Spa+Clinic Team As clients hit the panic button over winter weight gain, here’s your chance to introduce them to VelaShape III and a new way of life. Oh, and help them lose fat!
Right about now, with less than a month to the official start of spring, you are likely to be hearing rumblings of discontent among your clients about the extra padding they have acquired this winter.
Back in the 20th century – indeed, until around 2010, when device technology such as VelaShape III offered lasting solutions – this would have signalled the SOS to start crash dieting so as to be ‘bikini body ready’ for spring/summer.
Crash dieting, as we know, is its own worst enemy. It’s hell to starve yourself – and even a newly slimmer figure is hard to enjoy when your brain is consumed by visions of pasta drenched in creamy sauces, bread fresh from the oven smothered in butter, chocolates and cheese boards.
The weight loss inevitably is transient. The body soon switches to ‘famine’ mode and stores fat to tide it over until food supplies are more abundant. Weight loss then slows and eventually plateaus. Motivation wanes as the scales stay put and hunger pangs and cravings outweigh weight loss. Kilos quickly pile back on – usually with a few bonus extras.
Making matters worse, the appearance of ‘trouble spots’ most people have – whether a pot belly, love handles, fatty upper arms or knees, ‘thunder’ thighs and/or cellulite – are thus exaggerated. Finding new motivation to trim down and tone up under these circumstances can be extremely difficult.
But clients now have access to body contouring technology that will not only provide relatively quick and long-lasting results (including stubborn trouble spots that can be resistant to diet and exercise) to achieve the shape they desire, but will give them the keys to an overall healthier lifestyle and enhanced wellbeing.
‘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.’
Before and after one treatment
Dr McCartney points out that VelaShape shouldn’t be regarded as a quick fix, or a solution within itself, but the key to a not only a slimmer, shapelier body but a healthier and happier life.
She collaborates with two gyms in Hobart that offer her patients nutrition and fitness advice and programs to boost and maintain VelaShape results.
So, what is VelaShape III? It’s 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.
Before and two weeks after one session – abdomen reduced by 2cm, hips by 1cm and waist, 1.5cm
The machine combines four different 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 VelaShape III 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.
Before and eight weeks after three VelaShape III treatments
The length of individual VelaShape III sessions vary depending on the size of the treatment area.
Clients can expect to see improvement in the treatment area in as little as two weeks, with the best results at around 10 weeks. Clinical results have shown an average fat loss in the stomach of 2.5cm after a single treatment, or up to one whole dress size.
Periodic maintenance treatments are recommended following the initial treatment(s) and naturally results will be better and last longer if clients follow a balanced diet and exercise plan.
VelaShape III 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 treatment area may look a little pink for a few hours after the procedure but clients should be able to return to regular activities right away.
The treatment is suitable and effective for all skin types and colours. The ideal candidate is normal to overweight, with cellulite around the stomach, hips, and thighs.
It’s important to note that VelaShape III is not intended to be a treatment for weight loss, but instead for tightening and contouring the body.
Before clients embark on a treatment plan, you should encourage them to be committed to a healthy diet and exercise regimen before, during and after treatment.
Before and after one treatment on the right side
‘One of the gyms we collaborate with has a personal trainer who puts our clients on an eight-week fitness and diet program during and after the VelaShape treatment(s),’ says Dr McCartney. ‘He will educate them about nutrition; the best foods for their needs and what to eat when.
‘The other gym devises individually tailored programs for each client.
‘We often find our clients are so thrilled with their results that they are motivated to come back for another round of VelaShape to im prove on what’s been improved.
‘Another exciting development is that we’ve had clients come in who’ve considered surgery as their only option – one woman for loose and fatty upper arms, the other for her neck. I asked them to try VelaShape first.
‘Both were so delighted by their results that they are no longer considering the invasivemeness of surgery.’
www.syneron-candela.com.au; www.sanctummedical.com.au
