Emsculpt NEO vs CoolSculpting in Pittsburgh
Acqua Blu has stopped offering CoolSculpting. For a stubborn area of fat, it now offers Emsculpt NEO. CoolSculpting works with cold on fat. Emsculpt NEO works with heat on fat plus muscle contractions, and a single thirty-minute session can do both.
One cools the fat.One heats it and works the muscle.
CoolSculpting: cold, aimed at fat
Patients commonly call cryolipolysis CoolSculpting, and it uses cold temperature to break down fat cells. While the fat cells freeze, the skin and other structures around them are spared from injury. The American Society of Plastic Surgeons describes the aim of cryolipolysis as reducing the volume of fat in a fatty bulge.
Emsculpt NEO: heat in the fat, contractions in the muscle
The Emsculpt NEO applicator delivers two energies together. Synchronized radiofrequency carries heat into the fat layer to break it down, and HIFEM, high-intensity focused electromagnetic energy, works the muscle beneath it with supramaximal contractions. The heat brings the fat layer to the temperature at which its cells break down, and the body then clears them.
Supramaximal names a contraction beyond what voluntary exercise can produce. The field contracts the targeted muscle thousands of times in a session, a load on the order of twenty thousand sit-ups or squats in thirty minutes.
What that difference means
For years, fat reduction happened on one device and muscle stimulation on another, in separate appointments. Because the Emsculpt NEO applicator emits both energies together, one thirty-minute session can do what used to take two.
Emsculpt NEO is body contouring, not weight loss: the change is local, less fat and more muscle in the treated area, so the scale may not move much.
Two treatments.Seven ways they differ.
Both are non-surgical, and both are aimed at a stubborn area of fat. Where they part is the muscle, and whether you can book it here: the Body menu carries Emsculpt NEO and Emsella, and CoolSculpting is not on it.
| Measure | Emsculpt NEO | CoolSculpting |
|---|---|---|
| What it targets | Fat, and the muscle beneath it | The fat in a fatty bulge |
| How it works | Radiofrequency heat in the fat layer, HIFEM contractions in the muscle | Cold temperature that breaks down fat cells |
| Session length | Thirty minutes per area | Ask a clinic that offers it |
| Course | Four sessions over two to four weeks | Ask a clinic that offers it |
| Downtime | None. Workout-style muscle soreness is the only expected after-effect | Ask a clinic that offers it |
| FDA-cleared areas | Abdomen, buttocks, arms, thighs and calves | Ask a clinic that offers it |
| At Acqua Blu | Offered in Upper St. Clair | Not offered |
The CoolSculpting column follows the American Society of Plastic Surgeons on cryolipolysis and nonsurgical fat reduction. Questions about its session plan, recovery and price belong with a clinic that offers it.
Fat alone, or fat and muscle.That decides it.
Sometimes the honest answer is a treatment this office does not offer. These are the situations that usually decide it.
ModelYou want less fat, nothing more, and you are set on cooling
CoolSculpting at a clinic that offers it is a reasonable choice. The American Society of Plastic Surgeons describes its candidate as someone with a localized fat bulge that has persisted despite diet and exercise, and adds that loose skin or poor tone may make a patient unsuitable. Emsculpt NEO's distinction is the muscle it builds alongside the fat it reduces, so when fat alone is the concern, a consultation here may steer you elsewhere.
You want muscle tone as well as less fat
Emsculpt NEO. Men and women after muscle definition along with fat reduction are, in most cases, candidates. It refines a body rather than replacing a lifestyle, and the consultation is where that line is drawn for your case.
Your BMI is roughly 35 or under, with no implants at the site
Emsculpt NEO responds best at a BMI of up to roughly 35. Metal or electronic implants in the treatment area rule it out, as do pregnancy and nursing.
You want a large volume of fat gone
The ASPS states that none of the nonsurgical fat reduction treatments, cryolipolysis included, is a replacement for liposuction. Emsculpt NEO's energy reaches about seven centimeters into tissue. Where the tissue runs deeper than that, other treatments work better first, and the practice will tell you so.
What Emsculpt NEOcosts at Acqua Blu.
Book a consultThe full studied protocol of four sessions on one area, and the practice includes two more treatments at no extra charge. A second package of six is $2060, and maintenance sessions after the sixth are $325 per area.
The treatment plan is set by a practice run by a board-certified plastic surgeon, not by a package price.
Six questions we are askedwhen CoolSculpting is what you searched for.
No. The Body menu carries two treatments, Emsculpt NEO and Emsella. For a stubborn area of fat, Emsculpt NEO is the one to ask about.
No, it is pain free: you feel intense muscle contractions and the warmth of the radiofrequency. The only expected side effect comes afterwards, mild to moderate soreness in the area, the kind a hard workout leaves.
The studied protocol is four sessions, either twice a week for two weeks or once a week for four. Improvement builds progressively across the series.
The fat cells Emsculpt NEO removes do not come back. Weight gain can still enlarge the cells that remain, though. Muscle is different: the gains hold for around six months, and diet, exercise and maintenance sessions extend them.
Across the clinical studies the practice cites, fatty tissue fell by thirty percent, muscle mass rose by twenty-five percent, and waist circumference shrank by 2.3 inches on average. These figures are study results, not a promise about any one body.
At the Upper St. Clair office: 100 Siena Drive, Suite 295, Upper St. Clair, PA 15241. Hours are Mon to Fri, 9:00 AM to 5:00 PM. Closed Sat and Sun. The phone number is (412) 835-5544.
