Still, even after five years of awesome results with CoolSculpting, there are some misperceptions about what CoolSculpting is and what it can and cannot do.
How it works
We perform our CoolSculpting sessions in our offices in Mentor. The areas commonly targeted are love handles, bra or back fat, muffin tops, the inner and outer thighs, and even the full abdomen. These are the areas where fat pockets tend to form, and they are very resistant to any efforts you make to get them to go away. Exercise and dietary changes usually have little impact on these fat pockets.
But CoolSculpting does! During research into another topic, two Harbard scientists discovered that fat cells freeze at a higher temperature than the other surrounding tissue cells. They discovered that you could freeze those fat cells, killing around 20% of them at one time, without harming the adjacent tissues. That was the basis for CoolSculpting.
During the procedure, a proprietary coupling gel is applied to areas on your skin where fat deposits are collected. Once the gel is applied, a vacuum is initiated through two cooling panels to suction the fat deposit in the area. For 30 to 60 minutes, the panels are held there to do the cooling. The result is a cold-induced inflammatory response that ultimately leads to the death of fat cells in the treatment site. After a few days or weeks, these dead fat cells are absorbed by the body as it heals, resulting in a 20% fat reduction in the treated area. These fat cells are permanently removed, similar to what happens with liposuction, but without the surgery.
It’s fat loss, not weight loss
There is a temptation to think that CoolSculpting would be the ultimate solution to obesity. Shouldn’t every obese person be lining up at an aesthetic practice and having their fat magically frozen away? No. CoolSculpting is NOT a weight loss program, it is a body contouring procedure. The process removes around 20 percent of the fat in the target areas. Patients need to be within 10 percent of their ideal body weight for CoolSculpting to be effective.
So, if you’re at or near your ideal weight and take care of yourself, CoolSculpting could be the answer for those stubborn pockets of fat. Call us at 440-NEW-FACE and let’s talk about it.