You hate looking in the mirror and seeing your saddlebags, muffin top or pudgy upper arms. But you dislike the idea of having surgery to get rid of that extra fat even more than you hate the extra fat. Not to worry, as you can choose a liposuction alternative, such as Coolsculpting in Houston, TX, to take care of that extra, unwanted fat.
With a lipousction alternative, you don’t have to go through surgery or a lengthy recovery period afterwards. Coolsculpting works on a number of areas of the body, from the tummy to the thighs and from the hips to the double chin.
How a Liposuction Alternative Works
Before we jump into how Coolsculpting works, let’s review how liposuction works. During surgery, a surgeon makes a few small incisions in the area being treated. He injects the area with a solution that plumps up the fat and numbs it, making it easier to remove. Then, the fat is suctioned out using a thin tube known as a cannula.
The liposuction alternative Coolsculpting is completely non-invasive. The surgeon doesn’t make any incisions or inject anything into the body. Instead, a special applicator is placed on the part of the body that’s being treated. The applicator grabs the fat and freezes it. During the treatment, which takes about an hour per area, the fat in the applicator is deeply frozen.
The freezing temperatures destroy those fat cells, causing them to dissolve. Your body will flush out the destroyed cells over the next few weeks or months, gradually revealing a trimmer you.
How Much Fat Can It Remove?
Coolsculpting is usually able to remove to 25 percent of the fat in a treated area. The exact amount it removes depends on how many treatments you have and how much fat you had to begin with. Although some people get the results they want with just a single hour long treatment, other people might need two or three treatments to see the desired results.
You can have Coolsculpting in several areas of the body to get rid of unwanted fat all over. How long that process takes depends on the number of applicators the practice has. Some, such as Mirror Mirror, offer Dualsculpting, which uses two applicators and lets you treat two separate areas at the same time. It effectively doubles your results in half the time.
Who Does It Work For?
Not everyone is cut out for Coolsculpting, just as not everyone is a good candidate for liposuction. Although it removes extra fat, Coolsculpting isn’t a weight loss procedure. If you’re significant overweight or obese, you’ll most likely be asked to lose weight before your treatment.
The ideal candidate for Coolsculpting is someone who’s healthy, who has a bit of extra fat in one or more areas of the body, and who is committed to maintaining his or her weight. You might lose a few pounds after Coolsculpting, as a result of the fat being flushed out. But it’s possible for those pounds to return if you don’t eat a healthy diet or keep up an exercise routine after the treatment.
How Long Does It Take?
One thing people don’t have a lot of these days is time. The good news is that the time required by Coolsculpting is pretty short. Some patients can be over and done with their treatment in just an hour.
After treatment, recovery is pretty short as well. It’s not uncommon for people to jump back into their daily activities right away. You might decide to take a day or two off to rest up and wait for any soreness to dissapate. But, for many people, a few days off isn’t needed.
The one area where Coolsculpting does take a bit longer than lipousction is in terms of how long it takes results to become visible. When you have liposuction, the fat is gone right away. You’ll most likely have swelling and need to wear a compression garment for some time afterwards to help things settle back into place. But you’ll be able to see the slimmed down you pretty quickly.
How long it takes you to see the results from Coolsculpting depends on your body. Some people process the fat quickly and notice a visible improvement after a few weeks or a month or so. If your body takes longer to flush away the fat, it might take as long as 16 weeks before you notice any visible results.
Comparing Coolsculpting to Liposuction
Coolsculpting isn’t necessarily better than liposuction. But it can make more sense as a fat removal option for some people. If you’ve got a bit of extra fat, don’t mind waiting for results and can’t afford to take weeks off to recover, Coolsculpting might be right for you. If you want results that are visible more immediately or want to remove a considerable amount of fat, liposuction might better suit you.
It’s also worth noting that both procedures have their risks. Since neither procedure tightens the skin, it’s possible for you to end up with some sagging or laxity in the skin after the treatment or as the fat melts away. You can combine treatment with a skin tightening procedure or have a treatment such as Ulthera Houston later on to reduce some skin looseness.
If you’re tired of that bit of extra fat on your body, but don’t want to have surgery to remove, consider Coolsculpting as a viable alternative. To learn more about the treatment and to see if it’s a good pick for you, schedule a consultation at Mirror Mirror Beauty Boutique in Houston, Texas, today. Call 281-810-9083 to make your appointment.