My personal journey with CoolSculpt, EmSculpt, Radio Frequency, Liposuction, and Sentient Sculpt to help shed fat and cellulite.

Let’s face it, losing weight can be hard, especially past 40. I swear the day I crossed over 39 things rapidly started to change in my body. I’m talking about cellulite and fat popping up out of nowhere. From a person who’s always led a healthy lifestyle with a clean diet and regular workouts, watching this change has not been easy. I know I’m a woman, about 90% of us have cellulite and I never think it looks bad on other people but when I saw it on my own body, I didn’t allow as much grace. Genetically, I must just be one of those lucky people that have to work extra hard to stay fit. Yay, me.

In the past, I’ve tried a non-invasion form of liposuction on my saddle bags. That was a bad decision. For one, I barely had any cellulite in my early 30s and the results were so much worse than where I started. Instead of having a few little dimples here and there, I was left with pockets of loose skin and visible areas you could see where the lipo handpiece had stopped under the tissue. I then went on a mission to try and find treatments to correct this.

I tried radio frequency to tighten the skin. It helped a little but it required a ton of treatments, it was super uncomfortable and didn’t really help too much. I went to surgeons to do more liposuction but they all told me I wasn’t a good candidate, especially for that saddle bag area. Apparently, liposuction works better when it’s an isolated fat pad (belly bulge for example) versus a larger, continuous fat pad like the outer thighs. I wish the doctor that performed my lipo told me that! I tried EmSculpt on my butt in hopes it would build muscle and lift the pockets of loose skin. After four treatments, I wasn’t overly impressed. I also went on to try CoolSculpt on my inner thighs and banana roll. While it helped break up a thicker fat pad, it then left me with loose, jiggly skin, didn’t do anything for cellulite, AND left me a ‘shark bite’ where you could tell where the hand paddle was applied. Once again, I felt a little mutilated and like I now had to correct the results of this treatment.

Needless to say, for roughly a decade I’ve tried just about every version of fat removal out there. I came across Sentient Sculpt when I contacted Sentient Laser Supplier about another laser, Tixel, for the face. When I flew out to Park City, Utah to test out Tixel, I thought I’d try out the body sculpt as well. I figured it was worth a free treatment and felt hopeful it wouldn’t make things even worse. As you may be tracking, I’ll try just about anything to fight mother nature.

Prior to the treatment, I dove DEEP into researching how this machine works and its results. Sentient Sculpt came from Italy (like all good things) and was formerly known as Onda Coolwaves. I always look for devices that have a history of results and proven technology, instead of just the latest fade. This Coolwaves device had been around for years, the before and after photos looked incredible and all the reviews toted happy clients. I was intrigued, and excited, but still skeptical.

Naturally, when I went to test out Sentient Sculpt I had them work on my lumpy, bumpy, lipo-gone-wrong saddle bags. I didn’t expect to be impressed, because nothing has before, but after one side was done, I felt the tissue and it already felt smoother and tighter. It felt like the actual fat was broken up. I couldn’t believe it. I can’t think of any other analogy except for dough. If you’ve made dough, at first it’s a little tough, maybe even a little bumpy. Let it rise for a few hours and all of a sudden it’s fluffy, soft, and smooth. My thighs just turned into risen dough and I was shocked!

With further hope this was finally going to be an answer to fixing my own issues, I pulled the trigger on purchasing the device. Let me tell you that any device in the beauty industry is ridiculously overpriced. It’s a big reason why all of these treatments cost so much. I could have gotten a new Mercedes but instead decided to invest in a device that I hope would finally be the answer to helping me feel so much better about a spot that has plagued me for 10 years. And if I can help a few other women or men along the way, even better! We all have our spots that are either diet resistant or bug us, don’t we?

While most doctors advocate diet and exercise, these measures are not always enough to remove stubborn fat in areas such as the face, arms, legs, and abdomen. Fortunately, modern technology has brought us Sentient Sculpt as a safe and non-surgical option.

So how does this thing actually get rid of fat?

This technology uses microwave and radiofrequency waves to cleverly targets fat adipose cells while leaving the surrounding tissue intact. The cool wave energy also stimulates cellular metabolic processes and collagen production so it helps with permanent fat removal, cellulite, and skin tightening.

FAT REMOVAL: It penetrates deeply into the fat layer, demolishing the cell membranes of subcutaneous adipose cells and actively dissolving localized fat deposits. The fat is then eliminated by natural cellular metabolism (lipolysis).

CELLULITE REDUCTION: It stimulates the connective tissues surrounding the adipose lobules of the cellulite, diminishing the “orange peel” effect.

SKIN TIGHTENING: The energy also stimulates collagen production within the skin which causes collagen fibers to unravel and fibroblasts to produce protein. This creates a skin-tightening effect.

This is why I love this device. It does what all of these other devices failed to do. CoolSculpt is good at fat removal but does nothing for skin tightening, would not be a good option for areas like saddlebags, and comes with a risk of ‘shark bites’. Liposuction is super invasive, has lots of downtime, and also has its body part limitations. Radio Frequency helps with about 20% of the fat layer and skin tightening but Sentient Sculpt gets down to 80% of the fat AND does the skin tightening but with the cool tip, you’re so much more comfortable and only need a few treatments. Win, win, win.

Depending on your baseline and goals we always suggest at least three treatments and suggest pairing contouring with Alastin’s Body Transform topical along with lymphatic massage to help flush out the toxins and eliminate the destroyed fat cells. While I still have some work to go (I’ve done 5 treatments on the saddle bags as of now) I feel SO much more comfortable in my skin and much better about that area. The shark bites from CoolSculpt are smoother, the cellulite is almost gone and I even see improvement in a few stretch marks I had on the side of my butt.

Like any body contouring, these things can be an investment and I’m sure you’re skeptical, like I was, but can confidently say I’m happy with my results and get even more excited when our clients share their happiness. Most people have been so thrilled with the one area that they have started on other stubborn spots. The beauty of this device is that it treats just about any part of the body.

If you want an honest opinion on how many treatments it will take, schedule a consultation and we’ll walk you through it all.