We all know how plastic surgery works. You go into the operating room, the surgeons cut or suction out the unwanted fat, sew you back up, and you find yourself in the recovery room. It can take weeks to even months later to see if the procedure was worth the pain and cost. 

Yet there are those ads out there that promise to do the same without the operation. It’s called “non-invasive body shaping or sculpting”, and it’s all done without surgery. The ads even promise you’ll be in and out of the medical office in less than an hour! Is this for real? 

Well, in this answer, we answer that question and the science behind it. 

What is it?

Non-invasive body shaping or sculpting is changing the client’s body without cutting the skin, or incision. All the procedures are done at the skin surface level. 

Bye, bye fat

Here is an amazing fact. We only have a certain number of fat cells. Once we’re adults, they stop multiplying. Your body’s fat cells are fixed.

That doesn’t mean they don’t get back, though! They can fill up very fast and are very hard to shrink down. However, they have to be in the area of the body in the first place. If they’re not there, the area stays lean.

Non-invasive body shaping takes advantage of this fact. Medspas use a variety of techniques to remove the fat permanently from the undesired area without surgery. 

Body shaping through freezing fat

This is the most well-known non-invasive body shaping technique. The technician, after checking the client in with her medical tablet PC (such as the one here) places the medical device on the area to be treated. A device’s suction unit pulls the area away from the body and keeps it taut. At the same time, the device keeps the area cool for roughly an hour. Since fat cells freeze more easily than skin or muscle cells, they die during the process while the surrounding non-fat tissue stays intact. The remains of the fat cells are cleared out by the body usually in two to three months. 

Body shaping through heating fat

The fat cells can also be killed off by using heat. The devices use radio frequency (electricity), light (lasers or intense pulse light), or ultrasound (sound waves) to achieve this. In addition, this so-called “hot sculpting” technique helps reduce pimples by shrinking parts of the skin as well as the fiber underneath; improve circulation to give a more smoother, healthier appearance; and increase collagen production for a tighter look.   

Body shaping through altering cells

One of the more low-key ways of non-invasive body shaping an area is affecting the cells in the target area. When using light, this is called photobiomodulation, or more commonly low-level light therapy (LLLT). An extremely low dose of visible light is used, so low it doesn’t heat the skin or fat. Yet the cells are changed just enough to make the area look smaller. 

Body shaping through muscle contraction

We know a well-toned body can make one’s appearance look slimmer. This usually requires a lot of exercise. Body shaping through pulsed magnetic fields can do something similar. Those fields trigger small electric currents in the client’s muscles. This makes them look more firm and toned. This flattens the targeted area, giving a more slim look. 

Body shaping through massage

This final technique uses pressure, vibration, or both to shape the targeted area. This is done by an experienced massage therapist and/or the use of a massage gun or similar device. The thinking is fluid surrounding the fat cell is removed while the skin is stimulated to make more collagen. Both make the area look more smooth and youthful-looking. 

Conclusion

Changing one’s body without surgery.  It sounds unbelievable. But it’s real, with real science to back it up. While the results may vary as the ads say, today’s article should be enough to reassure you non-invasive body shaping is not a scam and is, in fact, an real alternative if you don’t want to be under the knife.