I realize this thread and other threads on skin are not interested in āscienceā or ātheoryā or āspeculationā, that people want to see tried-and-true methods they can go buy online and try out. However, I thought it might be worth mentioning a potential approach, in case it becomes available some day. What I write might be dangerous, so I donāt recommend trying it; and, besides, you would need a prescription for certain things to make it work.
Ok, I got the idea after watching this video by Veratasium on super glue, and what it does when it binds to skin:
He says that the glue literally becomes part of your skin, in that some of the molecules in your skin become part of the polymer chains. He further mentions that super glue is bad for skin, because itās too rigid, but then mentions there are variants that are more flexible (similar to elastin, perhaps), including Dermabond, which is used to seal wounds like in plastic surgery.
Once applied, about the only way you can easily get it off is to use a solvent like acetone (nail polish remover).
My thoughts on how this might could be used to tighten skin ā again, I donāt recommend it, especially on the face, unless it has been thoroughly tested for safety ā are as follows: one idea would be to contract skin and then apply Dermabond to the surface. It might then hold that contracted pattern indefinitely (or at least until your skin turns over and flakes off, which might take several weeks or longer). Another idea might be to get a transparent thin mesh of some kind, thatās pretty much invisible, and then at each cross point in the grid, apply a very tiny drop of Dermabond to it and to your skin to bind it to your body. You could pull it as you add each drop to add tightness. So, youād have a basically invisible little grid permanently stuck to your skin, with ample spacing so that the skin can breathe, where the grid applies a āliftingā force like in a skin lift procedure.
Potential problems would be: Dermabond might kill skin if left on too long. It might also cause skin cancer (I donāt know what the risks are, but just wanted to suggest it). It might cause permanent scars. It might interfere with skin tone or color.
