Skin conditions
Skin laxity is the loss of firmness that lets the jawline, cheeks and neck soften and drift downward with age. No single machine tightens every kind of laxity, so naming the layer that is driving the change is where treatment starts.
Physician led. Burnaby and Richmond. Every skin tone since 1996.
Book a complimentary consultationA physician assesses your skin, explains what is driving the change, and builds your plan before you decide anything.
Understanding the condition
Skin laxity is a loss of skin firmness and structural support that lets the face and neck sag as collagen, elastin, fat and bone decline with age.
Laxity is rarely a single problem. It is what you see when four layers of the face lose support at once, and understanding which layer is driving your change is how a good plan gets built.
It is not the same as volume loss, the deflation of fat and bone that leaves a face looking hollow and tired, and it is not the same as wrinkles, the creases left by movement and surface photodamage. Tightening firms the canvas. It does not restore lost volume or erase a deep expression line, and these concerns often travel together in one plan.
Laxity is the visible result of four changes happening together. A plan works by naming which one is driving yours.
The body makes less collagen, breaks down what it has faster, and the elastic fibres degrade, so the skin becomes thinner, looser and slower to spring back, markedly so after menopause.
The deep fat pads shrink and hollow the midface while the superficial fat slides downward, deepening the folds around the nose and mouth and forming jowls at the corners of the mouth.
The facial skeleton resorbs with age. The eye socket widens and the jaw loses height, so there is less scaffolding under the skin and the soft tissue above it drifts down.
The retaining ligaments stretch and the deep SMAS layer descends. This is the layer a surgeon lifts in a facelift, and the layer that focused ultrasound can reach without surgery.
The BioPlus difference
Skin tightening is where honest device selection separates a good clinic from a machine for hire. BioPlus carries a wide range of technologies precisely so the plan can fit the person, rather than the person fitting the one machine a clinic happens to own. A physician chooses by the depth of the change, the energy your skin tone can safely take, and the downtime you will accept.
Skin tone shapes the choice as much as depth does. Radiofrequency and ultrasound heat the skin without targeting melanin, so they carry lower pigment risk than lasers on deeper skin, and they are the preferred tightening tools for Fitzpatrick IV to VI. Choosing and setting them well on every skin tone is the work we have done since 1996.
Laxity lives at a depth, and the treatment has to reach it. Thin, crepey skin is worked at the mid-dermis, structural descent needs energy that reaches the SMAS, and a deflated face needs volume that tightening cannot restore.
For deeper tones, chromophore-independent radiofrequency and ultrasound are the safer foundation, and any needle depth and setting is chosen conservatively to protect against pigment change.
Some patients want one stronger session refreshed about yearly, others prefer a comfortable series. Neither is wrong, and the plan follows your calendar and tolerance rather than the machine.
The honest answer
Here is the line many clinics will not say out loud. When there is heavy jowling, banding of the neck muscle, or a real excess of loose skin, no energy device and no thread will remove it. These treatments tighten and refresh. They do not remove skin or reposition deep structures the way surgery does. When that is what your face needs, a physician at BioPlus will tell you plainly and point you toward a surgical opinion, rather than sell you a series that cannot deliver.
Knowing when a device is the wrong answer is part of the expertise.
How your visit works
Skin tightening is decided at the consultation, not at the machine. The physician reads which layer is driving your change before choosing a single treatment.
A physician examines your skin and contour and identifies the layer driving the change, the degree of laxity, your skin tone and your health.
We match the treatment to the depth of your laxity, your skin tone and the downtime you will accept, and we say honestly when surgery would do more.
Energy tightening, biostimulators or threads, sequenced and spaced so your skin heals between steps when treatments are combined.
We photograph your progress at a standard angle and plan maintenance, because collagen rebuilds over months and ageing continues.
How care is built
No two plans are the same, because the plan follows the depth of your laxity, your skin tone and your goals. Most do one or more of three things.
