WHO Wellness Editor

WHAT: SCULPSURE FAT REDUCTION WHERE: GOLD COAST MEDICAL PRECINCT, VARSITY LAKES, QLD COST: FROM $700 PER SECTION

I’m not going to sugar-coat this for you – this is one heck of a painful treatment. Before I tried SculpSure I’d checked out multiple before and after pictures of people who’d had it and I was impressed. Roxanne, my SculpSure therapist advised me to get my lower belly, liver roll (that roll between the bra line and belly button), and love handles treated. At 25 minutes per section, that meant almost 1.5 hours standing in my underwear. I felt quite exposed as my wobbly bits were on full show and I had to put my pride to one side when a plastic belt with four cut-out sections was strapped to my gut, making everything look even worse! However, this is how the magic happens. The SculpSure machine was a big, white machine with four vacuum cleaner-type arms coming out of it. It looked very Willy Wonka-esque, although I doubted there’d be any chocolate at the end. There was a golden ticket, but more on that shortly. Because, first, the pain. I cannot lie to you, it was excruciating. At first it feels fine, and then once you’re lulled into a sense of ‘not too bad’, on comes the heat like you’ve never known. Admittedly, pain is subjective, so don’t take my word for it (but do prepare yourself!). Immediately after the treatment I felt a bit sore, like I’d done an hour of sit-ups, and the next few days were the same. My lower belly swelled up like a balloon, but Roxanne had warned me of this. The fat cells, which had just been blasted with heat, were now breaking down, which causes inflammation. However, once that begins to reduce, the debris from the fat cells begins to dissolve and gets digested by your body then flushed out via the lymph system. The breakdown process can take up to six weeks, so I was amazed and surprised when, two weeks later, I woke to find my belly was a lot flatter than it had been and a dress that had previously been feeling too tight, was now falling at my hips like it did a year ago. Amazing! I had two lots of treatment in the end and despite still looking less than taut, I can definitely see some sculpting – especially around my love handles. So, was it worth it for all that pain? I think yes.