives skin elasticity.’
According to Trudy Friedman, a cosmetic nurse and manager of The Aesthetic Skin Centre in London, elbows are one of the first areas to show signs of age. ‘One reason is because the area is constantly rubbing against different surfaces,’ she says.
‘Friction stimulates surface skin cells to become more active. As a result, dead cells build up at a much faster rate and skin becomes noticeably thicker, rougher and sometimes discoloured, all adding to the ageing effect.’
Dr David Jack, a cosmetic doctor, says the skin on the elbows is thicker than on most of the body. ‘It’s similar to that of the knee, so it can provide increased cushioning and protection of the joint,’ he adds.
‘Elbow skin is around 1 mm thick, which may not sound much, but eyelid skin can be a mere 0.2 mm thick.
‘Around the age of 40, the rough outer layer of our skin — the epidermis, comprised of dead cells — becomes even thicker, and appears drier and rougher, while the supporting layers of the dermis underneath — which gives the skin plumpness and bounce — start to shrink and make skin look saggy.’
So how can we prevent or treat elephant elbows? Though moisturising can soften your elbow skin, dermatologist Dr Sam Bunting says it must be done with exfoliation to help reverse the ravages of time.
ShEadvises: ‘First, cleanse with an exfoliating mitt, and then apply an AhA-rich lotion to smooth, exfoliate and hydrate skin.’ Exercise is another option. researchers at McMaster university in Ontario, Canada, found that vigorous exercise, such as jogging twice a week, can help halt the loss of skin plumpness that leads to sagging.
Lifting weights will also, in time, improve the look of elbows, by building up the muscles at the front and back of the upper arm. In toning the arms, you add definition that lifts sagging skin.
For those who prefer a quick fix, Trudy Friedman says: ‘There are a number of non-surgical and minor surgical procedures that can tighten skin around the elbows.
‘Thermage, for example, uses radio-frequency waves to generate heat in the dermis. This tightens existing collagen and triggers the formation of new collagen.
‘Some prefer the surgical option and actually remove the excess tissue above the elbow, but this can leave scars. It’s also possible to plump out these areas using fillers such as restylane.
‘This is likely to cost around £1,000, and while it can appear effective, it doesn’t deliver permanent results.’
Now a new treatment promises to banish elephant elbows in just 20 minutes — and keep them that way for up to three years.
The Beauty Lift uses ultra-fine surgical threads to form a supportive mesh under the skin, like a hammock, in a process similar to darning. It is designed to instantly lift and smooth sagging, wrinkled skin.
The threads, made of a synthetic fibre called polydioxanone (PDO), last around six months before dissolving. They stimulate the skin to produce its own collagen and elastin, so results peak around eight months after treatment.
PDO-thread lifts were brought to the uK in 2013 by Dr Gabriela Mercik, initially as a kind of facelift. But now she treats the body, too, and says it is one of the fastest growing treatments in the uK.
‘It can give amazing results,’ says Dr Mercik. ‘ My patients are increasingly concerned with the areas of their body that give away their age, such as the neck, knees and elbows. In response, I created what I call the “Little Black Dress” treatment, which tackles all three.’
The threads, which range from 25 mm to 60 mm long, are sewn into the skin in a lattice pattern using a tiny needle after the area has first been numbed.
Dr Mercik says the ideal patient is someone aged 30-65 years who still has some elasticity to the skin. ‘If there is too much sagging I have to turn them away, so I tell my patients not to leave it too late.’
however, smooth elbows come with a hefty price tag — £2,500 for just this area, or £4,900 for the Little Black Dress package.
Sarah Dobinson, 50, a childminder from Surrey, recently had her elbows lifted with PDO threads as she felt they belied her otherwise youthful appearance. ‘I have a slim build and am active, so despite my age, my arms are in good shape,’ she says.
‘however, my sagging elbows ruined the whole look and were starting to make me self-conscious.
With the Beauty Lift procedure I had 15 threads inserted in each elbow. I could feel some tugging and the odd twinge, but each side took only ten minutes and I felt no pain.
‘I was genuinely surprised to see results immediately — the skin looked smoother and firmer — but I’m told it will get even better as the collagen starts to build.
‘I had tiny puncture marks for 24 hours afterwards and my arms felt tender for two days, but the procedure didn’t prevent me doing anything. Now my elbows feel normal — I can’t feel or see the threads at all.’
however, Dr Jack sounds a note of caution. ‘There is a fluid-filled pad called a bursa which lies covering the pointy joint of the elbow, just under the skin.
‘The bursa allows the skin to move easily over the joint, but anything injected into it, including threads, could cause a type of painful inflammation called bursitis.
‘In addition, injections here have the potential to damage the ulnar nerve, which supplies sensation to the hand and forearm, causing weakness or numbness.’
HEsays he would instead opt for ‘ superficial skin treatments: peels for pigmentation and laser, such as Fraxel’, for sagging skin.
Dr Mercik agrees it is important to understand anatomy, and says she only trains doctors and nurses in her methods, not beauticians.
She insists the treatment is safe as PDO threads have been used in surgery for 20 years.
‘Threads in the elbows are placed very superficially, between the epidermis and dermis, so not near nerves or the bursa,’ she says.
‘Cleaning the skin properly before treatment is essential to prevent infection, but I have been using threads for six years and have never had an infection or a complication apart from a little bruising.’
But if all of this sounds too expensive, risky or just plain bonkers, it’s worth remembering that winter is drawing in, and a long-sleeve jumper is a far cosier and more affordable option.