There is a straightforward explanation for how Australian climate has an effect on your skin’s elasticity after weight loss. The sun, the heat, humidity, wind and dry air will all conspire to make retraction more of an ordeal once the kilos are gone. An Australian living here who has lost some weight will find the climate can dehydrate the skin, put strain on its barrier and hasten the breakdown of collagen. It’s important to use the best ingredients for loose neck skin to combat these effects. The result is that any crepey or loose skin becomes more apparent, on the face, arms, neck and belly.
You are not going to be left with rough as guts saggy skin for it. But a plan that takes the climate into account is called for. Daniel Crowe would say it is something that gets people: they are quite right to concentrate on the weight loss but then lose sight of the fact that skin is a living tissue having to contend with UV, the odd week of weather that swings like a dunny door in a storm, sweat, air-conditioning, bush heat and salty wind.
The Relevance of Climate
You do not get one uniform weather pattern in Australia. A hot northerly in inland Victoria is a different animal to the salty coastal sun of Sydney, the build-up in Cairns or a wet season in Darwin. That is of consequence when it comes to skin elasticity in this country, which is as much a product of what your skin endures day in day out as of age or genetics.
So when the question is posed as to why, after a bit of weight loss in Australia, the skin is not bouncing back as fast as one would like, the climate is a large part of the answer. The volume under the skin has been altered by the weight loss; now the local conditions will have their say on how well it can repair and retract.
What to Expect from Your Skin
It is useful to have an idea of what the skin is up against before we talk about the weather. To put it in plain terms as Daniel Crowe might, skin is no shrink-wrap. It will tighten of course, but only so far, and that is a function of the elastin and collagen fibers, how much was put on and for how long, and your age.
On the subject of collagen and elastin
the former is for firmness and structure, the latter for the stretch and give. They wane with age. Throw in some UV damage and dehydration and recovery post weight loss is apt to be protracted.
You will see better retraction if you are younger, have kept your muscle mass and put on the weight over time. Not so much if the skin has been at it for years or the weight has come off in a hurry with little in the way of protein, resistance work or other support.
Age is a factor
Once you are in your thirties or forties the production of collagen has already let up. Realistic expectations are in order. A good routine and topicals will see to the texture and hydration, and there are treatments to offer some tightening, but do not expect severely stretched skin to put itself right.
Then there is the sun
Make no mistake about it, the UV in Australia is hard on collagen. And it is not just the days you put in at the beach. Do some gardening, stand at the kids’ sport, drive or go to the shops and it is cumulative. The Australian Radiation Protection and Nuclear Safety Agency will tell you that with UV of 3 and over, as is the case in many parts of the country for most of the year, you should be protecting yourself. See the official guidance from ARPANSA’s ultraviolet radiation monitoring service. Repeated exposure of this kind will weaken elasticity and break down collagen.
UV and Loose Skin
Elastin and collagen are compromised by the UV. The skin grows thinner, more lined and less springy. After you have lost weight it can manifest in looser folds or a neck that looks older than the rest of you. Some would have you believe a tan is a sign of health, but it is nothing of the sort, it is the skin telling you it has been injured and is putting up a defence. If the aim is to avoid loose skin, daily protection is as much a part of the repairs as anything else.
Heat and Dry Air
And then there is the rather unfair matter of One can be dehydrated while perspiring in 35°C heat. And the skin will be without moisture in a dry inland part of the country, or in the confines of an air-conditioned office and heated home, irrespective of what the weather app reports for humidity in other parts of town.
For the most part water balance is what dictates the effect of climate on elasticity. A bout of short-term dehydration has a way of making the skin appear flatter and more wrinkled, tighter in an unflattering manner. Put it on for longer and the skin barrier suffers, not to mention any loose areas become more pronounced.
Dehydration and Skin Texture
Waterless skin tends to have a papery, creased quality. It is no cause for loose skin in and of itself, yet it puts existing laxity in sharp relief. It is easy to put down a sudden decline in texture as a structural change when really it is only temporary.
Humidity Is No Panacea
The link between humidity and elasticity is not straightforward. You may lose less water from your skin in the higher humidity of a place like Darwin or Cairns than you would in the arid interior. But then there is the sweat and salt, the friction and heat rash and all the cleansing one does; if you are not watchful these things will do harm to the barrier. The tropical air might spare your face from feeling like old parchment but it is also liable to clog pores and cause irritation and over-washing. An irritated piece of skin is hardly resilient.
