“This has been a very common question at the clinic since coolsculpting was introduced, 15 years ago: can cryolipolysis reduce cellulite? Unfortunately the vast majority of people do not know the distinction between hypodermis and subcutaneous fat - even most doctors and almost all aesthetic therapists do not know the difference. The facts are that cryolipolysis works on the deeper subcutaneous fat and cellulite is found on the more superficial hypodermis. So the answer to the question is that no, ‘fat freezing’ does not work on cellulite and the manufactures of this technology confirm that and make np claims about cellulite reduction or skin tightening. In fact, as we will see below, ‘cryo’ can exacerbate both.”
Does coolsculpting get rid of cellulite? Facts vs marketing hype.
Does fat freezing / cryolipolysis remove cellulite?
Coolsculpting for cellulite? Don’t fall for the misleading claims.
Cryolipolysis: the only non-surgical solution for stomach / waist fat reduction
Never take risks with a second cryolipolysis procedure - it is not worth it
Coolsculpting and paradoxical reactions: the Linda Evangelista incident
Coolsculpting, skin tightening and skin looseness
What is best for non-surgical fat reduction: cryolipolysis or laser?
LipoTherapeia® Plus: Have a skin tightening/cellulite treatment with London’s cellulite experts
The Cellulite School™: Get advanced training in cellulite reduction and skin tightening
Does fat freezing / cryolipolysis remove cellulite?
This a common question we are asked at the clinic.
Coolsculpting is the most well-known example of cryolipolysis (“fat freezing”) technology.
Cryolipolysis aims to lead to subcutaneous adipose tissue adipolysis (i.e. fat cell death) with the application of extreme cold.
Subcutaneous adipose tissue (SAT) is fat tissue UNDER the skin, while cellulite is fat tissue INSIDE the skin (hypodermis).
So, by definition, cryolipolysis / coolsculpting does NOT remove cellulite.
This fact is also reflected in the official literature of cryolipolysis equipment manufacturers: they DON’T make claims for cellulite reduction.
Coolsculpting for cellulite? Don’t fall for the misleading claims.
However, that doesn’t stop many unscrupulous practitioners to claim cellulite reduction with coolsculpting / cryolipolysis / fat freezing.
And it also doesn’t stop some naive members of the public to think that if cryolipolysis / coolsculpting works on deep fat, it will somehow magically work on their cellulite too.
Cryolipolysis: the only non-surgical solution for stomach / waist fat reduction
According to feedback for several years at the clinic, from more than a hundred clients who had undergone cryolipolysis treatments, it seems that it is:
about 50% effective in the reduction of stomach/waist fat
about 10-20% effective in the reduction of thigh/arm fat
And this medium success rate for the reduction of stomach/waist, and especially the low success rate for the reduction of other fat, is the reason why we do not offer cryolipolysis at our clinic.
However, cryolipolysis remains the only non-surgical treatment that can actually work (even with a 50% chance of success) in reducing up to 25% of stomach/waist fat.
The official studies are clear and only state about 25% fat reduction, so don’t expect 100% or even 50% fat elimination.
And don’t do cryolipolysis a second time, as the chance of complications increases a lot and the chance of extra fat reduction beyond 25% is minimal.
Never take risks with a second cryolipolysis procedure - it is not worth it
I have recently seen a client who had decent success with their first cryolipolysis and then got massive fibrosis with their second one.
A famous vaser surgeon tried to remove their fibrosis with vaser (what an irresponsible idea) and then with another vaser procedure (now this is bordering malpractice), which made things worse.
Now they are still struggling with cortisone injections, massage and ultrasound to break down the fibrosis. Two years of suffering, which could be avoided if they stuck to one “cryo” only.
So our advice is that if you want to have waist/stomach non-surgical fat reduction, try one session of cryolipolysis and if you belong the ~50% of people on whom “cryo” works, that’s great.
If the one cryo session didn’t work, at least you have tried to avoid surgery. Not all treatments work for everyone and no treatment has 100% success rate. But to be safe don’t go for a second one, thinking that second time round it will work.
