Cryolipolysis: How to Cheat Age in the Age of Bro-tox
COOLSCULPTING | Josh Dean | GQ MAGAZINE |
Approved by the FDA in 2010, the procedure was pioneered by doctors in Boston who discovered a commercial application for a common phenomenon: Applying a cold object to the skin can kill fat cells. they used this insight to help develop a machine that dermatologists like Narurkar now use to kill up to 20 percent of patient’s fat cells.
The device is a wand that look like a large vacuum and is held outside the body, affixed to a chunk of fatty flesh about the size of a stick of butter. Doctors apply the wand to the love handles or the pooch, and over the course of an hour to two, it freezes the fat cells in those problem spots; with a little massaging from a doctor, the dying cells are reabsorbed into the body and eventually pass harmlessly in the urine.
Narurkar says he was so taken by the results that he began having a colleague treat him. In his estimation, it’s more effective that liposuction and ofcourse doesn’t require cutting anyone open. But he says Coolsculpting isn’t a weightloss strategy; that’s not the point. “In New York and San Francisco, people are in reasonably good shape, but they have stubborn pooches. That’s the perfect patient,” he says. One of Narurkar’s clients, A 35-year-old paramedic who had the procedure before his wedding, estimates that it took off the equivalent of four to six pounds and tightened his midsection. He now recommends it to friends “who can afford it and need that extra bit here and there taken off.” As for him, “I’m married now, so I don’t care as much.”
At first, I felt something similar; deep-freezing my gut sounds highly unnecessary. But then again, I can’t deny that fatherhood has made me a little softer in the middle. And plenty of guys are doing it. I decide that I’ll simply keep an open mind – which feels better than fretting over that slippery slope I’m now negotiating.
Around this time, drunk on new-parent sleeplessness and resigned to the sudden loss of any free time for exercising, I made a rash decision. I opted to freeze my belly fat, which explains how I ended up in the offices of Arielle Kauvar M.D., whose New York Laser & Skin Care sits across from Central Park. Kauvar has been using a variety of dermatological laser for years, but she was also an early practitioner of CoolSculpting. “It really works,” she told me shortly after my arrival. “Removing fat noninvasively has been the holy grail for a long time, and this is it.” She got her first unit in 2009, and “as soon as we had it, there was a line out the door,” she joked. “It’s been running day and night,” with men coming in huge numbers.
We both agreed that the best area for me to freeze would be my paunch, which has grown a bit since I became a father the second time, but there was a problem, she said. One of the only contradictions for this low-risk procedure is the presence of hernia, and I happen to have one that’s untreated, unfortunately. Thus, we can only target my love handles, so that’s what we decided to do.
One of the many nurses who prowl these halls-all of the women, all attractive-asked me to strip down to my skivvies, put on a gown, and sit in the treatment chair, where I would spend the next four hours. The nurses uncapped a marker and traced an outline around the fatty area before strapping the applicator into place. “This will feel cold,” one of the said, and it did-the sensation of ice meeting flesh, a tingling and then burning, followed by a numbing. Two hours later, they switched sides, but not before aggressively rubbing my numb flank. Kneading my flesh this way allows the dying cells to dissipate into my body, where they’ll be filtered by my kidneys before passing painlessly through my urine. But it was this vigorous massage-imagine a thousand shards of ice shattering under your skin-that was the most painful part of the procedure. Fortunately, within ten minutes the pain passes, and after the whole routine was repeated on the other side, I was sent on my way.
A week later, my flanks were still so numb that scratching them felt like scratching someone else’s stomach. I seemed a little slimmer, with less of an over-the-waistline bulge, but maybe that was just better eating. As my wife routinely lifted my shirt to check for changes, it occurred to me that as with the other procedures, the more noticeable difference was in how I acted rather than how I looked. I’d become surprisingly preoccupied with my body, far more nagged by the supposed faults and enticed by the possible correctives. As for the CoolSculpting, the final results, I was told, would take sometime to show, maybe up to two months. By then, of course, the lines in my forehead will probably have deepened and the carousel of self-improvement that I’d uneasily stepped aboard might be depositing me right back where I started, in Dr. Michael Eidelman’s chair.
Slate is a Top 5 CoolSculpting Provider in NJ. Having performed over 1500 treatments, Slate is the premier medical spa and the leading CoolSculpting Paramus, NJ provider. Our location provides a zen like setting with each room equipped with an LED Television and access to WiFi to help you look great and feel great. State-of- the-art technology merges with luxury to offer a unique and unforgettable experience.
Schedule a Complimentary Coolsculpting Consultation
+25% OFF for New Clients
Schedule by phone (201)614-4158 or online below
By submitting this form you agree to be contacted via phone/text/email.