Can’t Burn It Off? Freeze Away Fat with CoolSculpting

Posted on: September 5th, 2018 by sbatbold

Hate the love handles? Prefer a single chin, not double? Want to flatten that spare tire? Some pockets of fat can seem impossible to eliminate using the traditional one-two method of diet plus exercise. Liposuction has offered a fast, highly effective option since the ‘70s, but what if you want to slim down in all the right places without surgery?

CoolSculpting has been performed more than 6 million times since launching in 2010, making it the #1 non-invasive fat-reduction procedure in the world. Among the many satisfied customers are celebrities from Jennifer Aniston to Khloé Kardashian to Mariah Carey. And CoolSculpting has been earning a warm reception from major women’s magazines, even winning NewBeauty’s “Fight Fat in a Flash” award five years in a row.

CoolSculpting continues to gain popularity as a safe way to receive highly controlled slimming and contouring by a skilled physician — no downtime, no incisions, no anesthesia.

Freeze Is the New Burn

It comes naturally to think of reducing fat in terms of burning it off — which explains how fads like sweating in a steam box or plastic wrapping your waist were ever able to catch on! While maybe not as intuitive, it turns out that icy temperatures can produce truly impressive fat-zapping results that last.

Exercise “melts off” fat by shrinking fat cells, but extremely cold temperatures can actually reduce the number of your fat cells. How? The cells die off when you bring them close to freezing, then your body metabolizes and removes them. Permanently.

The Only Way to Chill

Tempted to try freezing off fat yourself? Before you go strapping on those ice packs, be warned. Attempted DIY can cause frostbite, which can mean damage to your skin, tissues, muscle, bones and possibly nerves. All that risk and you’re not even likely to sustain the correct temperature long enough to kill off any fat.

CoolSculpting uses a procedure called “cryolipolysis” to remove target fat through highly controlled freezing. It delivers a constant temperature low enough to destroy fat but not low enough to damage anything else. With CoolSculpting technology, you receive the right amount of cold to safely remove fat, and you do it the FDA-approved way at the hands of a trained physician.

CoolSculpting, Hotter You

So what is the CoolSculpting process that takes you from “before” to “after”? Here are the main five steps:

1. Consultation
Before booking Coolsculpting, meet with a physician to discuss your goals, expectations and options. For instance, if you lack enough fat for the CoolSculpting applicator to work most effectively, they may recommend a different fat-removal procedure.

2. The Treatment
CoolSculpting is delivered through various applicators, each designed to fit a different part of the body. Once an applicator is in place, it suctions your fat between cooling plates then subjects it to a temperature optimal for killing the cells without harming anything else, about 39°F (4°C). Treatment can be mildly painful at the very start, but the discomfort quickly diminishes as you go numb. CoolSculpting takes roughly 60 minutes per area so many patients bring a laptop or other device, and use the time to read, listen to their favorite podcast, or watch a movie — and chill.

3. Post-Procedure
While CoolSculpting itself is relatively quick, you won’t notice a fat reduction until weeks afterwards. Right after treatment, you may experience numbness, redness or bruising, but it should pass within 14 days. Be prepared to cover up if needed.

4. Final Results
Now comes the exciting part! Your body has been busily flushing out dead fat cells and, at 90 days to 6 months after the procedure, your full results show. Any skin discoloration should be gone and, because CoolSculpting involves no incisions, there’s no scarring. No trace of the procedure, just a slimmer you.

5. Maintenance
Like liposuction, CoolSculpting permanently reduces your number of fat cells. However, significant weight gain can swell any remaining fat cells. Keep up a healthy lifestyle, so you can enjoy your new, sleek contours indefinitely.

Not “Just for Girls”

Women aren’t the only people keen to get rid of stubborn fat. In fact, in 2016, twice as many men had liposuction as got hair transplants! And the number of men going for fat-removal procedures keeps growing, year after year, along with their interest in CoolSculpting.

A nod to this trend, CoolSculpting now engages celebrity golfer Ian Poulter, who has undergone and endorses the procedure. CoolSculpting’s YouTube videos featuring Poulter and specifically aimed at men have garnered well over 1 million views in 2018 alone.

Some of the most popular areas for men to receive CoolSculpting are the chin, abdomen, sides and back; and, though not officially FDA approved, many men have enjoyed impressive results for breast reduction.

Get the Skinny from an Expert

Take the first step to chisel extra fat away with CoolSculpting. Schedule a consultation with a board-certified doctor at California Skin Institute. You can talk about your specific fat-loss goals, find out if CoolSculpting is the best treatment for you, and weigh your options.

Individual results may vary.