Weight Loss
In many respects it is good for your health, but the skin is not always in step with the scales. How much is left to be loose is a matter of age, smoking, how fast and how much was shed, muscle mass and sun exposure over the years. Daniel Crowe would tell you from his conversations with readers and friends that it is the timing that catches people out. They think it will be sorted in a couple of weeks. In fact, provided the weight loss is stabilised and you have the right kind of lifestyle support, the tightening can be a slow process that goes on for months or more.
20kg and Loose Skin?
Possibly, though the individual is the deciding factor, not the figure. A younger person in Australia with some resistance training under their belt and a leisurely approach to losing the weight may experience only a mild looseness that gets better. Do the same amount of weight come off an older person with a lot of UV on their record and significant stretching behind them and the sagging will be far more apparent.
Climate’s Toll
Australia’s climate makes its mark quickest on what is exposed. The belly is sheltered by a shirt but the neck, chest, forearms and face have to put up with the wind and the UV. Hence why one is looking for the right ingredients for the neck before anything else.
A Routine for All Seasons
There is no point in having a bathroom cabinet full to bursting. What is called for is something practical that you will adhere to whether you are in the bush or on the coast, in summer or winter, or life is in a lather. Practical will trump fancy.
Put in the work to protect collagen and steady hydration so the loose skin is not as bad as it could be, and to shore up the barrier. Consider it maintenance for a long road trip: not exactly glamorous but leave it and you will have rattles to deal with.
What to do
- Start the day with a broad-spectrum sunscreen on any exposed skin, hands and chest included.
- Be gentle with your cleanser, particularly in humid climes or if you are prone to sweating.
- While still a little damp put on a moisturiser of the humectant and barrier-supporting variety.
- Get your protein for tissue repair and the odd omega-3 for the skin.
- Combine skin support with some resistance training; the muscle below will do wonders for the look of things post weight loss.
As for sunscreen, be consistent. Applying it once a week at the beach is of little account if it is your daily dog walk in Castlemaine or lunchtime in regional Victoria where the UV damage is accumulating.
Diet
You will not find a miracle menu but eat too little for any length of time and the skin will show it, flat and tired. Protein is for maintenance of the tissue. Vitamin C is required for normal collagen formation so its role in synthesis is important. Then there are healthy fats; omega-3 comes up in any discussion of skin health if for nothing else.
Some Ingredients Are Worth It
They are not going to make large quantities of excess skin disappear but topicals will see to the hydration and texture and any mild laxity. Of use on the face and chest where the first signs of the climate are to be found.
To find the right ingredients for loose skin on the neck, one would do well to put aside the flashy labels and see what has a good record in skincare.
What is of most use
Retinoids are the heavyweights when it comes to texture and encouraging collagen to renew; they are not without their drawbacks however, being apt to ruffle sensitive skin if you are not gradual with them. A case can be made for vitamin C in the morning under your sunscreen for a brighter complexion. Then there is hyaluronic acid for its hydrating qualities and ceramides to uphold barrier function, something you will appreciate in an over-air-conditioned or windy setting.
Peptides might do something for the way the skin feels and looks but do not expect anything like the advertising hype. Niacinamide is good for calming irritation and the barrier alike. The mistake some make is with too many actives in the heat. Should the face go red, flake or sting, that is no sign of progress, it is a white flag.
| Concern | Useful Ingredient | What It Can Do | Best For |
| Dry, papery texture | Hyaluronic acid | Better surface hydration | Arid and air-conditioned climates |
| Weak barrier, irritation | Ceramides, niacinamide | To support the skin barrier | Sensitive or over-cleansed skin |
| Photoageing and fine lines | Retinoid | Cell turnover and collagen | UV-exposed neck and face |
| Dullness, uneven tone | Vitamin C | Antioxidant and collagen synthesis | Under sunscreen in the morning |
| Mild laxity | Peptides | An improvement in firmness | Early changes in the skin |
When to consider treatment
Skincare and a degree of patience will suffice for some. After a big weight loss for instance, professional intervention is more sensible for others and there is nothing to be ashamed of. There is a limit to how much skin will retract.
Marketing does not make for honest expectations. Non-surgical means may address mild to moderate laxity but significant excess calls for surgery.
Non-Surgical Options
A clinic might put forward radiofrequency, laser, microneedling or ultrasound tightening. In cases where dehydration or sun damage is at play these have been known to help with texture and laxity. But results, cost and downtime are as variable as the practitioner and device. In Australia one can expect to part with anything from a couple of hundred to a few thousand AUD per session.
