If Coolsculpting can freeze fat away, can I do it at home with ice? More specifically on my eyelids?

Part of what makes CoolSculpting® a remarkable, non-surgical fat reduction method is that it uses controlled cooling (cryolipolysis) to eliminate fat cells while preserving surrounding tissue. Not only will applying ice cubes to your face or body prove ineffective at freezing fat, doing so can also damage your skin. Further, you mentioned that you have excess fat around your eyelids, which is not a treatment area that CoolSculpting® can address.

CoolSculpting reduces unwanted neck and body fat using the principle that the temperature needed to kill fat cells is not as cold as the temperature needed to kill skin cells. Don't use ice at home as that would be too cold, and frostbite and death of the skin cells could cause a wound that will cause not only permanent scarring, but a contraction of skin that can pull the eyelid away from the eye and cause corneal exposure damage.

Many patients have asked, "Well, if Coolsculpting gets rid of fat, why can't I just put ice on the area I want to melt away the fat?" 

Nope. It will not work like that. And we would not recommend putting ice on your eyelids to melt away upper eyelid fat. Without adequate supervision you could bring on unwanted side effects and even injury to your adjacent structures, like your eyes!

The process by which cryolipolysis induces a programed cell death is one that follows a very well structured sequence of inducing cell cycle change by manipulating the temperature of the surrounding tissue. Placing ice in a random fashion will not result in similar results.

I don't recommend trying to mimic Coolsculpting results with ice. You could damage the skin permanently. I recommend a formal consultation with an expert. Fractional C02 laser can be used around the eye for great results. Best, Dr. Emer

Coolsculpting brings the temperature of the area down to near freezing but not at freezing temperatures like ice.  Ice would actually damage your skin but Coolsculpting doesn't.

Thank you for your question. This would not be safe and can cause damage to your skin and eyes. If you have concerns, please speak to a board certified plastic surgeon. Regards, 

No!
I can understand the impetus behind the growing trend of DIY CoolSculpting, after all, the CoolSculpting technology was inspired by a bunch of kids sucking on popsicles. And who wouldn’t want a cheap alternative to a relatively expensive cosmetic treatment?
But, you would never believe that DIY liposuction is a good idea, even though a sharp straw and a vacuum is a lot cheaper than plastic surgery. Likewise,  it is a major misconception to believe DIY coolsculpting is safe or that  ice packs can deliver the same benefit of CoolSculpting.  
Essentially, the principle behind CoolSculpting is simple: freeze fat. But the delivery mechanism of CoolSculpting is not simple. The patented technology is quite advanced.
First of all, CoolSculpting provides precisely controlled cooling. This cooling is specifically calibrated to be cold enough to freeze fat cells, but not too cold to cause thermal injuries to skin and surrounding tissue.
Secondly, CoolSculpting uses a vacuum mechanism to isolate the treatment area, to draw up subcutaneous fat cells to the surface, and to apply a precise amount of cooling those fat cells.
CoolSculpting machines and handpieces are designed to prevent injury, from the gel pads that protect the skin to numerous built in safety mechanisms.
CoolSculpting has been clinically proven to work. DIY coolsculpting has no scientific research to indicate it works. It simply has traction on the internet. But so does the cinnamon challenge. A lot of people maybe doing it, but that doesn’t make it any less stupid.

Hi,I know that there are a lot of sites on the internet that offer at home or inexpensive alternatives to Coolsculpting.  However, you need to understand that Coolsculpting underwent extensive studies at Harvard Wellman labs along with safety trials to accomplish what they have achieved.  Trying to freeze your own eyelids at home is really dangerous since it is close to your eyeballs and can damage your own vision.  In the future, Coolsculpting may come up with a treatment for eyelid fat but rest assured it will have undergone many safety studies before being launched.Warmly,Dr. Liu

Coolsculpting is a specialized machine that was invented to cool the skin and remove fat without damaging the skin.  You would have a burn from the ice without any benefit at home.  Best, Dr. Green

Though CoolSculpting does target fat cells in a temperature-dependent fashion, you cannot and should not try this method at home using ice cubes.  This is incredibly dangerous, particularly for the skin around your eyes.