Unfortunately each cryolipolysis trial comes with a £500-£750 price tag, but that’s the only thing that may work for non-surgical fat loss - on the waist/stomach only. Nothing else really works non-surgically - especially NOT laser treatments. And nothing really works for arms and legs, beyond the 10-20% success rate of cryolipolysis.
Coolsculpting and paradoxical reactions: the Linda Evangelista incident
Cryolipolysis has a few typical side effects, most of them reversible: redness, irritation and skin numbness, which may persist several weeks.
These adverse reactions are another reason for us not offering fat freezing at our clinic: we do not want our clients to suffer ANY adverse reactions and we want to maintain our 99.5%+ safety record: we have clients whose stomach / thighs are damaged for life by a single session of cryolipolysis and we do not want to be the ones causing such problems to our clients.
But some people don’t care about such potential reactions and for those people cryolipolysis is an option for belly fat reduction.
Very occasionally, however, once every 1800 sessions, there may be a paradoxical fat GROWTH reaction - as opposed to fat reduction that cryolipolysis attempts to deliver - as widely known now from Linda Evangelista’s experience.
Paradoxical reactions almost always occur with harsh, destructive treatments (freezing your skin for up to an hour is quite harsh for your tissues).
Paradoxical reactions are almost non-existent with more safe, stimulating treatments, such as the deep-acting, high-power radiofrequency OR deep acting, high-power ultrasound cavitation (the two strongest SAFE anti-cellulite technologies known today, and the one we practise).
As many people consider an adverse reaction ratio of 1:1800 to be rare, they don’t worry so much about this specific reaction.
However, after the Linda Evangelista incident attitudes have changed and more and more people do worry and do not want to undergo fat freezing treatments.
Coolsculpting, skin tightening and skin looseness
Can fat freezing be used for skin tightening?
Again, saasme with cellulite reduction, cryolipolysis does NOT stimulate skin tightening and the manufacturers of this equipment actually make no such claims.
So the “skin tightening with cryolipolysis” idea is another wishful thinking myth.
In fact, when cryolipolysis is effective and reduces fat significantly, it always leads to skin looseness (according to how much fat was lost). This is due to the extra skin which previously used to accommodate the extra fat.
That loose skin can then be tightened with deep-acting, high-power radiofrequency treatment, the most effective SAFE skin tightening procedure available today.
What is best for non-surgical fat reduction: cryolipolysis or laser?
NOTHING is really effective, on ANY body area, except coolsculpting on the stomach/waist, with the safety caveats analysed above:
Non-surgical laser fat reduction has proven to be a total waste of time and (a lot of) money
HIFU (high intensity focused ultrasound) is another such gimmick which is supposed to lead to fat reduction, but it doesn’t. At low intensities nothing happens, at high intensities it can cause burns.
Other destructive methods (such as fat removal injections or static, extremely high intensity radiofrequency) are plagued by adverse reactions and/or ineffectiveness
Deep-acting, high-power radiofrequency and deep acting, high-power ultrasound cavitation do help A BIT with fat reduction, but the results are not significant or consistent among different people. So although we use these two technologies, we don’t even make a claim for fat reduction at the clinic with them, except perhaps for trimming 1-2mm of fat - no more. So I would advise you not to believe such claims elsewhere.
Generally speaking, for guaranteed and significant fat reduction, liposuction is the best option. Of course, lipo has its own problems so it is not a solution for everybody.
For those people, and after considering all the caveats above, fat freezing is the only game in town - for stomach/waist fat reduction only.
LipoTherapeia® Plus: Have a skin tightening/cellulite treatment with London’s cellulite experts
At LipoTherapeia we have specialised 100% in skin tightening and cellulite reduction for more than two decades and 20,000+ sessions.
This is all we study and practise every day and have researched and tried hands-on all the important skin tightening equipment and their manufacturers.
As strong, deep acting radiofrequency and deep-acting, high-power ultrasound cavitation are the technologies of choice for skin tightening and cellulite reduction, we have invested in the best RF/ultrasound technologies in the world.
(Of course, we keep looking for new technologies every day and if/when a better technology materialises we will be the first to provide it. However, we will never follow the latest ineffective gimmick, just because it’s good marketing to offer the latest hyped up - yet ineffective and/or unsafe treatment.)
