Dieting and doing a lot of exercise has often been viewed as the best way to try and improve your appearance. These traditional methods, though tedious and onerous, are the do-to choices for most of us. However, due to the numerous technological developments that have deluged the world over the years, many methods have been developed that help change the body shape.
It is popular to use non-invasive devices along with diet and exercise to achieve this goal through body contouring. Relatively nascent to the world, many of things entail body contouring. Consequently, before you engage in any type of body sculpting technique, it is essential that you understand everything it entails.
What exactly is body sculpting?
Body sculpting, or body contouring, is the use of technology and technological advancements to provide the safest and fastest way through which you can change the shape of your body. The icing on the cake is that when it comes to body contouring, you have a variety of options to choose from. The method to choose depends on your preference, though all body contouring techniques have some benefits over the others.
This article aims to provide you with everything you need to know about the different types of body sculpting techniques available, from the benefits to the costs, so that you can make an informed decision.
Skin tightening radio frequency
Loose skin is something that exercising and dieting cannot rectify. Exercising and dieting may actually lead to the development of loose skin. This is because, even though you may be able to lose some weight after exercising, the elastin fibers in your skin may already have been stretched and damaged. Consequently, you end up with lots of loose skin, with no particular way of getting rid of it. That is until now.
Skin tightening radio frequency is a nonsurgical way through which loose and lax skin can be tightened promptly and efficiently. Though this technology is fairly nascent, it has received lots of raging reviews due to its efficiency, efficacy, and quick recovery time.
The modus operandi of the procedure is simple. By using energy waves, the deepest part of your skin is stimulated to produce a protein known as collagen. Collagen is the most common protein in the human body, and it is essential in making sure that your skin remains firm. It is due to a lack of collagen that skin becomes loose and lax. Thus, by stimulating its formation, skin tightening radio frequency improves the condition of your skin.
Benefits
Numerous benefits come with skin tightening technology. Obviously, the main one is that you will have tighter skin. Notwithstanding, there are other benefits associated with skin tightening radio frequency.
They include:
- Face contouring: It is common to find that loose skin is concentrated around the face and neck. Consequently, skin tightening radio frequency ascertains that the facial laxity will improve tremendously, thus improving your facial contouring.
- Getting rid of wrinkles: The skin’s collagen deficiency is responsible for the formation of wrinkles. Therefore, since skin radio frequency makes sure that the skin has enough collagen, wrinkles and fine lines will disappear.
Drawbacks
The drawbacks associated with skin tightening are mild and rare. The most common side effects include mild redness for a couple of hours after the procedure and temporary swelling. You may also feel a tingling sensation.
Several options are available when it comes to skin tightening. Ulithera and Thermage have been in the market for a couple of years, and you will find numerous testimonials of their efficiency on the internet. Elixis, on the other hand, is fairly new to the market, but it has been making waves and has a lot of benefits. Regardless of the technique, you find most suitable, you can be assured that you will be pleased with the results.
Costs
Skin tightening is quite affordable. You may need a couple of sessions for the procedure to be complete, with each session costing about 200 dollars. Consequently, for the entire process, you will need between 800 dollars and 1000 dollars. The number of sessions you will need may vary, and so the overall price may fluctuate a bit.
Temperature-based fat reduction
Even with exercising and dieting, there are certain types of fat that cannot be removed that easily. These stubborn fats require some other method for them to be completely eradicated. Enter temperature-based fat reduction. Technology has been able to provide us with the means by which we can melt or freeze fat away, thus making sure that you achieve the body shape that you have been looking for.
As a body sculpting technique, temperature-based fat reduction comes with two options, either melting the fat or freezing the fat.
CoolSculpting
As the name would suggest, CoolSculpting entails the used of controlled cooling to eradicate the excess fat you want to get rid of. The said cooling freezes the fat cells in the region, which is commonly the stomach, inner thighs, or upper arms.
As a consequence of the freezing, the fats cells die, and the body naturally rids itself. This method of temperature-based fat reduction has become popular, mainly because of its efficiency. This is because CoolSculpting is a permanent solution to excessive fat because new fat cells cannot replace the ones that have been frozen.
SculpSure
The second temperature-based technique is known as SculpSure, it works parallel to CoolSculpting, though the results are often the same.
SculpSure entails the use of laser heat for body contouring. Essentially, the laser heat dissolves the fat cells in the region you would like to reduce fat. During the treatment, the device applies the said laser heat in intervals.
Benefits
There is a myriad of benefits that come with temperature-based fat reduction.
- Time: The first one is the speed through which the techniques work. For SculpSure, you only need about 25 minutes for the process to be over. This means that you will be more than able to resume your daily routine as soon as the session is over.
- It is non-intrusive: Since both treatments are non-intrusive, no anesthetic is required. Additionally, no incisions have to be made for the process to begin. Consequently, these procedures will leave you with no scars whatsoever.
- Appropriate for everyone: Except for expectant mothers, these procedures can be used on almost everyone else. Thus, everyone that would want to lose excess weight can do so.
Side effects
There aren’t a lot of side effects when it comes to temperature-based fat reduction. Some of the most common drawbacks are some mild conditions you experience after the procedure is complete. They include slight swelling, blistering, and bruising.
Notwithstanding, there are some rare severe side effects. They include scaring, subcutaneous fat loss, skin indentations, and burns.
Cost
The costs for the two procedures vary a bit. For CoolSculpting, you will have to part with anywhere between 2,000 dollars and 4,000 dollars. SculpSure is a bit more expensive, and it will cost you between 1,000 dollars and 1,500 dollars.
