Coolsculpting Versus Sculpsure For Noninvasive Body Fat Removal

Even with regular exercise and dieting, people often have stubborn areas of fat that don't seem to want to go away. Liposuction could get rid of this fat, but it's an invasive procedure with a number of risks and necessary downtime after the procedure. There are a number of non-invasive alternatives now FDA-approved to help people remove body fat such as this, including CoolSculpting and SculpSure.

CoolSculpting Basics

With CoolSculpting, the body fat to be removed needs to be pinchable, as it's placed in between two plates that basically help freeze away fat. The temperature used is cold enough to freeze the fat cells and destroy them so the body will remove them over the next few months, but not so cold that it will damage the skin. Once the treatment is over, the area is massaged to work the frozen fat back into the body.

SculpSure Basics

SculpSure works kind of the opposite way, as it uses a laser to heat up the fat cells and destroy them that way. During the treatment, a hot cycle alternates with a cool cycle to make it less painful and keep skin surface temperatures from getting too hot. As with CoolSculpting, it will take a few months for the full results to be visible.

CoolSculpting Advantages

CoolSculpting has been approved for use by the FDA for longer, as it was approved in 2012 and SculpSure was just approved in 2015. This means there are more experienced providers and there's more available research on the benefits and risks.

SculpSure Advantages

SculpSure has a shorter treatment time of 25 minutes, compared to 60 minutes for CoolSculpting, and typically costs less as well, ranging in price between $1,400 and $1,500 per treatment area instead of $2,000 to $4,000. The fat also doesn't need to be pinchable, so it can work in more situations than CoolSculpting, and more than one area can be targeted during the same 25-minute session because each machine has four separate plates.

Potential Considerations

With both of these treatments, a person should be close to their ideal body weight, as they aren't meant to bring about weight loss, just fat loss. The treatments can be somewhat uncomfortable and can result in tenderness and bruising for up to a few weeks after the procedure, although it shouldn't be necessary to take any downtime or use any anesthesia. Some people claim the pain is relatively minimal, while others say these procedures are painful but bearable. The reduction in fat in the treated areas can be up to 25 percent for CoolSculpting and up to 30 percent for SculpSure, but these types of results can require multiple treatments to achieve. Talk with a provider like Refined Dermatology for more information.