Many of us have tried all the spot exercises we can. Yet, we still have these areas in which we just can’t get rid of those small areas of fat. Liposuction would not work on these areas, even if we had the money and the guts to try it. What is the solution to get rid of these annoying areas of fat? Why not freeze away the fat?
Yes, there is a new method that will allow a doctor to actually freeze your fat.
The idea came about in a simple way. Doctors notice that when a child would eat a frozen treat such as a frozen Popsicle a dimple would form in his/her cheek. The more frozen treats the child would eat the bigger the dimple would freeze. They then wonder what would happen to fat cells if they got a cooling treatment or if you froze them.
Once they began experimenting with the concept, a new technique was developed in the cosmetic industry. This new technology is known as Zeltiq Cryolipolysis.
This technology uses a special device that can centralize small areas of fat and then freezes them.
How does it work?
• First, it will only work on small areas, such as areas that you can no more in width than a stick of butter.
• Doctors say that the ideal candidates are those who are near their ideal body weight and who have been exercising on a regular basis.
• A gel pack is placed on the small area of the skin that is to be frozen. This gel pack will keep the skin from becoming frost bitten and will allow the machine to make a tight seal around the area.
• The machine will then suck in the skin in a way that a vacuum would. As it does this, it will begin to cool the area for an hour and begin to freeze the fat cells. The fat cells will begin to die. Over the next four to six weeks, the body will naturally clear these fat cells on its own. As these fat cells begin to clear the body, the fatty deposit will slowly begin to shrink down and the thus the patient will look skinnier in that area.
So far about one thousand people have tried Zeltiq since it has been on the market since the fall of 2009. It will again only work on small areas of the body. You will not get dramatic results as you can with liposuction. However, it can make a difference in small areas, which can make many people feel more confident about themselves.
The cost generally runs about $500 per area.
As of this date, the FDA has not approved this technology. However, they are expecting approval within the next six months.
Sources:
ABC news
