Sometimes no matter how much we exercise or eat healthy, we have stubborn areas that won’t budge. Usually these areas are found around our upper and lower abdomen, love handles, hips, the back of our arms and saddlebag areas. Body sculpting is a great alternative to consider when you are doing everything you can to improve these areas but nothing seems to work. At Dr. Park Avenue in Franklin Lakes, NJ, we offer the most advanced techniques and equipment in removing unwanted fat and tightening skin.
How Does Body Sculpting Work?
Body sculpting lets you achieve the body contour you are striving for without having to go through traditional liposuction, which typically is harder to recover from. There are many forms of body sculpting. One of the most popular and most effective is SmartLipo.
How SmartLipo Works
SmartLipo uses the heat energy from a laser to melt unwanted fat, which is then removed out of the body. During SmartLipo, you are given a local anesthetic in one area at a time as the doctor works along your problem areas.
The doctor first places a tumescent solution beneath the skin, along with the laser. The solution helps separate fat from the skin. Next, the doctor will remove the fat. The tumescent solution makes this step easier, allowing the laser to help melt the fat away.
As the doctor moves around your problem areas, he can assure that each section is done symmetrically and evenly. When the fat is removed, the reduction is visible immediately. This is why it is referred to as sculpting. The doctor can see the fat reduction as it is taking place and ensure to contour and remove only the necessary unwanted fat. This is ideal for areas that need sculpting and careful contouring.
What’s Great About It
One of the great things about SmartLipo is the heat from the laser that melts away fat also tightens skin, leaving your skin smoother and aesthetically pleasing after your procedure. Many times after procedures like traditional liposcution, the skin will be loose, but with SmartLipo, your skin is tightened as a result of the treatment.
It’s important to remember that SmartLipo is not a weight loss tool but rather a way to contour and target specific, stubborn areas where there are unwanted fat cells that you can’t get rid of by exercise and diet alone.
What Are the Benefits of Choosing SmartLipo?
Short Recovery Time
One of the greatest benefits from SmartLipo is the recovery time. As opposed to traditional liposuction, which requires heavy anesthesia and is harder on the body, with SmartLipo you can walk out of your procedure and be fully recovered within days. SmartLipo reduces downtime and eliminates post anesthesia recovery since it uses local anesthetics in one area at a time.
Skin Tightening
Skin tightening is a big benefit of SmartLipo. Some people choose to do body sculpting just to help get rid of their loose skin in those areas where there is unwanted fat. The heat from the laser also helps stimulate collagen and elastin production, which helps with recovery and the overall appearance of your skin.
Collagen and elastin are proteins in your body that provide structure to your skin. It’s not just found in our skin but also our bones, blood vessels, and muscles. It’s the glue that holds things together. When we age, our bodies produce less collagen and elastin; therefore anytime we can help stimulate the production of collagen and elastin, we are increasing the stability of our skin and thus making it tighter and more toned. This improves the appearance and texture.
As new collagen and elastin is produced following your SmartLipo, you will continue to see results and improvements in your skin tone long after the body sculpting is complete.
Even if you wish not to have SmartLipo, we offer laser skin tightening treatments to target areas where you have sagging skin and wish for more toned skin.
Better Contouring
SmartLipo uses smaller tools during the body sculpting than traditional liposuction. This allows your doctor to fine-tune the sculpting and achieve better results. Your doctor can achieve high-definition sculpting using the advanced techniques offered with SmartLipo. Because the tools are also smaller and heat is applied with a laser, it is minimally invasive, and this greatly reduces bruising and inflammation that one may see with more traditional liposuction.
Who Are the Best Candidates for SmartLipo?
If you are considering sculpting with SmartLipo you should know who is the best candidate.
Helping Those Who Help Themselves
SmartLipo works best on those that take care of themselves. By this, we mean those that eat a healthy diet, exercise and have an overall healthy lifestyle. Many times it is those that are living a healthy lifestyle that still battle problem areas with stubborn fat. Exercise doesn’t always get rid of extra fat around our midsection or love handles. Contouring with SmartLipo gives you the curves you want without the extra baggage.
There are many factors that go into shape of our bodies. Things like age, gender, and genetics play a role in our fat storage. Even if you are going to the gym every day, eating healthy and living your best life, you may still need a little extra help smoothing out thighs or midsections where fat likes to manifest.
