CoolSculpting: A Patient's Perspective

With any treatment or procedure, there is often some mild anxiety that comes with the unknown. At ARTisan Skin and Laser Center, our team prides itself in education and thoroughly setting expectations, but it is always comforting to hear about these treatments from patients themselves. Read below to find out how our patient Julie experienced CoolSculpting firsthand...

"When I initially had my consultation for CoolSculpting, one of the things we discussed was the specific area I wanted to treat. Although I had a few areas that I wanted fat reduction, the provider explained that it was important to focus on one area at a time. They called this treating to completion. This is important because the treatment of one area may affect how another area looks, even though that area may not have been treated.

I ended up choosing to focus on my abdomen first. The day of the treatment I arrived and again met with the provider in the treatment room. She took my before photos and then my abdomen was marked with Sharpie marker (don't worry-it came off!) to determine where the treatment applicators would be applied. My skin was cleansed with a special wipe that helps protect the skin from the cold of the treatment. Once the applicator was applied , I could feel the cold for the first couple of minutes but then the area went numb. I didn't have any discomfort with this.

The room was set up with blankets and I spent the next few hours watching Netflix on the TV in the room. Every so often, the provider would come in and change the applicator to a new treatment area on my abdomen. Each time she took if off, she did a small massage on the area, and that had a little sting to it, but nothing too bad. I had my applicator moved 4 different times in order to treat all the areas I needed.

After treatment I left and felt just fine. The next day I was a little tender in the treatment area and had some mild swelling. It felt good to wear leggings or spanx to put some support over the area. Over the next couple of weeks the area I treated was a little itchy, it also stayed for about a month. Photos were taken at 12 weeks and I could see visible results from my 'before' pictures. I noticed my abdomen was flat, and I didn’t have my little pooch anymore. I felt comfortable in a swimsuit and my clothes fit better."

Thanks Julie, for sharing your experience!