Ultrasound and radiofrequency rebuild collagen at the right depth to firm the skin and lift the contour, from gentle no-downtime devices to a single stronger session.
Biostimulator injectables rebuild the firmness and volume that tightening alone cannot replace, which is why a lift is so often paired with volume.
Threads take up mild slack, and when laxity is beyond what any device can do, the physician recommends a surgical opinion rather than a series that cannot deliver.
Treatments we may use
Grouped by how they work, and matched to your skin at consultation. Which appear in your plan depends on the depth of your laxity, your skin tone and the downtime you will accept.
Microfocused ultrasound, SMAS depth
Focuses sound energy to precise points as deep as the SMAS, the support layer a facelift lifts, under imaging that lets the physician see the tissue before treating it. Those points rebuild with new collagen over two to six months.
Why this oneThe strongest single-session lift for moderate, structural descent, and safe across every skin tone.
Learn more →Parallel-beam ultrasound, mid-dermis
Heats the mid-dermis with parallel beams at a fixed depth while surface cooling protects the skin, prompting new collagen without reaching the fat layer.
Why this oneEarly to moderate laxity with no needles and no downtime, and the lowest pigment risk of the energy devices.
Learn more →Monopolar radiofrequency, single session
Bulk-heats the deep dermis and the fibrous network in the fat while a cooling spray protects the surface, for immediate firming and months of collagen rebuilding in one appointment.
Why this oneOne session, no needles and no social downtime, familiar and safe on every skin tone.
Learn more →Radiofrequency microneedling, deep
Drives fine needles to a set depth and releases heat at the tips, remodelling the deep dermis and the fat layer lower than most microneedling reaches, under conservative physician-led settings.
Why this oneDeeper remodelling of the lower face, jawline and neck for moderate laxity, over a short series.
Learn more →Bipolar radiofrequency, temperature controlled
Heats the dermis to a set temperature and holds it there, with a sensor that caps the surface, for gradual firming with no needles and no downtime.
Why this oneThe gentle end of the range, and the temperature cap is a genuine safety feature on deeper skin tones.
Learn more →Poly-L-lactic acid biostimulator
An injectable that prompts your own skin to build new collagen over months, so it firms and thickens thin, crepey skin rather than heating it.
Why this oneRebuilds the firmness that tightening alone cannot, and pairs logically with an energy lift.
Learn more →Calcium hydroxylapatite biostimulator
Diluted along the lower face and neck it firms mild to moderate laxity, and at standard strength along the jawline it rebuilds the bone-level support that age erodes.
Why this oneA study in Fitzpatrick IV to VI skin reported no keloid, scarring or pigment change, unusually direct evidence in darker skin.
Learn more →Dissolvable barbed threads
Places dissolvable threads under the skin to take up mild slack and prompt collagen along each thread as it dissolves over several months.
Why this oneA middle option between energy tightening and surgery for early jowling, with a modest lift measured in millimetres.
Learn more →BioPlus by the numbers
What to expect
Single-session treatments like Thermage FLX, Ultherapy PRIME and Sofwave are refreshed about once a year. Radiofrequency microneedling runs as a series of three to five, gentle radiofrequency as six to eight, and biostimulators as a course of two to three.
Most of these have little or none. Radiofrequency and ultrasound leave brief redness or mild swelling for hours to a day, microneedling leaves fine grid marks for one to three days, and injectables and threads can leave swelling or bruising for a few days.
A little firming can show early, but the real change builds over two to six months as your skin makes new collagen. Biostimulators build over three to six months, and threads give an immediate lift that then improves.
Sunscreen every day, and gentle skincare while any redness settles. After microneedling, pause retinoids and acids for about a week, and after injectables follow the physician's massage or activity guidance.
Here is the honest part. Energy tightening is gradual by design, and no treatment stops ageing, so results last about one to two years and then a maintenance treatment keeps them up. We plan for that from the start, and we photograph your progress at a standard angle so the change is easy to see. Results vary from person to person, and your physician will tell you what is realistic for your skin.