Ideal for Both Sexes
SmartLipo is ideal for both men and women. Men many times have issues with belly fat and love handles. Sculpting could be the answer to eliminating those unwanted jiggles and tightening skin around those problem areas. Although men and women tend to store fat in different areas of the body, both deal with unwanted, stubborn fat.
Those Committed to Giving Up Cigarettes
Many people find that choosing to have a healthy lifestyle before SmartLipo can benefit them in more ways than one. It is recommended that you not be a smoker if you are looking to achieve the best results. This might be the right time to stop smoking altogether to improve your overall health and life the best life you can.
Those With Particular Stubborn Areas
If you have any of the following stubborn areas, SmartLipo might be especially right for you:
- Love handles
- Extra fat on the backside of arms
- Belly fat
- Upper abdomen fat
- Lower abdomen fat
- Extra fat on inner thighs
- Saddlebags
What Should You Do to Prepare?
Before anything takes place, you will need to have an initial consultation with a doctor to make sure you are a good candidate. During your initial consultation, the doctor will discuss with you what areas of your body you are having trouble with and what areas you want to target. The doctor will ask you questions about your overall health and look at your medical history. Your doctor will take into consideration your ideal weight, your goal weight, and your overall skin and muscle tone.
During this time, the doctor will recommend next steps and let you know whether or not you might be a good candidate for SmartLipo.
Exercise
You should continue exercising up until your SmartLipo takes place because it is important that you are as close to your ideal weight before having body sculpting as you need to be. Exercise not only helps you get to your ideal weight and maintain it, but it helps with your overall health as well.
In fact, exercise sends blood to your skin cells, which can help in the healing process post SmartLipo. Exercise also helps burn fat, which means there is less fat to remove.
Hydration
It’s always important to stay hydrated before and after your sculpting with SmartLipo. Drinking plenty of water will help in the healing process. Drinking plenty of water every day will assist in the product of collagen and elastin and help in your skin tightening and with the overall appearance of your skin.
Go Dry
It is also recommended that you avoid alcohol before your SmartLipo. During your initial consultation, your doctor can go over with you when you should start avoiding alcohol.
On the Day
On the day of your SmartLipo, it’s recommended that you not wear any jewelry and that you wear loose and comfortable clothing. Try to wear eyeglasses instead of contacts if you can.
There will be other things to take into consideration as well, such as how much to eat before body sculpting and when you should be able to shower or bath that day. These are things the doctor will go over with you during your consultation.
What Happens After SmartLipo?
The great thing about sculpting with SmartLipo is that the fat is removed and the results are visible immediately. You won’t have to worry about large sutures afterwards. With traditional liposuction, the tools used are much harder on the body and the recovery time is much longer. With SmartLipo, the tools are smaller and the laser allows the sculpting and contouring to be less involved than traditional liposuction.
On the Way Home
When the SmartLipo is complete and you are preparing to go home, most people will wear a compression garment right after the SmartLipo. Your doctor will let you know during the consultation whether this will be provided or whether you will need to purchase one. They are easy to find at most pharmacies and online. A compression garment is just a tight-fitting piece of clothing that is kept on anywhere from 24 hours to two weeks. It aids in your recovery and helps your results achieve their best potential.
Follow-Up
Make sure you follow the doctor’s orders on any follow-up appointments. During your consultation, the doctor will also let you know when it is okay to do strenuous exercise. Most people find they can do all their regular activities just days after SmartLipo.
Most people find the recovery time on SmartLipo is much shorter than that of traditional liposuction, and this is why so many people are choosing sculpting with SmartLipo as a better, faster and more effective option to getting rid of stubborn fat.
Are There Other Treatments?
We offer many treatments to help with fat reduction and skin tightening. We offer laser skin tightening, laser skin resurfacing and laser hair removal. We also offer many services designed to give you a more youthful appearance, such as facials, chemical peels, and micro-needling. These are all things that can be discussed during your initial consultation to determine the right treatment plan for you.
What Are the Next Steps?
If you are considering sculpting with SmartLipo or have questions about any of the services and treatments we offer, contact Dr. Park Avenue in Franklin Lakes, NJ today for an initial consultation. A doctor will meet with you to discuss all our treatment options for body sculpting, and together we can choose the right plan forward for you and your lifestyle.
