Sure, we know the general principles of weight loss: a healthy diet, lifestyle, and exercise regimen. You’ve done all that, and have experienced some great results all over your body – but what about those annoyingly stubborn fat pockets on certain areas that just won’t go away no matter how many times you do those push-ups or crunches?
The most famous fat reduction method is arguably liposuction, but the mere thought of the procedure already scares many of us away, and that’s not even considering its sky-high prices.
We’ve scoured aesthetic clinics and therapy centres to find out what non-invasive options are available for those who want targeted fat reduction in specific areas.
1. Face: Yakson Golki Therapy
How do they do it?
Yakson’s bestselling treatment, the Small Face Care Treatment, utilises a technique known as Golki Therapy that helps you achieve a smaller, V-shaped face by giving the bones on your face, especially your cheekbones and jawbone, a very firm massage. This process, known as bone tonification, helps to resize your face without resorting to invasive procedures! (Curious to know how the process is like?
Golki Therapy can only be done by the “Master Therapists” at Yakson, as they have been personally trained and officially certified by the founder of Yakson and inventor of the Golki technique, Mr. Lee Byung-chul.
How long to see effect?
After one session, you can already expect to notice some changes to your face size and shape. This is largely due to the removal of water retention and any mild bloating on your face.
As you go through more Golki therapy sessions, the more significant your face shape and size begins to change. Your close friends and loved ones will start noticing, and eventually even your casual acquaintances will begin to remark on how different your face looks.
As a way of ensuring results, Yakson does plaster masks of clients’ faces on their first, 10th and 20th sessions of their package, so that you can actually see and feel the differences in your face size and shape! We love that you are provided with actual physical evidence to show how much your face size has changed since you began.
When we spoke to Yakson senior consultant, Joanne, we were told that the best effects of the Golkiy therapy can be seen if it is done once a week. If your schedule is just way too packed, you can stretch it to once in two weeks at the most. Once a month, according to Joanne, is too infrequent to bring about any lasting visible changes to your face.
How do you maintain the look?
Unlike other non-invasive procedures that claim to make your face smaller, Golki therapy is unique because it involves bone tonification rather than just reducing fats, so its effects are also proportionately said to be more permanent and lasting. Just imagine the idea of shaping your facial bones.
Yakson still strongly recommends some lifestyle changes to maintain that photo-ready V-shaped face though. This includes spending an equal amount of time chewing on both sides of your mouth, so that your jaw and cheek muscles are worked out evenly.
If you should experience sudden weight changes of more than 4kg, you may also require an additional course of Golki Therapy to restore your desired face shape!
What’s the price like?
- 1 session: SGD 258/session
- 10 sessions: SGD 216/session (total: SGD 2,160)
- 20 sessions: SGD 192/session (total: SGD 3,840)
All prices stated above are before GST.
Small Face Care Treatment is available at all Yakson branches in Singapore.
2. Arms: CoolSculpting
Source: MD Laser Spa
How do they do it?
CoolSculpting is basically a procedure called cryolipolysis, which means that the fat cells are frozen in order to break in down quickly. According to the official website of the treatment, CoolSculpting has been cleared by the FDA for the treatment of visible fat bulges in areas such as the thigh, abdomen, bra fat, back fat, underneath the buttocks, and upper arm.
It’s gained quite a bit of attention since its introduction because it’s not a surgery, so there’s no anaesthesia or downtime involved. Clinicians will assess your entire body first to ensure tailor the best treatment plan to your needs.
A gel pad and an applicator is applied to the specified treatment area. The applicator is like the suction cups used in traditional Chinese medical cupping, so you may also feel the pulling sensation of your fatty tissues being drawn into the cup. You could do more than one treatment area at the same time!
Controlled cooling is then delivered to freeze targeted fatty cells. There may be some discomfort at the beginning with the intensity of the cold temperature, but the area will eventually become numb and the feeling subsides in about five to ten minutes.
After the suction cup is removed, the area has the consistency of a stick of butter, and is massaged gently by the clinician. Some patients experience some discomfort in the treatment area, but the clinicians will be on hand to make the process as smooth as possible. The treatment takes up to 35 to 60 minutes.
How long to see effect?
According to the CoolSculpting website, patients can typically start to see changes three weeks after their treatment. The best effect is seen after two months, and the body can continue to eliminate the dead fat cells for four to six months after a single treatment. Most patients tend to only need two treatments.
CoolSculpting may achieve around 20 to 30% fat loss! Clinicians may also recommend multiple applications of the CoolSculpting process over the body so as to even out the general physique and avoid an irregular look.
How do you maintain the look?
Since the procedure essentially kills fat cells and flushes them out of the body, there really isn’t much maintenance needed. Your body is still functioning as it always has even after the treatment, which means you can still put on weight or store fats in that area.
Patients generally are able exercise more and eat a better balanced diet after the CoolSculpting procedure, however, because they can now see and feel more confident in their new physique, and feel motivated to maintain the look healthily.
What’s the price like?
Since CoolSculpting is a procedure that is offered by various aesthetic clinics around Singapore, the price between each treatment centre can vary widely. As a general estimate, each application of CoolSculpting will cost upwards of SGD 600.
The treatment plans for each patient can also vary widely, in terms of the area they would like to get the procedure done on, as well as how many sessions they may need, and this will inevitably affect the total cost of the whole treatment. As a general benchmark, an entire treatment can be expected to cost SGD 2,000 onwards.
Clinics that offer CoolSculpting include:
- OnlyAesthetics
- Astique Clinic
- Dr Yvonne Goh Aesthetics
- IYAC Aesthetic and Anti-Aging Clinic
- Singapore Aesthetic Centre
3. Tummy: Vanquish METM
Source
How do they do it?
