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Body Sculpting treatments with HIFU
Body sculpting treatments are everywhere at the moment, promising svelte figures and Beyonce bums!
I’ve seen wild claims about body sculpting treatments on social media, and in the press alike.
The reason for writing this blog, is to give you my honest option as to whether body sculpting treatments work, and the results you can expect to see.
I’ll mostly focus on HIFU body sculpting treatments, as HIFU is the mode of treatment I use, but you will likely heard of fat freezing treatments too.
In this blog, I’ll talk about the results you can expect you see. I’ll also be completely transparent about what these treatments DO NOT deliver too, and also offer some helpful advice, so you know how to maximise your results from ALL treatments. Lets get started…..
What is HIFU?
Before we get started on HIFU body sculpting treatments, we’ll take a look at what HIFU stands for – it’s High Intensity Focused Ultrasound. It’s a thermal trauma (heat), that targets the skin at very specific layers in the skin.
When using HIFU for body sculpting treatments, a different and deeper cartridge is used to the ones used on the face. Typically, I will pass over an area on the body twice, once with a body cartridge, and the second time with a skin tightening cartridge, that treats closer to the surface of the skin – it’s a double whammy of treating your skin at multiple levels!
Your skin is heated up at this depth, which causes a minor controlled trauma (a good kind). In response to this, your skin naturally produces fresh collagen and elastin, and your skin contracts and tightens in response to the treatment.
The body cartridge treats at a depth where it heats up fat cells, and breaks them down. Now – it doesn’t immediately destroy fat cells – despite what some practitioners might tell you! This process takes around 28 days, as your body breaks down the fat cells, and mobilises them, so that your body can break down them down.
It’s really important to understand that HIFU alone will NOT completely re-sculpt your body, there are other things you need to be aware of, which we will discuss below.
What areas can HIFU body sculpting treat?
Body sculpting treatments can work on most areas, where you would like to target stubborn areas of fat, or where your skin has lost it’s elasticity.
- Saggy skin on the tummy, common after weight loss and ‘mum tums’.
- Bingo wings.
- Inner thighs, and backs of thighs.
In my opinion, it’s not great for treating the bottom – much better results are achieved with good old fashioned squats. It won’t give you Beyonce’s bum, so please don’t believe anyone that tells you that it will!
Body sculpting treatments are less predictable than HIFU treatments on the face though, just so you’re aware – and that’s because there are many other factors to consider – which we will look at below.
Are HIFU body treatments suitable for everyone?
As with all treatments, there are contraindications – but aside from those – there are other reasons why HIFU body sculpting might not be right for you.
They aren’t recommended for anyone with a BMI of over 30, usually. However, I have treated clients with higher BMI’s, but we have treated in conjunction with a healthy eating program and exercise. This can be really effective in helping to mobilise and break down fat, whilst toning and strengthening the body at the same time.
It’s also really important to understand that these treatments will only work on the body, alongside a healthy lifestyle – they are not ‘instead of’.
The results are also not permanent, insofar as, if you gain weight or change your lifestyle, you may lose the results you have achieved.
Multiple treatments are required to see results, more so than on the face. Typically, a minimum of 3 treatments spaced 4 weeks apart, but many clients will have 4-6 treatments, to get the results they desire.
Results are a slow burn, it takes up to 6 months after your last treatment, to fully see the results. This is because your body is breaking down fat cells, healing from the trauma of treatment, boosting collagen and elastin and remodelling your skin at deeper levels. These things take time, patience is king!
What can you do to get the best results?
There are a few things you can do, to ensure you get the best results from HIFU body sculpting treatments. Here’s my top 3 tips:
- Have your treatments at a time when you can focus on other elements of a health lifestyle, such as nutrition & exercise.
- Make sure you’re able to get plenty of sleep, as this is when your body repairs and regenerates.
- Choose a time that isn’t highly stressful! Stress is one of the worst things for our skin, and it will affect how your body recovers and responds to treatment.
And a bonus 4th – consider supplements, such as Vitamin C with zinc, as vitC is essential for healthy collagen production, and zinc is brilliant for healing.
Body sculpting treatments - unrealistic promises!
I’m always super honest about results from body sculpting treatments, such as HIFU. They can give you fantastic results for improving those bingo wings, saggy tummy’s, mum tums and general skin laxity – but they do have their limits.
The best results are achieved with a combined approach, which I’ve detailed above.
It’s worth saying here that the same goes for fat freezing treatments – and any other non surgical body sculpting treatments.
If a practitioner is making wild promises of a body like Beyonce or JLo, then thank them for their time and make a swift exit!
HIFU treatments DO tighten and lift your skin, it is GREAT for saggy jowls, turkey neck, bingo wings and mum tums – it really is. BUT, and here’s the BUT – you need multiple treatments (the number depends for each client, more on that below).
Just so you know, for the body, it’s a minimum of 3 treatments 4 weeks apart (sometimes more), the number of treatments will depend on whether we’re targeting fat loss, skin tightening, or both – and the area we are treating.
HIFU is a ‘slow burn’ treatment too. You only see around 10% improvement initially, and then it’s around 3-6 months to see the full results (but they are so worth it when you do!)
Body Sculpting Treatments - it's a wrap!
I really hope you’ve found my blog on body sculpting treatments helpful. HIFU really is an incredible treatment, when carried out in the right way – so please don’t be put off by all that you read online.
I know you’ll love the results from your bespoke programs I offer. I’d love to welcome you to my clinic in Alton, Hampshire. I am right on the Hampshire / Surrey border and just 15 minutes from both Basingstoke and Farnham. I am also at the end of a direct line from London Waterloo, and a 5 minute walk from the station.
Ready to start your transformation journey with me? Then get in touch, I’d love to hear from you. Kindest wishes, Nikki
