Fat Freezing Treatments – What You Need to Know
In the last few years, fat freezing – or cryolipolysis – has become one of the most popular non-invasive aesthetic treatment options for body shaping and contouring. For people seeking to eliminate stubborn fat pockets without undergoing surgery, fat freezing represents a viable and less invasive alternative to traditional liposuction procedures. Fat freezing treatment targets, disrupts, and eliminates fat cells via controlled cooling, while preserving the adjacent tissues. Fat freezing is generally considered safe and effective for men and women, with FDA approval and many published scientific studies supporting the technique. If you’ve been thinking about it and wondering how the process works, what benefits it offers, and what to expect, this guide will help you answer these and other related questions.
How Does Fat Freezing Work?
Fat freezing is easy to understand as a concept, but freezing chosen areas of subcutaneous fat is based on solid biological principles. Since fat cells are more susceptible to cold than other cells, a fat freezing procedure places a specialised probe on the patient’s skin to deliver controlled cooling to the chosen region. During the process, the cold “crystallises” fat cells, destroying them and prompting their subsequent elimination through the person’s lymphatic system over the following weeks. All the while, the skin, muscle, and nerves lying directly beneath the skin around the chosen area are entirely unaffected. Fat freezing is not meant to assist you to lose weight. Instead, it is a way to eliminate subcutaneous fat because of which the lower stomach, flanks, thighs, or arms feel “looser” despite someone’s self-care efforts.
Does Fat Freezing Work?
Fat freezing works – it indeed causes a reduction of fat in the treated area. After a single procedure, up to 20–25% of fat can be lost, and the final result varies between individuals. However, it must be stressed that individual visible effects are not immediate – it takes around 6 to 12 weeks for the body to fully remove fat cells that died due to the low temperature. Furthermore, depending on the amount of fat cells, more than one session may be needed. Moreover, it is essential to maintain a healthy lifestyle and weight to keep the results. Otherwise, the fat tissue may increase and regain its previous size, or even become more oversized than it used to be.
Fat Freezing Before and After: What to Expect
The procedure involves a consultation with a specialist, who marks areas for treatment, and then a cooling applicator is applied to the skin. The procedure involves a slightly suction sensation followed by cooling or tingling, which is gradually replaced by numbness as the area becomes cold. Depending on the locations, the session lasts 35 to 60 minutes. Post-treatment results include temporary redness, numbness, or mild bruising. More severe occurrences are rare. These side effects disappear in a couple of days, and after 2–3 months, the final result is known, once the body eliminates dead fat cells.
Common Fat Freezing Side Effects
However, these are temporary and resolved without medical intervention. An even rarer but scary side effect is paradoxical adipose hyperplasia – the fat cells exposed to cold start growing instead of shrinking. This occurs in a small percentage of cases and can be resolved with additional sessions. The complications virtually do not happen if the procedure is done by a qualified and certified practitioner.
Who Is a Good Candidate for Fat Freezing?
Fat freezing is the most suitable fat reduction cosmetic for patients who have reached their ideal weight but struggle with persistent fat deposits in certain areas that resist exercise and diet, such as love handles, a little tummy bulk, or inner thighs. Fat freezing is not suitable for patients with cryoglobulinaemia or another cold-related condition. It should never be done on pregnant or breastfeeding women. Patients with very flaccid skin are also not suitable for the procedure. Only a professional consultation can give you certainty that the procedure will suit your body and lifestyle.
Comparing Fat Freezing to Other Fat Reduction Methods
Fat freezing may be a perfect treatment for you if you consider other fat reduction treatments, such as liposuction or laser treatment. While liposuction is a surgical option and involves downtime, fat freezing is quick and easily recovered from. While some laser options promise fat reduction, not all of them work, as not all of them use cold. Cryolipolysis is spot-reduction – no overall fat loss. For the best outcome, it should be used with a balanced lifestyle.
How to Maximise Fat Freezing Results
Follow these tips to get the most out of your cryo session:
- Drink plenty of water to help your body eliminate dead fat cells.
- Follow a balanced lifestyle. Fat fluctuations can ruin your results; make sure you do not experience them.
- Ask your practitioner about complementary treatments like radiofrequency for enhanced fat freezing with skin-tightening influence.
Conclusion
Fat freezing is a clinically proven, non-invasive procedure that provides a safe and effective way to eliminate fat from targeted areas. With no surgery, little downtime, and visible results in a month, it’s no wonder cryolipolysis is becoming increasingly popular across the UK.
As always, speaking with a good professional is the key to safety and success. So, under the proper guidance and with reasonable expectations, fat freezing can actually be a great tool in your body-contouring fight.
Tired of stubborn fat hanging around too long? Contact our experts to book an appointment today!
More on cryolipolysis:
- Cleveland Clinic’s take on cryolipolysis
- Chase Lodge Hospital
