BLLNR Tries Coolsculpting at Freia Aesthetics
We get the skinny on the treatment to make you, well, skinnier.
In terms of focusing on health, there has never been a bigger year than 2020. As the Coronavirus wreaks its havoc across the globe, fitness and getting in shape has quickly become the new number one past time.
When the Singapore government announced the ‘Circuit Breaker’ in March, you couldn’t find dumbbell’s or work-out equipment anywhere for love nor money as we all seemingly decided to turn this lock down upside down and spend our time getting fit. And that’s what I did too – starting off with one workout a day and quickly moving to two, alongside long walks and weight circuits in the garden. Come October I was as fit as a fiddle, at my goal weight but I still had a Mum tum. Two pregnancies in three years with two c-sections and a penchant for a little bit too much sugar in my diet meant that no matter how many planks and crunches I did – I just couldn’t shift that lower tum.
Of course I had heard of coolsculpting, I mean who hasn’t, and I’ve even seen the results on a friend, but years spent in the beauty industry meant that I was somewhat sceptical about how on earth something non-invasive can actually get rid of fat and stubborn fat at that. But, I happily trotted along to Freia Aesthetics, one of my favourite aesthetics clinics, which is also, I have to say, one of Singapore’s most awarded clinics and who offer Coolsculpting, to find out more and if Coolsculpting would be my fat-busting knight in shining armour.
Firstly – what is Coolsculpting
According to their website, it can be defined as: “It’s technical name is cryolipolysis, which is just a science-y way to say fat freezing. Our experts spent years developing the treatment, which features one-of-a-kind technology that quite literally freezes and kills fat cells. CoolSculpting’s fat-freezing technology gives long-term results that make trouble spots a lot less troubling.* Fat cells don’t like the cold and at a certain temperature they will freeze. Once that happens, your body will naturally eliminate the dead cells in 1-3 months or more, resulting in up to 20%-25% reduction of fat in a treated area.”
Who is it for?
According to Dr Toby Hui at Freia Aesthetics and the reps at Coolsculpting, the treatment is for anyone with healthy eating habits and an active lifestyle who is at or near their goal weight. It is a safe and effective way to reduce excess fat in up to nine areas.
What’s it like?
Well, first and foremost, there’s the consultation, and if you thought stripping down to your bra and pants would be embarrassing, you don’t need to bash an eyelid as the lovely Dr Toby and his team put me right at ease as we discussed which bits of blubber I wanted to get rid of. We all agreed that my lower stomach could do with some work and I was relieved to find out this is one of the most requested areas for women to focus on. Dr Toby also told me that due to the expansion of having two babies, my stomach would further benefit from some skin tightening treatments but more on that another time. Next up it was my inner thighs I wanted freezing. I have skinny legs but over time my inner thighs have become a bit flabby and since this machine can seemingly work miracles, why not give it a go.
So, the next step is getting marked up for the placement of the coolsculpting machine. You see it works like a vacuum with the machine having different heads to work on different sized areas as it sucks up your fat and cools it down to a temperature where the fat cells begin to die. As fat cells are more sensitive to extreme temperatures than your skin, your skin just goes numb while the machine is sucking your fat, literally.
Once you are marked up, a protective layer is placed over your skin to protect it before the coolsculpting cup is attached to your skin and this is the funny bit. Your fat is literally sucked up into the coolsculpting head and while its painful for a couple of minutes, it soon goes numb and then you can just sit back and use your iPad or phone or try and drift off to sleep for the 35 minute sessions, as I did.
Once the cycle is finished, the machines are removed and then your treated areas are massaged to make sure there is no crystalised fat. Now I know I said massaged but this is no ordinary massage, it’s the least enjoyable part of the whole treatment and the best way I can explain it is it’s like when you are really, truly cold and you finally enter a warm room and get the feeling back - it’s that same pricking, burning sensation, but luckily it only lasts a minute or two. Now, after all the coolsculpting was done, Freia Aesthetics offer something called X Wave by BTL Aesthetics, the same maker as skin tightening legendary machine, Exilis, which is used to contour the body, to further break down the fat and to accelerate the results. Now, I’m no wimp but let me tell you, this stung. It felt like rubber bands were flicking me over and over again but my very patient nurse told me this would speed up results to I stuck with it. Luckily it only lasted a couple of minutes but it did, I have to say, bring a tear or two to my eye.
The results
After my treatment was finished, the nurses told me to take it easy and warned me that I might like to skip my daily barre classes for a day or two. Pah, I thought, I’m tough, I’ll be ok. Well, I was wrong. I ended up skipping exercise for two days and in all honesty, my stomach hurt and was swollen for a good week or so. But, eight weeks later, I can honestly say it was all worth it.
You are advised to have two or more sessions, at least eight weeks apart, to attain the optimal results so I’m going back this week for my second session but after just three or four weeks I had noticed a huge difference. My pooch has pretty much gone and for the first time in years, my stomach is actually flat. I am a born sceptic but I am amazed at the results and can’t wait for my second session.
For more information on Freia Aesthetics, see here
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