Hey, this may be more for the Keto-Ladies in the group, I have noticed after dumping a lot of weight that my face is looking sorta wrinkled, I posted previously when my brother commented my face looked like a deflated balloon. It has been a few months since that comment, now I still see the wrinkles, what do y’all use to get the wrinkles ironed out? I would ask my wife but she thinks I look fine… Thanks!
Keto Skin - Bags and Wrinkles
Keto6468
(Karen)
#3
Yep left side of my face is now a bit wrinkled. A deflated balloon is an accurate description. I’m thinking autophagy is the answer for this extra folded wrinkled skin too.
K
Jason_v
#4
there’s absolutely nothing you can do about it short of staying hydrated and moisturizing. the idea your are going to “autophosize” the wrinkles and extra skin away is one of the most irritating, non scientific thing preached by fasting zealots.
djindy
#5
I’m not aware of any controlled experiments that have been done to test the idea, and I’m not sure the topic is a high enough priority or has enough known about several other components to reasonably expect one yet, but what clinical and anecdotal evidence there is suggests that those who use fasting or IF tend not to experience loose skin problems even after significant weight loss, or experience only small amounts that may not be in the usual places of greatest loss (stomach, face).
Dr. Fung and others speculate that, particularly if protein is kept down, autophagy will break down the skin cells that are no longer necessary (since they aren’t being used) for the protein needed elsewhere. It’s possible general maintenance breakdown will happen, rather than privatization, and simply the skin cells won’t be replaced (or not as much) since nothing is triggering their need. What exactly is happening is speculation at this point, it’s just an observation that the particular problem doesn’t tend to arise with IF (at least not when protein is kept down sufficiently, which may also be key, but again speculation).
knuckles
(Meg)
#6
If you are looking for some kind of a product that might help, you might try a retinol cream (over-the-counter) or a retinoid cream (prescribed by a dermatologist). I don’t know how dramatic the results will be, but they are known to help with finer lines and wrinkles. Look in the beauty isle at the drug store - there are bunches.
Best of luck!
Emacfarland
(Erin Macfarland )
#8
Here’s a brief synopsis of my experience with this…a few years ago when I started keto after my second child was around 3 and I’d stopped nursing and had lost weight fairly rapidly after his birth I lost additional weight on keto, and I developed anorexia unknowingly. After having two children, my skin tone/elasticity was not great, but when I became underweight due to my eating disorder, my overall energy intake was not nearly as high as it should have been and I was exercising quite a bit. (I am NOT advocating engaging in restrictive or disordered eating habits, I only want to share what I went through in regards to this issue…) I was eating a pretty classicly keto macro ratio when I did eat, higher fat, moderate protein and a lot of low carb veggies. My skin elasticity improved dramatically, not perfect but much better than you’d expect after gaining and losing weight due to pregnancy and breastfeeding, but I was no fasting for long periods of time, maybe 18 hours max per day (because I was a dangerously low body fat percentage). So my point in sharing this is to say that my skin tone/elasticity did in fact improve and I believe (in retrospect after learning more about this process) it was due to my body using old cells as energy (autophagy) because my protein was pretty low considering how much lean body mass I had and how much exercise I was doing. But for me i think it was kind of a catabolic last ditch effort on the part of my body to not attack my organs as fuel. Though I believe that happened as well to some degree. So I think there is merit to the idea that skin tone can improve while eating keto/fasting but it might depend on how much energy you have stored on your body (body fat) because that would most likely be used first before the body seeks other sources of supplemental energy.
Hoteski
(Hoteski)
#9
I’m trying out hyaluronic acid to see if that will help with my skin as the weight goes down. Also use a night serum and day cream and taking collagen supliment as my big fear is wrinkles and loose skin once the weight comes all off.
IceNine
(Karl)
#10
Amazing how the extra fat smoothes things out, isn’t it? The funny thing is that wrinkles and all, I still think I look younger =)
Wear those wrinkles like a badge of honor. They definitely smooth out over time. Mine continue to do so 2 years after losing my weight. It just takes time. It’s still going on, and I’m pushing 50.
It sucks, but the only other option is to die young to stay pretty =) I fully intend on becoming a senior citizen, the alternative being what it is.
rwmKetoReboot
#11
I’m recalling the before-after pics from not long ago - I agree with your wife! Otherwise it sounds like there’s a Skin-N-1 coming your way.
Personally I DIY glycolic peels from 30% to 50% and those have helped tremendously, it seem cumulative, I’ve been doing that for a several years, for both repair and preventative aspects.