Vanquish is the first non-invasive and contactless method to fat reduction. It’s FDA-approved for deep tissue heating, which in turn provides the reduction in fat cells after treatment.
You lie down on a bed, and a large panel is placed over your specified treatment area. The panel will emit selective radiofrequency energy, which specifically targets the fat layers and heats it to 45 degrees Celsius.
Don’t worry though – the heat only kills the fat cells, leaving your skin and other non-fat tissues intact and unaffected. It’s also virtually painless, and patients only report feeling a warm sensation, much like sitting under a warm blanket, during the treatment.
While some other selective fat reduction methods require “pinchable fats” in order to work efficiently, Vanquish does not, so you can really target stubborn fat pockets even if they aren’t large enough to work with other methods.
How long to see effect?
Generally, three to four sessions are recommended on a weekly basis to constitute one full treatment. After your last session, it would take up to two months to see the best results.
According to local aesthetic clinic, Cambridge Therapeutics, the average reduction in circumference of abdomen fats is about 4cm, almost 2 inches, after the recommended four treatments. For thigh fats, the average reduction of circumference is 2.4cm, or almost 1 inch.
How do you maintain the look?
As with CoolSculpting, once the fats are gone, they’re gone. The results are permanent in the sense that the fat cells destroyed are gone for good. However, also similar to CoolSculpting, your body is still functioning as per usual after the treatment, which means you still can pack on the fats if you don’t modify your lifestyle and diet in order to maintain your new physique.
What’s the price like?
The price starts from SGD 600 for a 45-minute treatment, so the estimated cost of one entire treatment of four sessions would start from SGD 2,400.
Clinics that offer Vanquish include:
- Healthsprings Laser and Aesthetic Clinic
- Prive Clinic
- Dr Steven Ang Aesthetics and Laser Clinic
You can find a complete list of local clinics here.
4. Hips: Zerona
How do they do it?
Zerona is another non-invasive body contouring procedures that targets fat pockets with a low-level laser technology that softens and liquifies fat cells, which allows it to be more easily processed and removed naturally by the body’s lymphatic systems.
The procedure is painless, so there is no anaesthesia involved either. For each session, patients lie on a bed on their sides, turning over after 20 minutes so the other side can be worked on by six lasers.
The low-level laser used does not freeze or heat up fat tissues, but simply softens and shrinks it before the body naturally eliminates it.
How long to see effect?
For Zerona, some persistence is required, as you would have to go back for treatments once every two days over two weeks, completing about seven sessions.
The effects, however, can be seen almost immediately after you complete the full treatment period, so you don’t have to wait a month or two after to see your best results. Some patients have even reported seeing some results after just four sessions.
How do you maintain the look?
Here’s the deal-breaker for some of you: while you are undergoing Zerona treatments, you are required to abstain from alcohol and caffeine. Yes, that means no Coca-Cola (which you should be weaning yourself off anyway, if you’re looking to reduce fats) and no coffee for two whole weeks.
If that doesn’t sound like a big deal to you, Zerona might be a great treatment option for you to consider. However, take note that Zerona only shrinks the fat cells, and does not exactly kill them off as freezing or deep-heating treatments do.
That means that fats have a chance of coming back. However, since you are able to see results immediately after you complete your two-week treatment, you may be more motivated from the get-go to modify your lifestyle in order to maintain the physique, which might prevent fats from returning.
Waiting two to four months for your new physique to shape into place may make some of us impatient, and in the end revert to our previous lifestyles before we see optimal results.
What’s the price like?
We weren’t able to find out local estimates of the treatment prices, but in the USA, it costs from about USD 1,500 to USD 1,700 for a package of six treatments done over two weeks.
Clinics that offer Zerona include:
5. Thighs: truSculptTM
How do they do it?
Using ultrasonic waves, truSculpt focuses only on fat tissues under the skin, which leaves your skin and other non-fat tissues healthy and intact. This method of fat reduction is generally considered to be safe, efficient, and efficacious.
It is generally similar to Vanquish, as it kills and eliminates fat cells by uniformly heating up fat tissues from the deeper layers. The technology that truSculpt uses is FDA-approved for deep tissue heating.
It is ideal for those who still see stubborn fat pockets even after modifying their lifestyle, exercise regimes and diets, or for those who are not keen on surgical procedures but want general fat reduction.
Some areas that truSculpt can target are:
- Abdomen
- Love handles/waist/hips
- Saddlebags
- Inner and outer Thighs
- Inner knees
- Upper arms
- Fat fold at shoulder blades
You may experience some side effects such as redness, sweating, and tenderness in the treated areas after the session, but this is usually temporary and not severe enough to warrant pain medications or management.
How long to see effect?
Most patients typically need about 1 to 2 treatments for each area that they wish to reduce fats on, and the sessions are usually spaced apart by 4 to 8 weeks. Each session typically lasts for an hour or less.
The radiofrequency delivered by truSculpt will actually stimulate your natural immune system to naturally eliminate fat cells in the treated areas. Your fat cells will continue to break down over 4 weeks to 3 months after your treatment, before you achieve your optimal result.
However, many patients have reported seeing results from as soon as after the first session. There have been reports of a 1 to 2 cm reduction in the circumference of the abdomen after the first session alone.
How do you maintain the look?
As this is a radiofrequency treatment that kills fat cells, it is likely that the changes in your physique will be long-lasting and permanent, as long as you maintain a healthy lifestyle and diet after that.
What’s the price like?
We were not able to ascertain the estimated cost of truSculpt treatments here in Singapore, but in the USA, it typically costs upwards of USD 1,500 per treatment.
Clinics that offer truSculpt include:
