Maybe you’ve seen the billboards advertising all those magic ways to “freeze fat away!”, or maybe you’re just tired of seeing those stubborn fat pockets on your tummy.
Millions of people struggle with weight loss–and even when they’ve overcome huge fitness strides, they’re left with unsightly little areas of fat they just can’t seem to run off.
If you’re stuck with a bit of unwanted fat, but you’re not big on the thought of undergoing the knife to do away with it, certain body contouring treatments may be just the solution you need to help you love every bit of your body!
Check out these 5 non-invasive and super effective body contouring treatments to see if one of them might be right for you!
1. Coolsculpting
Coolsculpting is a body contouring procedure that uses application of extreme cold in order to damage the treated area’s fat cells. The treatment actually uses technology that works similarly to the process of frostbite–but without harming the skin.
The Coolsculpting procedure itself typically lasts about one hour, depending on the size and amount of the body being treated. The results of Coolsculpting, however, are super longterm, since the process involves your body’s natural metabolization of the treated fat areas. Following the procedure, your body is left with frozen and dead fat cells that your body breaks down naturally over the course of the days and weeks following your treatment.
Coolsculpting often leaves its patients with a numb feeling in the treated area for a week or so following the treatment. During the procedure, some patients experience initial discomfort, but this usually subsides as the treatment itself numbs the areas being treated.
Over 6 million Coolsculpting treatments have been performed, and the procedure maintains a high level of patient satisfaction! Read more about this treatment.
2. Liposonix
Unlike Coolsculpting, which targets only specific, contained areas of fat, Liposonix works effectively across the entire abdomen at once. Instead of working through the use of cold, like Coolsculpting does, Liposonix uses thermal ultrasonic energy to destroy fat cells and promote collagen growth in the middle layers of fat.
The procedure lasts for approximately an hour and is administered by way of a handheld device that’s moved repeatedly over the surface of the skin. The results of this procedure, too, are usually longterm, since the effects of the treatment penetrate even deeper and more effectively than Coolsculpting. When the procedure’s thermal ultrasonic energy penetrates the patient’s fat, it kills the fat cells, which are metabolized and excreted from the body thereafter.
Some people report bruising and soreness in the days following Liposonix. The results from the procedure will start to become apparent as patients’ bodies do away with the dead fat cells; around 2 to 4 months after the procedure.
Good candidates for Liposonix can expect to shed, on average, one pants size in the months following the treatment!
3. Zerona
This treatment is administered a bit differently than Coolsculpting and Liposonix. Its effects and processes are different, too. Unlike the previous two treatments, Zerona doesn’t require any physical contact with the body–rather, its technologies work through “cold lasers” that disrupt fat cells and increase their permeability. The lasers work at a distance from the body, using patterned laser technologies to target the areas in question.
Most clinicians administer Zerona in about 40 minutes; 20 minutes on the front, then 20 minutes on the back side of the treated area. This treatment also works best with a total of 6 treatments over the course of 2 weeks or a month. This allows the procedure to take full hold, causing the fat cells to leak into the body to be burned.
Zerona works really well for patients who are within 30 pounds of their ideal weight. There aren’t any widely-noted side effects, and the outcomes of the procedure are usually totally obvious by the end of the 2-week treatment period.
The major downfall of this treatment is that, while the results are quick and usually really satisfactory, they’re rarely longterm. Since the treatment doesn’t kill fat cells like the previous 2 treatments, this process leaves the possibility of the body simply reabsorbing the leaked fats.
4. SculpSure
We don’t know about you, but we’re pretty impressed with the clever-levels of this name. SculpSure, like Zerona, is a laser-based body contouring treatment. The technology is FDA-approved and utilizes warm lasers (unlike Zerona) that disrupt the area’s fat cells, which are then removed through the body’s lymphatic system.
The process requires an application of 24-square-centimeter “applicator packs” which are secured to the areas being targeted. They’re strapped directly onto the skin of the patient and are usually left in place for about 25 minutes per procedure.
Most patients experience a bit of heat-related discomfort during the procedure, but there’s usually little or no side effect or other discomfort following the treatment. Results can be seen in as little as 4 weeks after the procedure, but typically full results are set by 12 weeks afterward.
Unlike Zerona, where the results of the laser treatment are only short-term, SculpSure’s results are long-lasting, since the fat cells that are targeted are destroyed in the procedure.
5. Kybella
This body contouring treatment is a bit different from the rest. Instead of a procedure that’s administered starting at the outer layers of the skin, Kybella is a deoxycholic acid that’s injected into those stubborn areas of fat to tackle the problem from the inside. Deoxycholic acid is naturally occurring in the body, and when injected, it can completely break down fat cells on contact.
The process is FDA-approved and only takes around 20 minutes in most cases. It’s recommended that patients receive between 2 and 4 treatments spaced out over the course of 1 month to allow for best results.
While some patients experience mild discomfort from the injections themselves, a local anesthetic can be used to make the procedure more comfortable. After the fact, there’s virtually no downtime for patients who undergo Kybella–although certain patients do experience mild swelling, numbness, redness, and bruising at the treatment sites.
Kybella does an awesome job of destroying fat cells, so the treatment’s effects are longterm and super effective. Results usually show between 4 and 6 weeks after treatment is complete.
Want More on Body Contouring Treatments?
If you’ve been working hard to get rid of that last bit of fat, it makes perfect sense that you’d want to look more into body contouring treatments as a solution to that stubborn problem.
For more information on body contouring treatments and other awesome health and wellness content, check out our site!
