Sep
2022
It really works: Trying out DualSculpting at Sculptology in Winnipeg
You know the saying, “if it’s too good to be true, it probably is”? Well, that’s the way I felt about CoolSculpting prior to trying it out in 2019.
I’ve always had an issue with my chin area and in 2019 I got the chance to try out CoolSculpting to get rid of the stubborn fat in that area and have a more defined jawline. I got one round of the cooling technology done but to be honest, prior to getting it, I really didn’t think it would work. But then it did and from then on, I became a believer.
If you are unfamiliar with what CoolSculpting is, it’s the process of freezing stubborn fat, which then flushes out of your system over the course of three months to reveal a more defined appearance. You can have pretty much any area of your body CoolSculpted, but it’s only for subcutaneous fat, which is the fat outside of your body that you can pinch. These are the problem areas that no matter how much exercise or healthy eating you do, the fat just doesn’t seem to want to go away. If you’re looking for a get slim quick procedure, then CoolSculpting isn’t for you.
Like I said, I had gotten my chin CoolSculpted three years ago (read my biog post on it here) and loved the results, so when Sculptology Winnipeg, a local clinic here in Winnipeg, reached out to me to see if I wanted to try out the procedure again, I jumped at the chance.
I always said that if I did CoolSculpting again, I would do my lower belly since no matter how many times I go to the gym (which is five to six days a week), it just doesn’t want to budge. The lower stomach area, as well as the hips (aka flanks) is a common problem area for a lot of people. The fat in that area in particular is well-known for being hard to shed, so therefore it is a popular area for people to get CoolSculpting on.
Now the really cool thing (no pun intended) about Sculptology Winnipeg is the fact that it’s the only DualSculpting clinic in Manitoba, meaning that they use two CoolSculpting machines at once to cut down on the time it takes for the procedure.
So what exactly is CoolSculpting?
It’s a non-invasive, non-surgical medical procedure that removes stubborn extra fat cells from your body. Each treatment precisely targets a particular area, killing only those fat cells without any damage to the surrounding skin, tissue, or organs. The treated fat cells are crystallized (aka frozen), destroyed, and then over the course of a few months, your body naturally processes the fat and eliminates those dead cells from your body (to be blunt, you basically pee and poop them out over that time period). What are you left with is a more sculpted appearance.
CoolSculpting is great since, unlike liposuction, it’s non-invasive, so there is no downtime. You will feel sore, numb, and discomfort in the days after the procedure but it’s not anything that will prevent you from doing your day-to-day routine. Unless you tell people, no one will really notice since there’s no bandaids or scars and you’re able to carry on your day without any interruptions (well there are minor ones like you can’t do exercise).
CoolSculpting entails a machine that is carefully placed on the area you want to treat, which cools the area to -11 degrees Celsius (between 30.2 and 39.2 degrees Fahrenheit) for about 45 minutes. When they first turn on the machine it does get quick cold and it does feel uncomfortable, however, the area gets numb after 10 minutes or so, so after that time you don’t really notice it. The results from CoolSculpting are permanent since those fat cells are killed and once you hit puberty your body actually stops producing fat cells. Once they are gone, they’re gone, and unless you gain a ton of weight, the area won’t expand again (the remaining fat cells you do have expand as you gain weight).
Sculptology Winnipeg
As mentioned, Sculptology Winnipeg is the only DualSculpting clinic in Manitoba, which, if you are doing an area which involves a lot of CoolSculpting treatments like I did, this is very beneficial since it essentially cuts down the treatment time by half.
I initially met with the Sculptology Winnipeg team in December 2021 to go over the areas I was interested in treating, at which point they determined if I would be a good candidate for the procedure. Basically they had these cut outs of the CoolSculpting attachment heads and they put them on the parts in question to see if they would fit. From there, they made a plan for me, which included how many sessions I would need and how many treatments it would entail (the more treatments you get, the better the outcome). March 2022 was my first treatment, where I went in for before photos, as well as the treatment itself. After the photos were taken, I was weighed and then Jocelyn, the CoolSculpting technician mapped out where the panels would go on my body. For this first session they did 10 areas:
- Two on my lower stomach which overlapped in the middle
- Two on my hips (lower and upper, so four areas total; two on either side)
- Two on my stomach above the belly button, which overlapped in the middle
- The upper bra fat near my armpits on both sides
Once I was all mapped out, I sat in the chair and started the procedure. Like I said, each CoolSculpting treatment takes 45 minutes, meaning that this session would have probably been around 10 hours if it was done with one machine (I rounded this number up to an hour for the session since that includes all the prep work and the massage they do after they take off the panel to break up the crystallization). Since two machines were working at once, they were able to do the whole thing in five hours, which is still a long time but less time than an entire day (and believe me, it’s not the most comfortable thing to get done).