Furthermore, over the last two decades we have developed advanced RF and cavitation treatment protocols in order to make the most of our technologies, for maximum results, naturally and safely.
And for even better, faster results, we now combine our RF/ultrasound treatments with high-power red/infrared light LED treatment.
Our radiofrequency/ultrasound/LED treatments are comfortable, pain-free, downtime-free, injection-free, 99.5%+ safe and always non-invasive.
(No unsafe and ineffective RF microneedling or HIFU and no safe but ineffective acoustic wave therapy, superficial RF (bipolar/tripolar/multipolar etc), low power RF/cavitation, electrical muscle stimulation, lymphatic massage, cupping, dry brushing and no ridiculous bum bum creams.)
Our focus is on honest, realistic, science-based treatment, combined with caring, professional service, with a smile.
We will be pleased to see you, assess your cellulite, skin laxity or fibrosis, listen to your story, discuss your case and offer you the best possible treatment.
Check prices and book an expert cellulite / skin tightening treatment at our London clinic.
Look Inside Your Skin™ with a Cellulite Ultrasonography™ scan, exclusive to LipoTherapeia in London, and assess your cellulite, skin laxity, post-liposuction fibrosis and more
We are proud to be the first and only cellulite clinic in the world to offer Cellulite Ultrasonography™ to our clients, for accurate assessment, better treatment and enhanced results. Since 2022 we have assessed and provided valuable insights to hundreds of clients to better understand their specific case, see how their skin looks from inside and make informed decisions.
You can now book your Cellulite Ultrasonography™ session and assess your:
Cellulite
Skin laxity
Lipedema
Subcutaneous fat levels
You can also assess the presence and severity of fibrosis and adhesions after:
Liposuction in all its forms, including vaser, smart lipo, bodytite, abdominoplasty/tummy tuck, thigh lift, arm lift, lipedema surgery etc
Cellulite surgery, such as cellulaze, cellutite, cellfina, subcision etc
Face-lift surgery
Non-surgical procedures, such as RF microneedling, extreme intensity HIFU, extreme intensity RF, extreme intensity ultrasound etc
Everything will be shown and explained to you clearly and you can see and understand how the different structures inside your skin affect your appearance.
If there is scar tissue / fibrosis, those will be clearly seen and you can differentiate between fibrosis, water retention or unremoved fat after all types of cosmetic surgery or harsh non-surgical procedures such as RF microneedling, extreme intensity HIFU etc.
(DISCLAIMER: Please note that this service is for your informational purposes only and does not constitute medical diagnosis or advice.)
The 45’ appointment includes full assessment and consultation and optional treatment plan for cellulite reduction and/or skin tightening.
If you do wish to have treatment with us, the ultrasound scan, assessment and consultation will be used to optimise your course of treatments and maximise your results.
The Cellulite School™: Get advanced training in cellulite reduction and skin tightening
Why train with The Cellulite School™?
We all know that training in cellulite reduction and skin tightening is as basic as it gets. It is typically a 4-6 hour training, involving only basic instruction from the manufacturer on how operators can use the machine; lots of myths, erroneous information and misconceptions; and some basic health and safety on how to use the machine.
There is no proper, real training in the science or cellulite, skin tightening, radiofrequency, ultrasound and all related technologies is non-existent - worldwide.
Do you want to deeply understand radiofrequency, ultrasound cavitation, LED phototherapy, cellulite and skin tightening?
Get proper training based on 24-year theory and practical application of cellulite reduction and valuable insights from 23,000+ sessions and 4,100+ clients.
Now you can get instant access to our expertise and save yourself literally thousands of pounds, dollars or euros of expensive mistakes and thousands of hours of study, research and practical application by attending one of our half-day, 1-day, 2-day or 3-day professional consultancy / training courses.
Understand deeply - and get properly trained in - the science of radiofrequency, ultrasound cavitation, LED phototherapy, cellulite and skin tightening and confidently offer your clients the safest, strongest and most effective treatment possible.
Service available via Zoom or at our central London practice.
Learn more or check prices and book training at our London clinic or via Zoom.