Body Sculpting
Body sculpting, also called body contouring is a procedure to shape certain parts of the body after fat removal surgery or losing weight with diet and regular exercise. Body sculpting can be either surgical or non surgical in nature.
Surgical procedures are more effective and give long lasting results. Surgical procedures include liposuction, tummy tuck etc. Surgical procedures target not just fat removal but also can rid of the extra skin that can reshape the area better.
Non surgical procedures include Lipolysis and coolsculpting. Lipolysis procedures use extreme cold or heat produced by lasers or ultrasound devices to freeze fat or melt fat cells. This is a non-invasive method, relatively safer but may give limited results.
Where is non-invasive body sculpting done?
Usually, non-invasive fat removal is performed in the following areas of the body:
- Love handles (side of the hip and lower back)
- Tricep area
- Thighs
- Abdomen area.
- Neck
- Chin
Types of non-surgical body contouring procedures
- Cryolipolysis – The procedure involves freezing the fat cells without damaging the muscles and tissues as they freeze at lower temperature. Frozen fat cells die and they are eventually removed by the body. Cryolipolysis is one such procedure.
- Injection lipolysis – In this procedure, deoxycholic acid is injected into the body targeting the fat cells. Initially the area may swell due to the injected liquid but eventually after a few sessions, the medicine dissolves the fat from the cells and the body eliminates the fat. The effect usually lasts for 2 to 4 years and in people who workout regularly with a better/healthy diet, can retain the effect for longer periods.
- Laser lipolysis – the procedure involves using targeted laser beams that heat up and destroy the fat cells without damaging the external skin. SculpSure is one such procedure that uses laser probes for body contouring.
- Radio frequency procedure – Radiofrequency lipolysis uses ultrasound waves to heat the targeted fat cells. truSculpt is a procedure that employs radiofrequency generating probes to perform body contouring.
Surgical procedures for body contouring
- Lifts such as face lift, breast lift and tucking procedures such as tummy tuck come under surgical procedures for body contouring.
- Liposuction is another very popular procedure to remove excess fat from the body. Though the procedure is supposed to be used as the last option to get rid of the fat, it is mostly abused to shed that extra kilos from the belly, upper belly, thighs and saddle bag areas. Liposuction can also be performed on the arms, buttocks, love handles etc. Read more about liposuction procedure by clicking the link.
Right person for body contouring
Men or women, any one with no adverse medical condition, who don’t smoke are eligible to undergo body contouring. Smoking hinders the recovery process. It’s best if you quit smoking for at least a couple of months so that you can heal faster and better.
Your doctor should tell you if you are the right person to undergo body contouring once you meet him/her for the procedure. Since most of the body contouring procedures are non-invasive, most of the people qualify to undergo the procedure.
Benefits of body sculpting procedure
- Relatively painless procedure that involves no incision. No incision means nearly zero risk of infection.
- Slow and steady removal of fat from the designated places as the body removes the dead fat cells.
- Symmetric shape if the procedure is done on both sides of the body.
The only drawback of the body sculpting procedure is that the results take a little longer to show up but as they show up, you can see the confidence building in your wrt to your physical appearance.