43 Year Old with Lumpy Hips, Lax Skin and Cellulite

After going for a few consults for Vanquish and Coolsculpting, I decided to try the Coolsculpting at a clinic in the GTA called LaserBodyMD. I bought a package of 2 areas, upper and lower hip (flank area) and yesterday I had the lower hips done first. On Tuesday I will have the upper hip treated (4 days post lower hip) and I will do a full review separately from this one with all the before and after shots in about 4 weeks. I just wanted to post a little blurb here for anyone considering the procedure and what to expect. Honestly, there was zero pain. After being measured and marked, I was hooked up to the Coolsculpting machine with the "Curve" attachment. The suction began and 3 inches of my fat was sucked up. There was a sucking/pulling sensation but was not painful or uncomfortable at all. The cooling began about 10 minutes into the procedure and it was so gradual, that I didn't feel anything really. It literally felt like I had a 2 pound weight sitting on my hip and I watched a movie on my cell phone for the next hour. Each side took one hour so I was there for 2 hours total. The massage after the applicator was removed was a piece of cake too, I was pretty numb so I didn't really feel much. The nurse said that the flank area is the least uncomfortable and I found that to be exactly true. No issues at all. I had redness and moderate bruising in the treated areas, but no tingling or pain. I went about my day and took some (ok, a lot, lol) of photos when I got home. I will include one photo here and save the rest for the full review when I can give my opinion if it was worth it or not. I really hope this works but I have a really good feeling it will. The nurse who treated me had one side of her abdomen treated in December and let me grab both sides to compare. There was at least a 1 inch difference from the right to the left side, so I'm very optimistic! Hope this mini review helps you if considering having this procedure done. :)

I went for a consult today at Q Esthetics, 802 Southdown Rd. in Mississauga and I'm seriously considering trying out this fairly new technology. I am very excited to try it and hopefully I will have the same great results as many reviewers have had. Of course I will be posting a very honest review with photos if I decide to get this done. There may be hope for us ladies who have those stubborn areas which don't respond to diet and exercise.

I'm writing this review about a year since having this treatment done at the Canadian Beauty College in Mississauga, ON, Canada. I am 5'8" and in these pics, I was between 150-160 lbs. I looked great in clothes, fit into size 8-10 pants and was an average size woman.

I had done a lot of research on the Venus Freeze and because I had read so many positive reviews and saw amazing results from people on the internet, as well as Youtube videos from popular talk shows, I couldn't see this failing. I had previously tried Ultra Cavitation (Ultrasound/RF, 8 Sessions) and it literally did nothing but leave me with $800 less in my bank account. I also tried the Accent RF, 10 sessions, no result! So, I went to the above Beauty College as they were offering a promotion of 4 sessions for $360 which was a great deal and I wanted to do a full course of 10 sessions, which was the recommended number. I went a bit further, just to make sure I got good results, and purchased a package of 12. I began my weekly sessions on Aug. 30, 2014 and completed a total of 11 sessions by Nov. 7, 2014 on my lumpy upper hips and saddlebags. At the same time, I was on a serious health kick. I was exercising 4 times per week with weight training as well as two 5km walks per week and occasional 1 hour of lap swimming when the weather was not good for walking. I was eating very healthy and often, no sugar, low carb and I managed to drop 10 pounds during this time and was very hopeful the Venus Freeze would tighten up these areas as they have been a problem, or genetic curse, since I was a teenager. I had complete faith in the ladies doing the treatments as this is a school which teaches proper technique in treating clients with this machine. Each session lasted about 40 minutes (20 on each side) and they really turned up the heat to maximize my results. Let me tell you, if they didn't keep that hand piece moving, I might have been barbequed! lol They kept checking my skin temperature and within a few minutes of starting the treatment, my skin temperature went from 38 degrees Celsius to 43! That is HOT and the temperature of your skin must maintain above 41 C during the treatment in order to have good results and to do what the machine promises.

First of all, I didn't even know about RealSelf when I had this procedure done. I decided to post my experience after reading various reviews and, based on my experience, DON'T WASTE your money. There is absolutely no machine in existence which will give you the same results as surgery if you have pockets of fat that do not respond to exercise. As I have said, I did all the right things during my treatments, I ate healthy, I drank lots of water, I exercised, I was determined to put my all into being successful in my quest for smoother and tighter contours. Well, 11 treatments later and as you can see in my pics, NO CHANGE in the lumps and no tightening of the skin either. It did not work for me. I would honestly be the first one raving for something that worked. The ladies at the College who performed my treatments didn't look too surprised either, but the management was eager to keep selling me more packages, saying well, some people see results after 3 treatments and some after 10. I had 11 and NOTHING. :( The 12 treatment I tried on my face just to see if it would do anything and of course nothing. It was only one treatment on my face so I wasn't expecting much of a result. I really don't believe any positive reviews on the Venus Freeze. I'm really disgusted with all of these "spas" that claim to have the machine to correct your flaws, but that's just my experience with 3 different technologies and they were all a waste of money. By all means, try it out if you think you will have a better result. As of June of this year I have dropped my weight down to 140lbs (as you see in my beach trip) and the lumps have significantly improved. It has been a long journey of eating healthy and weight training. Replace the fat with muscle, keep your evening meals protein and greens oriented. Have a big breakfast and graze the rest of the day. My secret snack is cut up celery and carrots with low cal ranch dip and it will keep you busy with minimal damage. After age 65, I will eat whatever I want and wont care what I look like on a beach, nobody will judge me too much then! lol There is no magic bullet or machine, but it's amazing what you can do to your body with just an hour in the gym, 3-4 times per week and by eating better. I wish you all success in achieving your goals.