What are Bat Wings and What Causes Them?

Arms taking flight? Let’s talk treatment.

By Jessica Cipriano, RN

What are bat wings? Many women refer to the combination of loose skin, upper arm fat, and decreased muscular tone in the triceps as “bat wings.” Bat wings become more common as we age and gain weight. Our skin also loses elasticity and becomes loose or lax making it even more difficult to get rid of the hanging jiggle. 

Overall, women tend to accumulate fat in the upper arms more than men. This is partly due to the fact that women have less testosterone, more estrogen, and a different fat accumulation pattern. We tend to retain fat in the upper arms, thighs, and hips. We also have anywhere from 6 to 11% more body fat than men on average. In spite of weight loss efforts, these areas are very difficult for women to get rid of without hormone therapy or a rigorous diet and exercise routine. 

Another reason for those bat wings is found in the changes in our skin's elasticity. We lose collagen and elastin due to photo damage over the years and intrinsic aging. Without doing something to stimulate collagen and elastin in the tissues, we are losing it faster than our bodies are making it every year that we age. The loss of these essential proteins, leads to loose skin that does not hold excessive fat stores tightly. This is why, even with weight loss, and the bat wings are often still present. 

In our society, most women's clothing is tailored to accentuate body features which often means that showing arms and fat wings is inevitable. This is often embarrassing or uncomfortable for patients who feel self-conscious about these areas.

So what can be done about that wings? Brachioplasty or arm lift surgery is one option, but many patients are deterred from this due to the long scars which are present on the inner portion of the arm. Also, many patients do not want to undergo major surgery for an aesthetic concern. Thankfully, we have other treatments available to treat bat wings. These include BodyTite and Morpheus8. Both of these amazing treatments use radio frequency energy to stimulate collagen and elastin activity, and to contract the fibroseptal network as well as melt fat within the skin.