Your Top 6 CoolSculpting Questions Answered

Our unique CoolSculpting® fat-freezing technology is a non-surgical, scientifically proven way to reduce pockets of fat in those annoying trouble spots most of us have such as the abdomen, flanks or under the chin in as little as one session.CoolSculpting® is FDA-cleared to treat nine different areas of the body: visible bulges under the chin and jawline areas, thighs, abdomen, and flanks, along with bra fat back fat, underneath the buttocks and upper arms.

Our patients always have a lot of good questions about CoolSculpting, everything from what the procedure actually entails to what makes someone a suitable candidate, so we’ve decided to share the answers with everyone here in this post.

“What is CoolSculpting?”

CoolSculpting is a technology that uses cryolipolysis. “Cryo” means freezing and “lipolysis” means fat cells. So, we are freezing the fat cells. It works to treat localized areas of fat. The body then breaks down these fat cells and excretes them, leaving the patient with a 20-24% reduction in the area that has been treated.

“Who is a candidate for CoolSculpting?”

CoolSculpting is ideal for clients who already work out, already eat well, are close to their ideal body weight (usually within 20-25 pounds) and have just an area or two of stubborn fat. Both men and women are candidates, although the treatable areas are slightly different for the respective groups.

In addition, men tend to have more exceptional results due to their natural muscle mass to fat ratio. If, for example, we were to treat a patient who has to lose 50 pounds, they will likely be dissatisfied with the treatment because they need to lose weight overall, not just in their target areas that are treatable with CoolSculpting.

The clients who see the best results and are happiest with the treatment results are close to their ideal body weight and have irritating pockets of pinchable fat.

“What areas can CoolSculpting treat?”

Basically, anything that you can pinch on the body is an area that can be treated with CoolSculpting. We can treat the inner arms, the flanks, bra fat, and as you can see, we can do various areas on the abdomen. We can also do the inner and outer thighs and the fat on top of the knee. Later in this blog, we will talk about the applicators, as they vary in size.

“If you can squeeze it, we can freeze it.”

Now, here at External Affairs, we do experiment with some of the off-label areas and we are also looking at treating cellulite with a poly-L-lactic acid, Sculptra. We actually have events where we showcase a lot of these treatments. If you subscribe to our newsletter on our website, you can stay up to date on our upcoming Cool Events.

“Is there downtime?” and “Is it painful?”

From my own personal experience, I would say that the treatment itself was really quite comfortable. When the applicators are first applied to the skin it feels extremely cold, almost like when your fingers get a little bit frost bitten. Once you get used to it, it's comfortable for the rest of the treatment. However, once they take the applicator off, the technicians do a very aggressive massage to the area for two minutes and that returns blood flow to the area, starting the process of breaking down the fat cells. That two minutes isn't exactly comfortable, but it's worth it. Most people describe the sensation as “weird” more than painful.

Then after the treatment, usually for the first few weeks, you can actually feel a little bit of numbness. You can have some swelling in the area, but I like that because it means that something actually happened to my fat cells.

You can return to normal activities the next day but because you're going to be a little bit swollen, you might not want to plan a treatment right before a holiday. You would want to do it at least three or four weeks before, but more ideally, two or three months before so you have got a slim, sexy tummy.

“How much does CoolSculpting cost?”

This is the big concern, of course. At External Affairs Medical Spas, we have the most modern technology that CoolSculpting makes. We have dual CoolSculpting, meaning we can operate two machines at once and therefor treat multiple areas in a shorter time frame. We also have the modern applicators which suck the fat into the applicator. This is way more effective than the older technology and it actually makes it more comfortable. So, the pricing is based on how many applicators are applied to the area, so it's kind of difficult to give an exact quote unless you come in for a consultation. But just to give you an idea if somebody had just a tiny post baby pooch below the belly button, they could be looking at a treatment as low as $750 or $1500 for two little applicators versus somebody who maybe has the whole abdominal area to be treated. That treatment might be up to $4500. So just to give you a range: between $1500 and $4500 in the abdominal area.

The best thing to do is come in for a consultation. This is where we really encourage you to head over to our website and request a consultation or call either location. We have location in North Edmonton and a location in St. Albert. Follow us, get social, and we'll give you as much information as we possibly can.