The blurb
I need all the help I can get to fit back into my jeans, so when I heard ex-England captain Steven Gerrard’s wife Alex Gerrard recently had SculpSure treatment after the birth of her child, I just had to give it a go.
SculpSure is a new non-invasive body contouring treatment applied to the skin. A light-based energy laser destroys 24% of fat cells permanently. The bonus part is that it can also treat up to 2cm around the target area. The clinic recommends that you have a minimum of two sessions, it is safe to use on all skin types and you can have multiple areas treated at once—the stomach is their most requested procedure.
The second treatment should take place six to eight weeks after the first and you can expect to see results within the first six to 12 weeks. You will also apparently continue to lose some fat for up to three months after your final procedure.
It’s advised to stay away from direct sunlight, sunbathing and sunbeds for at least one week before the treatment, but it’s quick and there is no downtime involved, so it’s ideal if you don’t want the hassle of recovering from a surgical operation.
The process
During my consultation the therapist discussed SculpSure and took my medical history details. Photos were taken of my stomach areas from different angles; they don’t do measuring, they prefer to judge results on the before and after photos. The area was wiped clean to make sure there was no moisture from body creams or lotions, and four applicators were fitted inside a belt that was then placed on my stomach.
At first the treatment felt warm and tingling—this is the nice part. But gradually the temperature began to rise, which is how the fat cells are destroyed. It is cleverly varied; just at the point each time that I thought ‘This is too hot, I can’t cope’, it cooled down for a few seconds before getting hotter again. This process lasted for 25 minutes.
It really helps if you get a friendly, chatty therapist, as I did, because you don’t notice the discomfort as much when the temperature starts to get hot.
After my treatment I felt some tightening in my stomach, but it wasn’t uncomfortable. I could also feel the heat from the laser in my stomach area for a few hours afterwards, but apart from that there were no painful after affects.
I had my follow-up treatment six weeks later and I found it easier to cope with, as I knew what to expect. It was the same process as the first and I had another photo taken.
After your treatment it is advised that you exercise, eat a healthy diet and drink lots of water to help flush out the fat cells from your body. You are also asked attend a review and final appointment three months after your second treatment, to have your final photos taken.
The results
SculpSure is more of a contouring treatment than a weight loss one, so I wasn’t expecting to suddenly have a flat stomach. I didn’t feel there was a huge difference to my appearance at first, however, when I looked over my photos, I could see that my tummy was not as large.
My body will also continue to get rid of the fat cells that were destroyed during SculpSure, which is great news, and I look forward to noticing my continued streamlining.
