Chill your flab away

Getting slimmer is the most common thing most people wish of! Today, many want to go beyond the good ol’ exercising and dieting formula, especially for whom the weighing scales refuse to budge. While some are game to go under the knife, some aren’t. The reason being, surgeries have their risks and complications and today, the world is trying to move away from surgical procedures and towards non-surgical modalities. One such procedure is fat freezing, which has been gaining popularity in the past few years. Read to know more... 

What is fat freezing?

Fat freezing incorporates the principle of Cryotherapy and is also known as Cryolipolysis. “It’s a non-surgical procedure, which involves reducing the temperature of fat tissue (-8 to -11 degrees Celsius) via a fat freezing machine to a degree where fat cells get destroyed. The procedure involves sitting with a probe that sticks to the body area through suction for about an hour. It can be done to any body area, which has a good amount of fat pocket like, hips, belly, thighs, etc,” explains Dr Apratim Goel, dermatologist and laser surgeon, Cutis Skin Studio. She adds that fat freezing met FDA approval in 2010, and arrived in India post 2012.

Patient demographic

At her clinic, Dr Goel’s team has done fat freezing for over a hundred cases and determines candidates on the basis of the body pinch fat test. Some patients have done fat freezing on multiple body areas. Approximately, 80 per cent of patients are females in the age group of 30-50. About 70 per cent of patients have sedentary desk jobs, who see accumulation of fat in the abdomen area, love handles and thighs. Around 90 per cent of patients have opted for fat freezing for upper and lower belly fat.

Dr Shuba Dharmana, dermatologist and medical director, Lejeune Medspa, prefers doing it on clients who are closer to their ideal BMI and are looking for inch loss only (although different practitioners do this differently), adding, “If one’s BMI is above 30, one may not see much of a difference. It is, however, difficult to quantify and filter with BMI alone as for some people the bone mass might be more, pushing up their BMI. So it’s better to consult with the doctor and get examined.” She informs that fat freezing is not advisable for obesity, for anyone with cold sensitivities, liver problems, uncontrolled diabetes, metal implants or pacemakers and bleeding problems. 

Her clientele includes people mostly in the age group of 24-60, women as well as men, with professional backgrounds in acting, fashion, modelling, architecture and politics. Most request for lower abdomen as their main problem area, with women requesting for arms and thigh fat and men request fat freezing for love handles too.

Cost factor

Dr Geetika Mittal Gupta, dermatologist, International Skin & Anti Ageing Centre (ISAAC), says that the number of sittings and cost of procedure depends on the patients and applicators to be used. This is decided after an evaluation by the doctor. The procedure can be repeated every six to eight weeks on the same area. The treatment of Cooltech procedure cost is Rs 20,000 per session.

“If one is doing multiple sittings, it is advisable to give a gap of three to four months between the sittings and the cost varies depending on brand of the machine, clinic, expertise, etc. But one can expect to pay between Rs 30,000 to Rs 75,000 per area depending on the amount, size, area and machine,” says Dr Dharmana.

Post-procedure care

The procedure is slightly painful. There can be mild tingling, aching and bruising in some patients. These effects are short-lived and disappear in two to three days, informs Dr Mittal Gupta. She adds that a patient can resume daily activities immediately after the treatment. There is no recovery time. Patients are asked to have lukewarm water, do a 40-minute brisk walk and wear compression garments post the procedure, to improve results.

Dr Dharmana advises avoiding meals rich in fats for the day and the next, as the body will be dealing with the burden of a lot of broken down fat. Light exercise on the day and after is advisable. One must eat healthy and exercise regularly. Maintain your weight later, as if you gain weight, the treatment is not guaranteed to work because although the fat cells have been destroyed like in any surgical and non-surgical procedures, other fat cells can increase in size and take up its place. Depending on your medical problems and conditions your practitioner may or may not ask for further tests.

A 3D illustration of fat cells