I forgot to apply the pretreatment wipe before CoolSculpting treatment on abdomen. Will I get frostbite?

Don’t worry; the wipe is an antibacterial wipe used to clean the area that is going to be CoolSculpted. The CoolSculpting machine itself protects against frostbite with built-in skin sensors. The temperature never goes low enough to harm or freeze the skin. Consulting with a board-certified dermatologist will help you understand the CoolSculpting program more so you can decide if you would benefit from its effective fat-elimination technique. 

 The skin wipe serves to clean and protect skin, as well as dry it.  its rare to have any issues even wtihout using this. I suggest adding RF treatmentts like vanquish and cellutone to get more improvement.  Best, Dr. Emer.

Hello, 
Thank you for your question. The skin wipe serves to clean and protect skin and most importantly- remove residual water. Water freezes and the skin wipe's main ingredient is propylene glycol which is similar to what an antifreeze would do- protecting against cold. CoolSculpting applicators are designed with a precise and controlled cooling system, and contain more than three thousand sensors on each side, controlling the temperature to freeze and kill fat cells ONLY, while leaving surrounding tissue unaffected. Frostbite and skin damage are extremely unlikely. Hope this answers your question! 

Thank you for your question. I would not worry as the wipes help to eliminate any oils from the skin. As long as the gel pad was used prior to treatment you will be fine. However, it is always best to address any concerns you may have with your physician. Best of Luck!

The wipes help eliminate any oils on the skin. As long as the gel pad was placed on the treatment area prior to starting CoolSculpting cycle, you should be fine. The machine has thermal detecting and is meant to protect the patient. 

The wipe is an anti-bacterial. It does not have to do with frostbite prevention. The gel pad is meant to protect the skin.

The pretreatment wipe cleanse the surface and lets the gel stick to the treated area. If the cycle finished without any warnings then I wouldn't be alarmed. Treating without the gel layer would be more risky. 

Per the FDA  approval, the ZELTIQ Pretreatment Skin Wipe and Gel/Gelpad facilitate thermal contact of the device with a patient’s skin by mitigating minor variances in device-to-skin contact.  The primary use thus is to reduce the chances that the equipment will not work due to a poor contact. The proprietary technology allows for a controlled cooling that prevents frostbite whether the pretreatment wipe is used or not. 

Thanks for posting this question.  Since CoolSculpting doesn't cool below the freezing temperature of water (32 Fahrenheit) it will not cause frostbite.  The device does cool tissues to a temperature that injures your fat cells and leads them to die through a process known as apoptosis, but it does not get cool enough to freeze the water in your skin cells and so will not lead to frostbite.