In medieval times, stretch marks were proudly displayed to boast health, wealth, and the distance one could haul a damsel with one’s ear lobes. Laugh at the cosmetic follies of the long-lobed Sir Lancelot with today’s Groupon: for $150, you get two skin-tightening treatments (a $1,200 value) at ReNu Cosmetic Laser Center in Des Plaines.

A diplomat of the American Board of Surgery, Dr. Arvind Patel combines his decades of acquired epidermal talents and advanced technologies with the board-certified skin savants at ReNu Cosmetic Laser Center to battle unwanted skin elasticity. ReNu uses the safe and advanced SkinTyte treatment to smooth out jelly bellies, backs, necks, arms, legs, and faces. Featured on the Rachael Ray Show, the SkinTyte treatment uses Sciton ST Broad Band Light, a powerful but comfortable infrared-light energy that sends penetrating heat through the epidermis to the dermis-dermis, increasing tissue tightness and skin laxity. Backs and abdomens can be treated, heated, and cooled without ointments or injections, as gentle thermolysis works to undo the ruffled ridges that come with age, weight loss, childbirth, and method acting.

This noninvasive procedure can typically treat the face and neck within 30 minutes—times for other areas vary. Treatments may be used across separate visits and on different areas; ReNu Cosmetic Laser Center recommends a series of four treatments, spaced two to four weeks apart, for optimal results.