The holiday season is around the corner, and it’s sure to bring reunions with family and friends, family photos, and perhaps a getaway to warmer weather. Would you prefer to spend the holidays tugging at your sweater in discomfort – or showing off a slimmer figure?
Today it’s easier than ever to get a great physique because we have the benefit of non-surgical fat reduction. In fact, medical professionals around the globe have performed over six million treatments with CoolSculpting alone.
All our patients weigh the pros and cons of CoolSculpting versus surgical liposuction. One of the most common reasons to choose CoolSculpting is that it’s non-invasive and requires no recovery time.
If that’s a driving factor in your decision, here are seven facts you need to know about CoolSculpting downtime.
What You Should Know about CoolSculpting Downtime
As you’re learning about your fact reduction options, here’s what you need to know about the recovery time.
1. CoolSculpting Doesn’t Require Any Downtime
As you would expect, surgical liposuction requires some recovery time. Most patients take about a week off work to heal. Between the anesthesia and the surgery itself, it’s a lot for your body to handle.
CoolSculpting, on the other hand, is a whole different ball game. There’s no anesthesia involved, nor are there any incisions. After your treatment, you can head right back to work or your other daily activities. If you’re dealing with a busy schedule, non-surgical could be the way to go.
2. You Can Use the Procedure Time for Other Activities
Our patients already love that they don’t have to sacrifice any time in order to recover from treatment. It’s even better, though, that they don’t even have to give up their time during the procedure.
While CoolSculpting fat reduction takes about 35 minutes per area to complete, it’s easy to multi-task.
You’ll be able to rest comfortably and stay alert during the procedure. Patients often use the time to answer emails, catch up on their reading or other hobbies, or relax with their favorite show or movie.
3. You Can Expect Some Side Effects
It’s important to us that you know what to expect after the procedure. While you don’t need to take time off from your life to recover, you might experience some mild side effects.
After the procedure, you might experience redness and tingle in the treatment area. You may also have firmness, bruising, tenderness, itching, aching, or cramping.
However, these potential side effects tend to be mild and go away within a few days. Patients report that any side effects they experience have little or no impact on their daily lives.
4. It Takes Time to See the Results
CoolSculpting works in a unique way compared to surgical liposuction. The treatment helps disable unwanted fat cells using directed cooling. When your body recognizes that these fat cells aren’t functioning, it removes them from your system in a natural way.
As easy as that is on your body, it takes time for your body to remove those disabled fat cells. As a result, you can expect to start seeing your CoolSculpting results about four to six weeks after treatment.
After that point, your results will continue to improve. For most patients, the full results are visible about two or three months later.
5. CoolSculpting Eliminates the Risk of Further Downtime Associated with Surgery
We mentioned above that liposuction requires about a week of recovery time, while CoolSculpting doesn’t require any. However, that’s only true if your liposuction procedure and recovery go as planned.
Serious complications are uncommon with liposuction, but the risk still exists. If you experience complications, it could take you out of commission for far longer than the one week you had planned.
Non-surgical fat reduction with CoolSculpting, on the other hand, doesn’t have that risk.
6. There Are Ways to Minimize Side Effects and Maximize Results
CoolSculpting provides a great balance of strong results and minimal inconvenience. However, there are steps you can take to swing that balance even further in your favor.
After treatment, one way to help your body resolve side effects and to boost your results is to massage the area. This will help to break up the fat in that area. It also promotes blood flow and enhances a process called lymphatic drainage to reduce swelling.
Another way to get better results is to maintain a healthy weight after your procedure. While CoolSculpting removes a percentage of the fat cells in the treatment area, it’s still possible to gain weight if you take in more calories than you burn.
After liposuction, some patients gain weight because they can’t exercise right away and they fall out of their routine. It’s understandable that they’re disappointed when this diminishes their results.
You can exercise soon after CoolSculpting, though, so it’s easy to maximize your results with a healthy diet and exercise regimen.
7. Every Patient’s Experience Is Unique
We’ve gone into a lot of detail about what you may experience during and after your CoolSculpting treatment. As helpful as that information can be, it’s important to beware that the results vary from one person to another.
Every patient’s body is unique. Your sensations, results, and side effects could be different than those of a patient in the next room. With CoolSculpting as with any other medical or cosmetic treatment, make sure to go into the procedure with that in mind.
Choosing between Liposuction and CoolSculpting
There’s a reason why there are so many body contouring options available today. Different procedures work for different people. It’s a matter of choosing the option that best fits your goals, priorities, and circumstances.
For a large number of our patients, the lack of CoolSculpting downtime is the key reason they opt for the non-surgical route. Patients with busy schedules and daily obligations have more freedom today to achieve the physique they want.
To find out the best body contouring procedure for your needs, schedule a consultation to discuss your options!