It is not for the uninitiated to go to the cheapest spot off the servo and put it to chance. Make sure to enquire as to who is in charge, what the Australian sun will allow your skin type to put up with and how many sessions are called for.
Surgical Options
For the odd occasion where there is a lot of overhanging skin following weight loss, a neck or arm lift, tummy tuck or other body contouring is the way to go. Recovery demands commitment in the form of limited movement, scar care, follow-ups and time away from work; it is not a quick nip and tuck to fit in around errands.
You will hear Dr Tim Papadopoulos and the likes of WebMD, Healthline or the Medical Journal of Australia come up in public discourse on the subject of weight loss and skin. Yet any decision should rest on an assessment by a suitably qualified health professional in Australia.
Some regional advice
The generic article will not tell you this: the climate zone, be it arid, temperate or tropical, dictates what the skin requires. What is a sound routine in Melbourne is of no account in the Top End in the wet. Daniel Crowe would compare it to making the drive from the coast to the Red Centre, same country but you would be a fool to treat the conditions as one and the same.
Tropical North
In places like Cairns and Darwin the humidity, UV and sweat are the problem. Keep to lightweight skincare and a broad-spectrum sunscreen, and resist the urge to over-cleanse after a perspiration. When the wet season is upon you and irritation is likely to flare from friction, a simple approach is preferable to loading up on actives.
Temperate Coast
There is a deceptively effective mix of UV, wind and salt to be had in Sydney and the like. One might not have the dry skin of the inland but do not be fooled: sun exposure will break down collagen all the same. Make it a point to put on sunscreen again, shield the neck and chest and at night turn to a good barrier-supportive moisturiser.
Arid Inland And Bush Heat
Dehydration will show up in the elasticity of the skin more plainly in drier parts of the country, say in central or western Australia. It may appear taut but is in fact not as supple. The answer is a more substantial moisturiser, plenty of water, some shade and a hat; take the edge off with exfoliation. Then there are hot winds and bushfire smoke to add insult to an already taxed complexion.
What Most People Get Wrong
Frustration often has its roots here. The notion that you have failed if your skin is loose, or that any cream will remedy it, is simply not so. Skin changes are to be expected and real improvement is the result of some unglamorous, sensible habits applied with consistency.
- Yet they will put fat loss ahead of what the skin can put up with.
- They do not bother with UV protection because they are not “at the beach”.
- Dehydration is mistaken for something more permanent.
- Strength training is shunned even though muscle puts better shape under the skin.
- Or one will purchase strong actives and ruin the barrier and be surprised the skin looks older and ruder for it.
Who This Advice Is For
For an Australian adult with some crepey skin or loose skin about the face, arms, stomach or thighs following weight loss this is well suited. Those who live where the seasons are hard, make their commute in the full glare of the sun or are outdoors a great deal will find it useful.
Where there is major excess skin from a rapid or large weight change, or infections in the folds, this alone will not suffice. A visit to a GP, dermatologist or a surgeon of standing is warranted.
Common Questions Answered
You will hear these asked and rightly so. It is a personal matter and costly to put right, and easy to be led astray by the before-and-afters in a glossy magazine.
Can you get back some elasticity after losing weight?
In part you can. Time, nutrition, building muscle and protecting from the sun will see some mild firmness return. Surgery is the only way to address severe excess skin.
Fixing crepey skin?
Hydrate and repair the barrier with retinoids, vitamin C, ceramides, niacinamide and of course sunscreen. Be mindful of the climate; over-washing and the wind and heat of a dry day will make it look worse.
Is saggy skin going to disappear?
If the laxity is not too pronounced and the weight holds steady, some of it will over a few months. Do not expect large folds to retract by themselves.
20kg and loose skin?
Possibly. But it is not a given. Your age and genes, how much muscle you keep and the pace of the loss and the sun you have been in are the determining factors.
Does humidity tighten?
No more than it reduces surface moisture loss which can take the dry look out of the skin. It is not going to put new collagen or elastin in place.
Final Takeaway
To put it bluntly for Australians: the climate here, with its UV and heat stress and dehydration, will make recovery from weight loss harder and the loose skin look worse. There is no getting around it. But you can do something: eat right, train with weights, be sensible with your skincare and put up the defences against the sun. When topical care is not enough, seek professional counsel.
Daniel Crowe would put it more simply. You have done the work to lose the weight, so let your skin have a chance to keep up. Do not let the weather have its way with your progress.