Exilis
Exilis Ultra 360 is an FDA approved device that combines ultrasound and radio frequency to tighten loose skin and address fine lines and other body concerns. The device uses controlled heating and cooling to ensure that energy is delivered to different depths of the tissue. With the use of five different applicator tips, the device can treat different areas of the body.
Benefits
The benefits of treating sagging, loose skin with Exilis Ultra 360 include:
- It is a quick, non-invasive, non-surgical treatment – Exilis Ultra 360 is designed to stimulate the body’s natural elastin remodeling and collagen production.
- Painless treatment – You will not experience any discomfort during treatment.
- Can be used on any area of the body. It can eliminate mild to moderate sagging on various skin types.
- Results start to show after about two treatments and can last up to one year or longer.
Drawbacks
- Results can vary from person to person.
- There is a concern about radiofrequencies being carcinogenic.
- Some individuals can experience side effects in the form of skin redness, tenderness, and swelling.
- It can be fatal if an inexperienced provider conducts it.
Cost
The prices of Exilis differ from one city to the other and from one provider to the other. The cost also depends on the part of the body a person wants to treat. Nonetheless, the majority of providers charge $350 and higher for a body part.
Muscle enhancement
The gym is considered the most appropriate place to do to make your muscles increase in size. However, contrary to the knowledge of many, different people have different genetic make-up. Thus, for some, it may prove to be an arduous, almost impossible task to try and get their muscles to show.
As is the case with numerous other genetic quandaries, technology has provided a remedy. Muscle enhancement is a tried a tested way through which you can increase the size of your muscles. As a result, this body contouring technique has gotten a lot more popular over the year.
Emsculpt
Emsculpt is a body contouring technique that ensures that the fat in your body is burnt will simultaneously increasing the size of your muscles. All this is actually done while you lay down. The procedure is so effective that the muscle gains you attain after a simple twenty minutes session are equivalent to doing tens of thousands of sit-ups. It is no wonder that many people have developed a preference for it.
How it works
The functionality of the procedure is as easy as it can possibly be. A rubber pad is placed on the target area, say the thigh muscles or the abs. This pad produces intense electromagnetic waves. Consequently, these electromagnetic waves cause contractions on the target muscles.
It is these muscular contractions that are responsible for the breaking down of the excessive fats. Additionally, they are responsible for the increase in muscular strength and tone.
Since a thirty-minute process is similar to doing 20,000 sit-ups, it is only fair that you will feel the same soreness you would expect to feel after a regular strenuous workout.
Benefits
- Muscle increase:The most impressive benefit this process gives is its incredible muscle-building ability. It is incredibly astonishing the amount of muscular gains you can achieve after a short session. According to research conducted by the company, the product is able to increase muscle mass by sixteen percent, while simultaneously reducing the size of the waistline by a whopping nineteen percent.
- Fat reduction:A bonus to the increase in muscle size is the fat reduction that comes with the procedure. As a result of the said muscular contractions, your body can burn the excess fat, as would a normal workout regimen.
Downside
As a result of its nascent nature, no side effects have been brought forward concerning the procedure. Notwithstanding, doctors are hesitant about the long-term effects such strenuous exercises could have on internal organs.
Cost
Four sessions of Emsculpt will cost you about 1,000 dollars. In the future, you should follow up on the progress you’ve made with additional sessions.
Liposuction
Liposuction is, without a doubt, one of the more popular methods of body sculpting, simply because it is a tried and tested method through which you can remove the unwanted fat in your body.
Of all the other methods, as mentioned earlier, liposuction is the most invasive method of body contouring you will find in the market. Since it is more medical than all the other techniques, an anesthetic is used. Hence, you will not feel pain during the actual procedure. However, you may feel pain after it is complete.
Benefits
- One of the most significant benefits when it comes to liposuction is the fact that it is a healthy, effective, and efficient way through which you will be able to get rid of the excessive fat in your body. You will be able to lose between two and five pounds of weight after the procedure.
- It treats other conditions
- Liposuction has been known to be a remedy for numerous other maladies chief amongst them is gynecomastia, which is the accumulation of fat beneath a man’s breast.
Risks
The risks associated with liposuctions are more compared to the other procedures, mainly because liposuction is invasive, while the others are not. There is a myriad of risks associated with the procedure. Some of them can happen during the actual procedure, while others are associated with the time after the procedure.
- During the procedure: Since an anesthetic is being used, some anesthetic complications may arise. Additionally, you may be at risk of developing nerve damage or even going into shock.
- Immediately after the process: Blood clots may form in the lungs. Additionally, fluid may accumulate in the lungs, hence resulting in breathing complications. You may also develop heart and kidney problems after the procedure.
- Risks while recovering: You may develop numbness, soreness, or swelling while recovering from the procedure. The area where the procedure took place may also develop infections, or scars. Changes in skin sensation and color have also been noted, though they occur rarely.
Costs
Since liposuction is a medical procedure, there are a lot of factors that influence its cost. Medical services such as anesthetic will play a huge role in determining the cost. The average cost of liposuction is about 3,550 dollars, but it may vary.
Conclusion
Body sculpting techniques can help you to enhance the appearance of your body. With these techniques, you can eliminate stubborn fat, loose skin, and make your body appear more toned. Body contouring comes in various styles and is ideal for different parts of your body. Compare different body sculpting techniques to determine which one is right for you.