Keto6468
(Karen)
#12
Really,that’s disappointing Jason Fung touts this as the way to not need surgery after losing weight and that your excess tissues will get used “eaten”
K
Keto6468
(Karen)
#13
That’s what I have been given to understand in fasting and low protein situations. Will need to read up more.
K
Shallimar
(Trish)
#15
Yes I have heard and read the same from Dr. Fung. Him stating that his patients, even those that lost over 100 pounds, have never had to go see plastics for removal of excess skin. I are hope that those statements are accurate.
Rajseth
(Raj Seth)
#16
N=1 observation. 85 lbs.12" down on pant size. no loose baggy skin, batwings, under chin etc. Oh yeah - 55 yrs, 5’8", 300lbs, now 215lbs.
I am hard keto, with target 0 carbs and NO calorie counting for anything. I have fasted 30 days in last 90.
I dont know whether it was fasting autophagy, keto, or just having the right prayers to the right gods (atheist!).
From hearing Jason Fung, the Fasting Jedi, I firmly believe it is helped by fasting triggered autophagy. If others dont want to believe it - OK by me. I dont really care
djindy
#17
Skin cells (and most cells) can be used for two different purposes with autophagy, presumably: an energy source or a protein source.
The body needs enough energy to keep things running, but also needs to recycle, build, rebuild, etc constantly, hence needing protein. So, the thinking is if you keep protein down (which fasting will do) but have enough bodyfat for energy or eat enough fat to keep things up energy wise (however you may want to do it, by eating a huge amount during non-fasting times, for instance), then you wouldn’t necessarily lower your metabolism and you could presumably also avoid getting too low on body fat before your skin starts getting eaten up for protein stores.
We typically fear that if we are too low on protein our body will start eating lean muscle tissue and organs. This is accurate enough, though there is some controversy over how it all works out. Skin is also an organ though. One can hope given it’s nature it’s the one that is attacked first when it has extra unneeded cells. Wouldn’t necessarily be bad for some other organs to get eaten a bit if the particular cells are breaking down or not functioning properly.
However, that’s all a bit of wishful thinking. I don’t think there’s enough known to say yet what will get eaten when protein is kept low (even if non-zero) and fasting, or what the long term effects will be (some indicate they loose some organ tissue but build it back up again quickly after feasting, but last I saw it was still pretty anecdotal).
There seems to be some disputes I’ve seen over the years whether while loosing lots of weight on keto a person should get more protein or less protein until they stabilize. Those that advocate for lower typically tout skin is tightened up, those who tout more advocate you don’t loose muscle or you do build I believe. I think there’s probably many factors to consider.
J_A-M
(Jay AM)
#18
You’re only describing one possible function of autophagy when there are more. Autophagy is not just a nutrition need response, it is also a response to get rid of damaged cells and damaged inner workings of cells.
I’ll link this here (gasp! Wikipedia?) it is lengthy and has well cited lines. It’s one of the more complete explanations of autophagy that I’ve come across with lots of citing.
J_A-M
(Jay AM)
#19
I’m going to share this on top of the autophagy talks. Does it work? Not sure. Does it hurt? Not really. Who doesn’t like a good skin brushing and oil rub down? I personally haven’t suffered ill effects from doing it so, maybe it will work, maybe I’ll just have soft skin and be saggy. The video is specifically about stretch marks but, I have loose skin too and am using it for that. I bought bottles of wheat germ (that are lasting much longer than expected and also smell gross but sink in quickly), and a vegan long handled brush for the dry brushing (mostly because I’m allergic to lots of random animals.) Bought them on Amazon. Maybe a regimen of it will work for you, if it doesn’t, it was a cheap trial.
atomicspacebunny
(Bunny)
#20
As we age our skin gets thinner but Bone Broth (grass fed bones) fasting can thicken the skin and tighten it up! The gelatin in Bone Broth makes the skin less susceptible to bruising and resistant to tearing!
Another note: When you do not use organic grass fed livestock (chlorophyl rich forage) sources, that’s what makes the skin saggy (trust me on this)!
Resources:
- Supplementing with Gelatin Can Help Tighten Your Skin | Beauty By replenishing collagen with gelatin, you are strengthening the bones and supporting the joints, tendons and ligaments. This will help with the appearance of skin sagging and improve the appearance of skin tightening. Also, a study showed that gelatin supplementation can improve the elasticity of skin.