How Cryolipolysis Works

13 Jul 2013, by Cathy Blackburn in Beauty, Body Contouring, Weight Loss

Cryolipolysis is a non surgical fat reduction treatment which uses extreme cold. The cryolipolysis fat freezing treatment uses a powerful vacuum to draw the treatment area into an applicator where it is rapidly chilled down to a temperature which will effectively kill off the fat cells but leaves other cells unharmed. The technology was pioneered by Harvard University and is FDA approved for the reduction of adipose tissue (fat).

How cryolipolysis works to reduce stubborn fat

In simple terms, cryolipolysis works by triggering fat cell death. Any cell can be triggered to die using extreme cold, that is what frostbite is! The key here is of course to kill the fat cells without harming anything else. Fat cells are destroyed by lowering the temperature to a level which causes the fat cells to crystalise but does not cause harm to other tissues such as skin, nerves etc.

A cryolipolysis treatment makes use of something else as well as cold to trigger fat cell death. It makes use of inflammation. Inflammation is caused by the extreme cold the tissues are subjected to and also by the fact that blood is drawn into the local area by the vacuum effect of the treatment. The vacuum causes a degree of inflammation in the area and it is this combination of inflammation and cold which damages the fat cells beyond repair. Temperature is strictly controlled so as not to damage other structures in the treatment area. Over the course of two to four months after treatment, the fat cells are broken down by the body. The cellular debris is disposed of as part of your bodies ongoing natural repair process, But what happens to the fat?

Where does the fat go?

Every day your body is constantly adding to and taking from it’s fat stores. Triglycerides are constantly being broken down into free fatty acids to be used as energy and then re assembled again if not used and stored in the fat cells. The fat released as the result of cryolipolysis will become part of this never ending cycle and will be utilised by the body as normal. The important thing to remember here is that fat cell numbers in the treatment area have been reduced and so the area will appear smaller, less bulgy, more contoured. This is a more permanent option than treatments such as laser lipolysis where the fat cells are merely emptied, because of course, they can always re fill.

Your body can of course always make new fat cells, but this will only happen when it has filled all the current ones and needs more room to store fat. So as long as you maintain a healthy lifestyle and keep your weight stable, there is no reason why your cryolipolysis treatment should not be permanent. So now you know how cryolipolysis works to reduces fat using extreme cold.

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