So what I mean by this is, there was a CoolSculpting machine on either side of me and she could do both hips at once since those areas don’t overlap. Same with the upper bra part of my body. It’s this reason alone that I feel like Sculptology Winnipeg really is a great clinic to go to if you are getting a lot of CoolSculpting sessions done since they have the two machines working at once, so it really does make the whole experience much more pleasant.
Once I was done my five hours with the CoolSculpting (during my treatments I was just working on my laptop. They also have a TV for Netflix or you can read), Jocelyn gave me a belly band to wear to compress the area since it was quite tender and sore, but truthfully, I only really wore it the first day.
I did document the whole journey on Instagram stories from March until September (my March to May photos are above and you can definitely tell there is a difference), when my after photos were taken. In the first few weeks I didn’t really notice anything and the areas were quite swollen (which is normal), but the whole process does take time and I was happy I had the videos and photos to look back on. I did notice a reduction in fat by the time I went back for my second session, where they CoolSculpted all the areas they did the first time aside from the area above my belly button since I found that the skin in that area was a little loose and I didn’t want it to get looser. The second session focused on my hips, lower belly, and the upper bra fat.
I do have to say that I do have a pretty high pain tolerance and truthfully the worst part about the whole procedure is the first 10 minutes when the area is being cooled prior to it feeling numb and then when they take off the machine after 45 minutes. The massage part wasn’t as bad for the belly area compared to the chin area, so I did appreciate that (it was still uncomfortable though). With that being said, I found that in my second session in May it did hurt a lot more. When they took off the machine it felt so cold and painful, similar to when you are frozen and your body is reheating itself. I want to say that it definitely wasn’t frostbite, but it felt incredibly uncomfortable and worse than how it felt the first time around in March. I think this was due to the fact that there was less fat in that area, so it was more sensitive.
When I was getting my second treatment done in May I did see the before and after photos from March to May and I do have to say that I noticed a difference. Once the summer went on I could definitely tell that my stomach looked flatter, and more than anything, my clothes fit better and I was more confident in wearing tighter pants or dresses. Prior to having CoolSculpting done in that area I was always so self-conscious since all I noticed was my lower belly bulge, but now I don’t have to worry about that since the area is noticeably flatter.
Now as I said, I did go for two sessions of CoolSculpting, once in March and then another in May. Although you can definitely get results from one session it’s recommended to do two or three for the best results. It does cost more money, but the clinic will work with you and your goals and budget to find a package that works best for you.
Speaking of price, this is obviously the most requested question I got. It’s definitely not a cheap procedure and I also want to say that everyone’s experiences and results with it are different. Just because it worked great for me doesn’t mean that it will work great for you. It’s also not one-size-fits-all, you really do have to go in for a consultation, where they will tell you which areas would be best to treat, as well as the cost of how much it will be to do so.
I am so incredibly happy with how this turned out for me, and like I said, more than having a flat stomach, I’m just more confident in the clothes I wear. It’s nice knowing that I can throw on something tighter or in a colour that maybe isn’t as forgiving as black and not feel self-conscious about how I look. It was also very interesting to film the journey on Instagram and share my weekly updates and look back to see how far I’ve come. Obviously day to day you don’t notice a difference, but over the course of a month I was starting to see a reduction and a more sculpted appearance.
If you are in the Winnipeg area or in Manitoba and interested in having CoolSculpting done, I would recommend booking a consultation with Sculptology Winnipeg. They are located at 560-201 Portage Avenue right at Portage and Main, meaning it’s a nice and central location. You also get a great view of the city’s most iconic corner as you’re getting your treatment done as well.
Have you tried out CoolSculpting before? Have any questions? Leave a comment below!
Note, I did work with Sculptology Winnipeg to promote CoolSculpting and share my experiences for a gifted service. All opinions are my own.
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