After a long hard 2020, we are all ready to get back to the beach and enjoy this summer of 2021. While it is exciting to finally be able to go out and be social, many of us are all too familiar with the “quarantine weight” that has been added to our bodies, and some of us are having a hard time getting it off. We are all about body positivity and there is no body type that is better than the other, but body sculpting treatments, like CoolSculpting and Brazilian butt lift are seeming to become more and more popular. What is it about these treatments that are appealing? How much is CoolSculpting and what kinds of other body sculpting treatments are out there?
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We spoke with Dr. Schwarzburg at Skinly Aesthetics to get his expert opinion on the topic and here’s what we learned.
Body sculpting treatments have been around for a long time, starting with breast implants and liposuction. It wasn’t until a few years later that people began to get butt implants and finally injectable butt fillers. While implants and fillers are designed to add volume to certain areas of the body, there are also several treatments that will decrease the volume (in other words, eliminate the fat) in certain areas, such as liposuction and CoolSculpting.
The main difference between liposuction and CoolSculpting is that CoolSculpting is a non-invasive alternative to liposuction. Liposuction requires surgical intervention and downtime, while CoolSculpting is non-invasive and requires no down time at all. The only side effects you may experience are minimal bruising, swelling, tenderness, and numbness in the treatment area. Aside from CoolSculpting, there are a few other minimally invasive options to eliminate unwanted fat in small areas, such as Kybella. Kybella is an injectable solution that breaks down fat cells and permanently eliminates them.
There are also several versions of butt enhancements, both surgical and non surgical. We all know about butt implants, which are surgically implanted underneath the muscle, leaving you with a larger backside. A Brazilian butt lift (or BBL) is a procedure in which fat is harvested from a different part of your body (usually the fat will come from the abdomen, back, arms, or legs), and then injected into your butt to add more volume and projection. This procedure is slightly less invasive than a butt implant, but still requires surgical intervention since liposuction is needed to take fat from areas of your body. A non surgical and minimally invasive alternative to the aforementioned butt lifts is the sculptra butt lift. Sculptra is an injectable that increases volume in the treatment area by stimulating your own collagen production, causing the area to grow over the course of two to three months.
So why do people get these treatments and what are the risks?
Body sculpting treatments are popular for a variety of reasons. Some people simply want to remove some fat from their body to help them get in shape, some need to do it for health purposes, and some are unable to get rid of excess fat naturally and turn to procedures such as liposuction and CoolSculpting to help them out. When it comes to other body contouring procedures such as butt implants and injections, the reasons vary from wanting more volume and projection, to filling in hip dips.
For all procedures the risks and side effects vary. The more invasive and surgical treatments like liposuction, implants, and Brazilian butt lifts and fat grafting may involve more possible risks and side effects, such as infection, bruising, swelling, granuloma formation, and blood clots. Minimally invasive and non-invasive procedures such as Sculptra and CoolSculpting have less risks and side effects. CoolSculpting for example only has a minor risk of bruising, swelling, and feelings of numbness and itching around the treatment area. Depending on your body and what kind of results you are looking to achieve, any of these treatments could work for you. It is important to speak with a professional about the best option for you, as not everyone is the perfect candidate for all of these procedures.
Final thoughts:
It is amazing that there are so many options out there to help us reach our body goals, whether they be to lose weight, or to add volume to certain areas. Ironically, alongside the big bootie trend that has been blowing up on social media and pop culture, there is a huge push for body positivity and self love. You see influencers and celebrities posting flawless photos of them, showing off their (what seem to be) perfect figures, and then posting a completely non edited photo of themselves the next day to promote body positivity and to remind their followers that not everything you see online is real. Perhaps it is part of body positivity to also embrace getting work done (if that’s what you want to do), because we have the power to decide what we want to look like and what makes us feel confident. Based on statistics, the market for cosmetic procedures will continue to grow over the course of the next few years. If you are planning on getting any cosmetic treatments, the most important thing to keep in mind is to find an experienced professional to help you reach your goals.
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