DOES IT ACTUALLY WORK?
Can you really freeze off fat?
Lying on a bed in Dr Ariel Haus’ Harley Street clinic with two whitecoated consultants struggling to strap a machine to my slippery, lubed-up, clingfilm-clad thighs, I wouldn’t exactly say I was brimming with confidence that this so-called fatfreezing would be a roaring success. For those not familiar with the concept, Coolsculpting is a nonsurgical, non-invasive treatment that claims to target, freeze and ultimately kill off fat cells, without damaging the skin. Sounds, well, absurb – but it’s steeped in science. ‘It evolved after scientists at Harvard University discovered that children who regularly ate ice lollies were more likely to develop facial dimples because cooling the mouth to such a degree eliminated pockets of fat in their cheeks,’ says dermatologist Dr Haus. But Coolsculpting goes after a certain type of fat. ‘Brown adipose tissue ensures that your body temperature is regulated,’ explains Dr Jenna Macciochi, teaching fellow in immunology at the University of Sussex. ‘So when you’re exposed to a cold environment, that tissue is forced to burn in order to keep you warm.’ The body then metabolises this ‘frozen’ fat and passes it out of the body – a process called apoptosis. Post-treatment, you should notice some fat loss after six weeks, but it takes the body a good three months to fully expel the cells. Sounds glorious. Despite stepping up my training over the past year and going easy on the chocolate, I’m a pear shape through and through and my bum and thighs boast a layer of fat I just can’t budge. I would never consider going under the knife to get rid of it, but Coolsculpting seems like a happy medium: sayonara, saddlebags, sans surgery. First up, there’s a consultation to establish whether or not my fat is ‘wobbly enough’. (I mean, I could have told them that.) Once the machine is attached, you just have to sit there while the temperature of the skin is reduced to between 0-6°C. Painful though it might sound, it’s not actually that bad – just 10 minutes of mild discomfort before the skin goes numb. It takes an hour and a half per leg but luckily you can spend the time relaxing and watching Netflix. Ever the cynic, I wasn’t expecting amazing results, so losing 3cm off each thigh was an absolute win. What it couldn’t do with just one treatment was balance out my legs – I naturally carry a little more fat on one than the other – but no one else ever notices. With prices starting at £800, it’s not cheap, but if I were more cash-rich, I’d be back in a flash.