I Tried It: A Noninvasive Treatment for Body Contouring

As a lifestyle and beauty content creator in New York City, I’m always down to try something new, so when the opportunity came to try CoolSculpting®, it’s safe to say my curiosity was piqued. I was equally down to try something noninvasive (I’m personally so terrified of surgery that I can’t even watch some of Dr. Pimple Popper’s videos) and I loved that it was focused on contouring.

3:32

My CoolSculpting® Journey

But before we get into the whole rundown of what happened before, during, and after CoolSculpting®, I had to work through what it means to love myself and my body while still wanting to look my best. For some backstory, I used to weigh over 225 pounds as a size 16 and I was super confident. However, after betting a friend that we could get in shape, I started getting into weightlifting and wellness. Did I check out one of Arnold Schwarzenegger’s books about bodybuilding? Yes. Did I love it? Also, yes.

I digress. I ended up losing about 70lb, but then things took a turn and I became obsessed with fitness and people’s reaction to my body. I got my confidence from walking into a party to a chorus of you look great, and we all know what that really means. My inner confidence started to melt away and it was replaced with the voices of everyone else. That led me down a road of over-exercise, injury, and of course, when the praise stopped, I was lost.

It took a long time—years in fact—to get that confident woman back. I was then able to start my journey toward real wellness, which is where I find myself now, embracing health with actual balance, thinking less about my body overall, and being able to exist in fluctuation and change while having respect for myself during the process. I’ve also developed the deep belief that people can do whatever they want with their appearance as long as it’s safe and not the basis for their value.

So let’s get back to my experience with CoolSculpting®.

I went to meet with Laura Dyer for my consult and as a Virgo, I had QUESTIONS. Was this going to hurt? Was there downtime? How long until I see results? She explained the procedure and what to expect, so I was all set. We decided to focus on my upper arms and my lower abdomen because I had stubborn fat there, and she took some “before” photos for reference.

On the day of the treatment, I was told to eat a snack and wear loose clothing for post-procedure comfort (which is honestly the exact level of prep I can handle). Laura wiped down the treatment areas with alcohol, marked the exact locations of where the applicators would be placed on my body with a marker, and then the CoolSculpting® applicators were positioned into place. At first, it was a sucking feeling, a bit of cold tension, and then I felt nothing. It was totally numb. I ate more snacks and watched endless TikToks while around 35 minutes went by, and then Laura came back in for the massage portion of the procedure.

Now I’m going to be honest: The massage wasn’t the most enjoyable thing that's ever happened to me. It breaks apart the fat cells and is necessary for the best results, so I powered through it. In what felt like a blink, I was done and could go along with my day. In the following days, I had some swelling and numbness, but again, any excuse to not wear restricting pants is fine by me. And here’s the clincher: I’m about a month post-procedure and I already see results, but results may vary. My pants are fitting just a little better, and I’m super happy with the outcome. Laura said I would continue to see progress for the next couple of months as the frozen fat cells leave my body through waste (and no, you won’t be able to see them). Stay tuned because I’ll be sharing the final results here as well.

The Results Are In:

Now that it’s been a few months since being treated, I'm super happy with my CoolSculpting® results. I feel like the stubborn fat in the areas treated has reduced, there’s been no discomfort, and I’ll continue to build on my results with my typical fitness/wellness routines.

Overall, the process was very simple and straightforward, and my favorite thing was that there was little downtime needed after the procedure. I particularly see results on my abdomen area after the second treatment, which is difficult to target with exercise alone. This is a great option for people like me who are hesitant toward invasive procedures but want contouring results.

Uses

CoolSculpting® is FDA-cleared for the treatment of visible fat bulges in the submental (under the chin) and submandibular (under the jawline) areas, thigh, abdomen, and flank, along with bra fat, back fat, underneath the buttocks (also known as banana roll), and upper arm. It is also FDA-cleared to affect the appearance of lax tissue with submental area treatments. CoolSculpting® is not a treatment for weight loss.

Important Safety Information

This procedure is not for everyone. You should not be treated with CoolSculpting® if you suffer from cryoglobulinemia, cold agglutinin disease, or paroxysmal cold hemoglobinuria.

Tell your doctor if you have any medical conditions including recent surgery, pre-existing hernia, and any known sensitivities or allergies.

During the procedure you may experience sensations of pulling, tugging, mild pinching, intense cold, tingling, stinging, aching, and cramping at the treatment site. These sensations lessen as the area becomes numb. Following the procedure, typical side effects include temporary redness, swelling, blanching, bruising, firmness, tingling, stinging, tenderness, cramping, aching, itching, or skin sensitivity, and sensation of fullness in the back of the throat after submental or submandibular area treatment.

Rare side effects may happen in 1 to 10 out of 10,000 CoolSculpting® treatments (between 0.01% to 0.1%). One such rare side effect is a visible enlargement in the treated area which may develop two to five months after treatment, will not resolve on its own, and may require surgical intervention for correction.

Please see full Important Safety Information for CoolSculpting® on CoolSculpting.com.

_{CSC149442-v2 04/22}