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Body Contouring the Stomach Area: What Treatment Is Best?5 min read

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Did you know that the power of cold can be harnessed for more effective stubborn fat reduction? It’s true! CoolSculpting, which uses controlled cooling (i.e., cryolipolysis) to break down fat cells, is the number one nonsurgical treatment for getting rid of unwanted fat. So, if you’re looking for a surgery-free, minimally invasive way to target excess fat, body contouring through CoolSculpting might be the answer for you!

What Body Contouring Treatments Are Available?

The phrase “body contouring” leads to the assumption that we’re dealing with a weight-loss solution. This, however, is the first misconception about body contouring that we need to get out of the way. Instead, body contouring procedures such as CoolSculpting are better thought of as fat-reduction solutions. The ideal patients for body contouring procedures are those who have adjusted their diet and exercise routine without seeing all the results they’re looking for.


Whether it’s an individual’s genetics or some other factor, many people deal with body areas that do not respond to nutrition and exercise. If genetics or age prevent you from achieving your desired look, body contouring might be the way to go! Other treatment options can involve surgical procedures and a more significant recovery time, so take some time to figure out which treatment is best for you. Let’s look at some of the specifics of CoolSculpting compared to other treatments!

What Is CoolSculpting?

CoolSculpting is a body contouring method designed to take advantage of how our bodies respond to cold temperatures. Because fat freezes at a higher temperature than the skin, CoolSculpting can target unwanted fatty tissue without harming the treatment area. 

During the CoolSculpting procedure, the targeted fat is held between two paddles. The paddles are set to a cold temperature and are left in contact with the targeted area for a set amount of time, usually ranging from 35 minutes to an hour and 15 minutes. Your immune system then clears the fat cells out over the following weeks.

The results of CoolSculpting treatment have proven to be consistently positive. For example, in one study, 1,000 individuals who underwent the CoolSculpting treatment experienced an average 25% fat reduction, with minimal side effects such as temporary redness, bruising, soreness, and numbness.

How Does CoolSculpting Differ From Other Treatment Options?

CoolSculpting vs. Kybella

Of course, CoolSculpting is not the only body contouring option on the market. An alternative for some patients is Kybella. This treatment is quick and surgery-free, just like CoolSculpting. However, Kybella only targets chin fat and involves injections to the targeted area. Currently, Kybella is the only FDA-approved injectable to treat chin fat.

CoolSculpting vs. Heat Sculpting

Another option for body contouring comes in the form of heat sculpting. Heat sculpting is very similar to CoolSculpting in the sense that paddles are applied to the treatment area, then heated to target excess fatty tissue. The immune system then eliminates the dead fat cells over several weeks after treatment — most patients notice results in four to six weeks. 

Another similarity is that heat sculpting treatment sessions take 25 minutes on average. This is slightly shorter than CoolSculpting, but both are incredibly convenient compared to more intensive surgical treatment options.

What Areas Does CoolSculpting Treat?

If you’ve attempted diet and exercise changes to budge your unwanted fat, you might have personal experience with the stubborn areas that CoolSculpting is designed to treat. The abdomen is the most common area of the body that patients look to treat with this body contouring technique since it is the most common place the body stores fat — even if it’s fat you don’t need!

The Food and Drug Administration approved CoolSculpting for use on eight different areas of the body. These include the abdomen, flanks, thighs, bra fat, back fat, and upper arms. 

A final note on the body contouring treatment of specific areas: while often having the most noticeable results, the abdomen will also require a more elaborate treatment process. That is why providers often recommend two CoolSculpting treatments instead of one. While this extra treatment does take more time to coordinate, it will simply be the same approach — 30 to 60 minutes of exposure to cold — repeated to eliminate the more stubborn fat cells.

When Will I See the Results of CoolSculpting?

For this question, no short answer is the answer! Depending on the patient and the particular area of the body being treated, results can become noticeable as quickly as three weeks. However, in most cases, the eagerly expected results appear within eight weeks of the treatment. These delays between the treatment and the results do not mean that CoolSculpting is ineffective as a body contouring treatment. Instead, it simply indicates that your body is taking time to naturally break down the dead fat cells. Whether your results take weeks or months to appear, CoolSculpting is sure to aid your diet and exercise habits in eradicating stubborn fat!

Try CoolSculpting With the Body Contouring Specialists at Aesthetica!

Ready for your CoolSculpting treatment session? Come meet with us at 19500 Sandridge Way, Suite 350, Leesburg, VA 20176, or call us at (703) 574-4342 for a complimentary consultation with Board-Certified Plastic Surgeon Dr. Phillip Chang before moving forward with your procedure! If everything matches up, our team will help you navigate the entire process, from beginning to end! Also, don’t forget to check out our blog and social media for more information on plastic surgery and plastic surgery trends!

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