Just when you thought the world of fashion couldn’t surprise you again, this spring introduces us to the latest trend: ‘sleevage’.
Forget about striving for the ideal cleavage; this year’s awards season has shifted the focus to beautifully toned and sculpted upper arms, making them the new must-have feature.
Take a glance at the Oscars red carpet, where stars like Nicole Kidman, Kate Hudson, and Rose Byrne all chose strapless gowns, drawing attention to their impressive biceps without a trace of sagging skin.
The desire for sleek upper arms is on the rise, with plastic surgery to eliminate loose skin in this area becoming increasingly popular. The British Association of Aesthetic Plastic Surgeons (BAAPS) has observed a 13% increase in brachioplasty procedures, commonly known as bingo wing removal, over the past year.
Dr. Paul Banwell, a specialist in plastic surgery and aesthetics, notes that the demand for ‘sleevage’ surgery often results from significant weight loss due to GLP-1 usage, which can lead to loose skin under the arms. It can also be a natural consequence of aging.
As we age, our collagen and elastin levels diminish, explains Dr. Banwell. This reduction particularly affects the upper arm area, where the skin is naturally thinner, making it more susceptible to losing firmness and elasticity.
Nicole Kidman displayed her sculpted arms on the Oscars red carpet
Photos of Kate Hudson’s defined biceps also did the rounds on social media following the Academy Awards
‘Even for people with good muscle tone, once the skin has stretched beyond a certain point it simply won’t fully retract, so in this arm area, lax skin is notoriously tricky to tone up. Increased exercise often doesn’t solve the problem,’ he adds.
But sleevage surgery is not for the faint of heart: it involves removing excess skin from the underside of the arms and, where appropriate, some underlying fat to create a smoother, firmer contour.
There’s a considerable surgical incision, too, that usually runs along the inner arm from the armpit towards the elbow, leaving a scar. Not to mention brachioplasty will set you back between £7,000 to £12,000.
The good news for those who’d prefer to avoid going under the knife or spending thousands? There’s now a raft of non-surgical treatments, tweakments and targeted products designed to firm up and smooth your sleevage area. Here are the best to try…
Laser arm lift
If you’ve noticed your upper arms wobble, a laser treatment called Endolift helps to remodel wrinkled, lax tissue for a firmer shape. ‘It uses an ultra-fine, micro-optical laser fibre inserted just beneath the skin,’ explains Dr Priya Verma, founder of the ART clinic.
‘The treatment delivers targeted laser energy, which converts to controlled heat within the tissue.
‘This, in turn, causes existing collagen fibres to shrink for a tightening effect, whilst also triggering long-term collagen stimulation, improving skin elasticity, thickness and firmness.’
The treatment can also help to reduce small, stubborn pockets of arm fat, too. Only one session is required, with prices starting from £3,000. Full results can apparently be seen within three to six months post-treatment (endolift.co.uk).
A word of caution, though. While this technically isn’t surgery, it has to be done under local anaesthetic and there may be tenderness or swelling for several days afterwards. Results should last up to two years
Sleevage-tightening serum
The humble body lotion once simply hydrated, but now you can get skin-tightening body products designed to be applied to targeted areas, too. Like Alastin TransFORM Body Treatment, which comes with an eye-watering £150 price tag for a 170g bottle (ambraclinic.com). That’s a lot to pay for a cream, but it is renowned for firming up bingo wings where other topical application products fail. In clinical studies, those using it twice a day saw a 63 per cent improvement in arm crepiness after eight weeks, making it significantly cheaper than surgery.
Alastin TransFORM Body Treatment is pricey but renowned for firming up bingo wings where other topical application products fail
Arm-sculpting jab
Sculptra Body is a new injectable that stimulates the body’s own collagen production. When injected into the arms, it can improve the density and quality of loose, saggy skin.
‘Sculptra Body is a plant-derived, regenerative collagen biostimulator made from poly-L-lactic acid which is injected superficially under the skin to improve skin firmness,’ explains Dr Ana Mansouri, medical director of Dr Ana The Skin Clinic. ‘It helps gradually tighten and smooth crepey or lax skin, giving an overall better contour, so arms often appear more toned and refined as skin quality improves.’
It’s not a quick fix – results develop gradually from around six weeks and continue for several months as new collagen forms. Treatment costs from £350 to £1,200 per session, depending on the volume of product injected each time, and most people require two to three rounds.
No-workout workout
For those who dedicate time to weight training but are yet to see results, a new, non-invasive treatment called Emsculpt Neo could be the one for you.
It combines high-intensity electromagnetic energy that stimulates the arm muscles along with radiofrequency energy to encourage skin tightening – all whilst you recline on a couch.
‘Electromagnetic pads are attached to targeted areas on the arms, triggering thousands of powerful muscle contractions in a short period of time,’ explains GP and aesthetics doctor Dr Ahmed El Muntasar.
‘This strengthens and tones the muscles without pain, helping improve definition in the bingo wing area.’ Studies show the treatment can increase muscle volume by up to 25 per cent and reduce fat by up to a third.
He says most people require around four 30-minute sessions, which cost from £400 each.
Aside from some mild muscle soreness the next day, there’s no downtime afterwards so you won’t need to miss your workout sessions. The full results can be seen around a month after the final session and it’s important to remember that consistent exercise will help to maintain them.
‘Strawberry arm’ smoother
Finally, alongside unwanted flab, around 40 per cent of us have keratosis pilaris – a common skin condition that causes red spots like goose pimples, which usually appear on the upper arms.
Treating it can be tricky but a new clinically-proven body serum, Kaleidoscope by Joonbyrd, from £18, claims to reduce these bumps and even out discolouration and rough skin on the arms in just six weeks. This is thanks to a cocktail of smoothing and brightening shikimic and azelaic acids.
