Move over liposuction, the new fad in fat is freezing it.
As plastic surgeons, dermatologists and beauticians from around the world gather in Paris to analyse trends at the IMCAS aesthetic congress, here is some of what’s new:
– Freezing fat… –
No cuts, no needles, no anaesthesia. With “coolsculpting”, people can get rid of fat while reading a book, practitioners say.The procedure, approved by the US Food and Drug Administration in 2010, involves placing a fatty part of the body — say those love handles — into a device which cools the area to below body temperature but above freezing, destroying fat cells.
Fat cells are more susceptible to cold than other skin cells, which are not harmed in the process.
“Twenty to 23 percent of the fat cells in that portion that you froze for an hour will disappear,” said Renato Saltz, a plastic surgeon from Utah and president of the International Society of Aesthetic Plastic Surgery (ISAPS).
“It gets metabolised, and then it goes out in your urine or in your stool,” he told AFP.
Also called cryolipolysis or simply fat freezing, proponents say it is quick, painless and requires no recovery or “downtime”.
