The Fat Freezing Treatment

As the temperatures rise, so does the need to divest of woolly jumpers and consider what lies beneath. With plenty of time (we hope!) before swimsuit season, the IMAGE team trials some alternative ways to shape up. Circulation and Sales Manager Ciara Cosgrove shares her experience with The Fat Freezing Treatment.

The Fat Freezing Treatment

THE AIM

I am a slim girl who watches my food and works out, but I suffer from bad cellulite and stubborn fat around my derrie’re and hips. Nothing I did was working. Time to call in the professionals at River Medical.

THE METHOD

CoolSculpting, a non-invasive treatment that, quite literally, freezes the fat away – up to about 40 per cent – from problem areas, with absolutely no downtime. LENGTH OF TRIAL I had two sessions over three months. Each targeted both sides of my bum, two hours per side, so that totalled four hours? treatment time per appointment.

WHAT?S INVOLVED

A device, a bit like a high-tech hoover, is applied to the skin’s surface, which sucks up a satisfying chunk of one’s lardy bits, and then chills the area to a temperature at which fat cells wither. It’s not painful, just time consuming – two hours per site treated. But I’d brought my laptop, and there’s a TV in the room, so the session flew.

HOW IT WORKS

Once the area treated has been ?frozen?, 20-40 per cent of the cells die. Results aren’t instant, but over 30-60 days, my new shape started to take form. CoolSculpting works on its own, or can be combined with Endermologie (a further, non-invasive body treatment similar to massage) to smooth out the silhouette. CoolSculpting is FDA-approved.

RESULTS

A few weeks after my first treatment, I could see some noticeable changes, but a month after my second treatment, I had significant results. There was very little dimpling on my skin, it felt smoother, and I lost over two inches from my outer hips and finally fitted into those skinny jeans.

RECOMMENDED FOR

The ideal candidate should be in relatively good shape, and fit and healthy to begin with. This isn’t a weight loss treatment, but a body-contouring one. It’s also essential to eat healthily post-treatment, so the fat loss isn’t counteracted with new fat gain.

From €800 per area; packages for more than one area and multiple sessions available. Consultations are free with a River Medical nurse, rivermedical.ie.