No single machine tightens every kind of laxity. Choosing the right one for your skin is the whole job.
The BioPlus approach to skin tightening
Questions patients ask
Skin laxity is the loss of firmness that lets the face and neck sag with age. It is caused by four changes at once: the skin thins as collagen and elastin decline, the fat pads shrink and slide downward, the facial bones recede, and the deep support layer and ligaments loosen. Because several layers are involved, a good plan often treats more than one.
No. These treatments tighten and firm skin, and some reposition it a little, but they do not remove skin or lift the deep structures the way a facelift does. They are best for mild to moderate laxity. When laxity is advanced, surgery will do more, and the physician will tell you when that point has been reached rather than recommend a treatment that cannot deliver it.
Neither is better in general. They work at different depths and suit different laxity. Ultherapy PRIME uses focused ultrasound that reaches as deep as the SMAS support layer, so it is chosen for structural descent and lifting. Thermage FLX uses monopolar radiofrequency that heats the deep dermis, so it is chosen for skin firmness and a comfortable single session with no needles. Both are safe across skin tones, and the right one depends on your skin.
Yes. Morpheus8 tightens skin by driving fine needles to a set depth and releasing radiofrequency heat, which remodels the deep dermis and the fat layer over a short series. It suits moderate laxity of the lower face, jawline and neck. It is a firming and contouring treatment, not a substitute for a facelift.
Most energy tightening results last about one to two years, and then a maintenance treatment keeps them up. The exact span depends on the treatment and on your skin, because ageing continues. Ultrasound and radiofrequency results build over two to six months as collagen forms, and biostimulator results can last up to about two years.
Most skin tightening is comfortable and has little or no downtime. Gentle radiofrequency feels like warm massage, monopolar radiofrequency delivers cycles of deep heat, and microfocused ultrasound gives a deep, brief ache. Radiofrequency microneedling is done under numbing cream and leaves redness and fine marks for one to three days. Injectables and threads can leave swelling or bruising for a few days.
Yes, when the right technology is chosen. Radiofrequency and ultrasound heat the skin without targeting melanin, so they carry lower pigment risk than lasers and intense pulsed light and are the preferred tightening tools for Fitzpatrick IV to VI skin. Needle-based radiofrequency still calls for conservative settings and careful technique in darker skin. BioPlus has treated skin across every tone since 1996.
Cost depends on the treatment, the area treated, and the number of sessions your plan needs, so it is quoted for you after assessment. A single-session ultrasound or radiofrequency treatment is priced differently from a series of microneedling or a course of biostimulator injectables. Your complimentary consultation includes an honest price for the plan the physician recommends.
Yes, the neck and jowls are among the most common areas treated. Microfocused ultrasound and radiofrequency firm the jawline and neck, and deeper radiofrequency microneedling remodels the lower face. The realistic result is a firmer contour for mild to moderate laxity. Heavy jowling or loose neck skin with muscle banding is beyond what devices can do, and the physician will recommend a surgical opinion when that is the honest answer.
There is no single best treatment, which is why BioPlus carries a wide range. The right one depends on the depth of your laxity, its severity, your skin tone, and how much downtime you will accept. A thin crepey neck, a softened jawline, and a deflated midface each call for a different treatment or a combination. The consultation matches the treatment to your skin.
Related concerns
The broader picture
The wrinkles and surface texture that tightening does not treat. Laxity and fine lines usually share one plan.
Lift versus fill
Deflation of fat and bone that often travels with laxity and is treated with volume rather than tightening.
Under the chin
Fullness under the chin, where the plan depends on whether the cause is fat, loose skin, or both.
Complimentary consultation
Skin laxity has more than one cause, and more than one answer. A physician assesses the depth of the change, the degree of laxity and your skin tone, then chooses from a wide range of tightening technologies so your plan reflects your skin rather than a single machine. We have treated skin across every tone since 1996.
Book a complimentary consultationExplore treatmentsOur services are private esthetic services and are not covered by MSP.