Making the decision to undergo any form of cosmetic surgery can be daunting. If you’re considering CoolSculpting to help get rid of the stubborn fat that hasn’t responded to diet and exercise, you’re likely to have a lot of questions. Some of the most common questions we receive are:
- Does fat freezing actually work?
- Will I get the body I want?
- What actually happens during a CoolSculpting treatment?
- When will I see the results?
Here, we reveal what you can expect before, during and after a CoolSculpting appointment at Cosmos Aesthetics in Sydney. This will help you get prepared for your fat reduction procedure and highlight how easy it is to eliminate those unwanted fat cells once and for all.
What you can expect before a CoolSculpting treatment
Before your CoolSculpting procedure, you’ll be required to attend an initial consultation to determine if you are a good candidate. During this assessment, your problem areas will be discussed to ensure the fat is located in the FDA approved treatment areas. These include tummy, love handles, hips, waist, legs, back, lower and upper arms, muffin top, banana roll and double chin.
Your medical history will be assessed to make sure you don’t have any contraindications for the fat reduction procedure. Your expectations of CoolSculpting will also be discussed to help the doctors develop a personalised treatment plan for you and your body. You may be able to obtain your desired results in one procedure, however, most will require additional treatments to achieve significant fat loss.
How the procedure works, including the details of the fat freezing method cryolipolysis and possible side effects, will be discussed with you to ensure you are comfortable with your decision to undergo a cosmetic surgery treatment.
What you can expect during a CoolSculpting treatment
As a non-surgical fat reduction procedure, CoolSculpting is a walk-in, walk-out treatment. That means you can get rid of the stubborn fat during a break from work or before school pickup. This is one of the main advantages of CoolSculpting over other more invasive fat reduction procedures such as Liposuction.
At Cosmos Aesthetics in Sydney, the CoolSculpting procedure will be performed by one of our doctors or trained medical professionals using a handheld applicator. The applicator will be placed onto the treatment area before delivering controlled cooling to the targeted fat cells. It’s common at this time to experience some mild sensations of pulling, pinching, tugging and intense cold during the initial stages, but overall the procedure is relatively pain-free.
The practitioner will move the applicator device over the surface of your skin while the suctioning and cooling technology works to freeze the unwanted fat cells. Some patients will only have one area treated, others will be seeking to address multiple fat bulges in the one appointment.
Immediately after the fat freezing, the practitioner typically massages the treated areas to break up any of the frozen deep tissue and help to encourage the body to absorb and eliminate the destroyed fat cells through the lymphatic system. You may feel a little discomfort during this massage.
CoolSculpting treatment times will vary depending on the treated areas of the body and the number of sites. Treatments can take as little as 35 minutes or up to 3 hours. People typically spend this time reading, listening to music, working or even catching up on sleep.
What you can expect after a CoolSculpting treatment
After your CoolSculpting treatment, you’ll be able to resume your normal activities with little to no recovery time required. You may feel some minor redness, bruising or discomfort in the areas treated, however, these typically subside within a few days to weeks.
The process of treating your stubborn fat bulges continues after the CoolSculpting procedure as your body naturally eliminates the frozen (crystallised) fat cells over a period of weeks and months.
You may start to see some of the body contouring results after a few weeks of the CoolSculpting treatment, however, final results are typically seen after three or four months. This is because it takes time for the body to naturally flush out the destroyed fat cells after the treatment.
Most patients achieve great results with just one session seeing about a 20% reduction in the fat of the treated areas. However, often multiple treatments will be required for significant fat reduction. Additional sessions can be performed one week after your initial CoolSculpting procedure.
After your CoolSculpting procedure, you will be advised to adopt a healthy lifestyle including eating a healthy diet and exercising regularly to help maintain your results. Remember, CoolSculpting just like other cosmetic fat reduction procedures, is not a weight-loss solution. Long term results will rely on a commitment from you to look after yourself.
