Jenni Gilbert How often do you hear clients bemoaning stubborn fat deposits on their belly, butt, thighs or upper arms – etc and so forth – no matter how diligent they are about diet and exercise?
Khloe Kardashian lost near a whopping 16kgs after committing to a grueling fitness regimen and diet. But “lunchtime” mummy makeover fat reduction treatments are said to be popular among celebs, including the Kardashian clan.
Stubborn fat pockets have many possible causes, including the slowing of metabolism with ageing and particularly after menopause, genetics and hormonal imbalances.
But for many women, pregnancy and childbirth is the deal breaker; their bodies don’t bounce back to pre-pregnancy shape in suspiciously “yummy mummy” celebrity quick-time; or indeed, at all.
Loose skin, stretch marks and C-section scars that often come as part and parcel with the bundle(s) of joy can exacerbate women’s concerns about their difficulty shedding unwanted post-partum fat and/or cellulite; especially if it’s way post post-partum!
It can have a debilitating effect on a woman’s self-esteem; she may feel unattractive within herself and to her partner, causing relationship issues. She may feel uncomfortable in her clothes or not able to wear the ones she wants. And the lower a person’s self esteem, the less motivation there may be to do about it as despair takes over.
“Mummy makeovers” has become a catch-all phrase to describe a variety of cosmetic surgical procedures often performed together as a package, including breast lift, breast augmentation or reduction, tummy tucks and liposuction.
Mummy makeovers are growing in popularity worldwide. According to the American Society of Plastic Surgeons (ASPS), in 2010 there were nearly 112,000 tummy tucks, 90,000 breast lifts and 296,000 breast augmentations performed in the US.
Compared to 2000, these numbers reflect an 85 percent growth in tummy tucks, 70 percent growth in breast lifts and a 39 percent increase in breast augmentation compared to 2000.
But of course not every women wants or needs the invasiveness of surgery and with the advent of non-surgical permanent fat reduction, skin firming and smoothing device technology, real results with minimal to no downtime involved are within easy reach of the average woman.
VelaShape III (V3), for instance, is a non-invasive body shaping treatment used to reduce cellulite, as well as slim the areas around the stomach, hips, thighs, upper arms and neck.
The machine combines four technologies — infrared, bi-polar radio frequency (RF), pulsed vacuum, and massage rollers — to improve skin texture and reduce overall volume of the treated area. Clients have the option to undergo one longer treatment session or three shorter ones at around two-week intervals.
Lotion is applied to the area to be treated so that the device can easily move over it. The device comes in different sizes and designs for different treatment areas.
The head of the machine uses a pulsed vacuum to pull tissue closer to the energy source, as infrared light heats the fat cells in the targeted area. This combination of technologies increases the metabolism of the fatty area, resulting in smoother skin and circumference reduction on the target area.
V3 has been described as feeling like a warm deep-tissue massage. The treatment can be adjusted to ensure comfort with little to no post-procedure downtime.
The treated area may look a little pink for a few hours afterwards but clients should be able to return to regular activities right away.
V3 is highly popular in the US as a “lunchtime treatment” and among celebrites like the Kardashians.
“Patients wanting to reduce fat and address trouble spots with VelaShape III will often say to me `should I lose 5kg first’?’,” says cosmetic physician Dr Clair McCartney of Hobart’s Sanctum Medical Aesthetics.
“I will usually say no, because they will start to see results in even a couple of weeks (optimum results are seen about 10-12 weeks after treatments have been completed) and this gives them greater motivation to improve their diet and fitness, which of course produces even better results.”
She collaborates with two gyms in Hobart that offer her patients nutrition and fitness advice and programs to boost and maintain VelaShape results.
