“Would CoolSculpting® be right for me?” “Is fat freezing a good option for overweight people?” “Should you be at your ideal weight before CoolSculpting®?” Our Bryn Mawr and Newtown Square-based team hears plenty of these types of questions from women and men who want to slim down one or more areas of the body, but who aren’t sure whether CoolSculpting® would work for them.

It’s likely that you’ve heard of CoolSculpting® as a way of reducing resistant fat on areas such as the thighs, abdomen, hips, and below the chin, which often don’t respond to traditional weight loss methods such as exercise and dietary changes. The reason why CoolSculpting® is so effective is that it specifically targets the fat cells that cause fullness in those areas while leaving other healthy cells intact. 

Weight loss strategies like calorie counting and physical activity can be effective but provide no control over which areas of the body will burn fat. Furthermore, the fat cells just shrink in size but do not go away when you lose weight.

The process of fat freezing, which is known as cryolipolysis, gets rid of (not just shrinks) treated fat cells. However, while cryolipolysis can produce excellent results for body contouring, CoolSculpting® works best for certain patients.

You may be a good candidate for CoolSculpting® if:

• You have a relatively healthy lifestyle but are hoping to reduce some excess, stubborn fat that isn’t responding to exercise or diet

• You have pinchable fat on your abdomen, hips, back, arms, and legs  

• You don’t need to lose weight, but have a small pocket of fat in an area of concern that you want to reduce 

• You are within 10 to 15 pounds of your ideal body weight, since CoolSculpting® is not a weight loss treatment 

Patients who have loose skin, poor skin tone, and certain medical conditions that are triggered by exposure to cold temperatures, as well as patients who don’t handle cold well, are pregnant or nursing, or are above their ideal body weight, will not be ideal candidates for CoolSculpting®.

Our Bryn Mawr- and Newtown Square-based Cirillo Cosmetic Dermatology Spa team can provide further guidance if you’re interested in treating stubborn body fat to reveal slimmer contours. Call us at 610.525.5029 or submit a contact form to request a consultation to learn more.

Victoria A. Cirillo-Hyland
body contouring coolsculpting fat reduction