Well, well, well….I finally got the chance to try out lipo. Well, laser lipo that is I had a 50 minute abdominal treatment, and a 40 minute arm treatment.

I have long wanted to do that, in fact, even before I started blogging about my weight loss. I remember one time my doctor suggested I give it a try but since I am very uncomfortable about going to spas or treatment centers that offer such procedures, I never really got to doing it. However, when I was asked if I’d be interested in trying a home service spa, I grabbed the opportunity. And so last Sunday, Ms. Marie Dator-Tan, owner/operator of Posh and Glam Home Service Spa, sent one of her therapists (or, as they are also known, aesthetician) to do a 90-minute laser lipo treatment on me.

Laser Lipo is also known as RF (radio frequency) treatment. It is a non-surgical cosmetic procedure that aims to tighten and reduce the appearance of fine lines and wrinkles in the skin as well as dissolve fat by the use of electrodes that produce heat (around 60-70°C) in the dermis and adipose tissue of the body. In short, while it does not heat up the outer layer of the skin, or the epidermis, it produces heat inside the body that melts the fat. As Marie explained, “it [involves] a stream of electrons that is used to incise, excise, ablate or coagulate tissue using the heat it generates”. When I asked her how it works, she said that the fat cells in the body are heated and through this, the water in the fat cell is vaporized and the fatty acids are released and then excreted or eliminated. The procedure also stimulates blood and lymphatic circulation as well as drains the lymphatic fat or deformed connective tissue in the body that usually is manifested in the body as cellulite and body fat. Because of the increased blood circulation, the body cells also become oxygenated which leads to improved skin quality.  Other treatment benefits enumerated by Marie are as follows:

• Instant face/body lifting
• Promotes blood circulation
• Removes toxins
• Reduction in Wrinkles & Fine Lines
• Pore closure
• Radiant, glow after treatment
• Rejuvenating
• Fat Melting
• Resurfacing
• Stretch Mark Reduction
• Acne Management (dries up skin from within)

The procedure was relatively painless. It was nice to be able to do it in the comfort of my own bed.

I won’t say it didn’t hurt AT ALL because to be honest, it was a little uncomfortable, but it was more of a discomfort rather than a pain.  The mechanism they used (I don’t know what exactly to call it but it’s kinda like a massager) was hot but not too hot to burn the surface of the skin. The aesthetician who worked with  me that day, Almira, would often ask me whether she was pressing too hard or if it was too hot, so I must say she was quite cautious about the way she did the treatment.  I didn’t mind very much the amount of pressure she used but I did feel a little bit sore after the procedure, up to the following day. According to Marie, however, that is perfectly normal. It’s kinda like getting a hard massage, she said, and that made sense to me.

Prior to the procedure, Almira took my measurements and right after, she did it again.  She measured three areas in my tummy: the middle, a bit above the middle of my belly (a bit above the middle part or the umbilicus) and in the lower abdomen (or the puson as we girls refer to it).

After the 50 minute belly treatment, the middle part of my abdomen lost about half an inch (well…almost!!! hehe) from its original measurement. However, the lower belly got bigger! At first I kinda got shocked but then I was told that it is normal because what happens is that the lymphatic drainage and the toxins/fats that were melted kinda pooled in that area. In short, it needed to be excreted to see the full effect of the treatment. Throughout the rest of the afternoon (I had the treatment done at 10 am), I did feel the urge to pee a lot and by the end of the day, I did notice an improvement in the way my belly looked. Although some people who undergo RF treatments have side effects like redness or on rare occasions, blisters on the treated area, I did not experience that. The mild swelling and feeling of soreness was all I could really report feeling.

The results may seem very small in terms of numbers (I did kinda feel that, to be honest) but then that’s because I only did one treatment. Ideally if you want to be able to see visible and remarkable results, you will need follow up treatments AND watch what you eat.  Some people undergo the treatment for about 1-2 months, with intervals of as little of three days between each treatment. Ideally, 8-10 sessions are recommended, although some achieve optimal results in 6 sessions. Although you won’t see major inch loss immediately, I do admit that the skin feels better and looks smoother.

While the most unique offer of Posh and Glam is doing the treatment in your own home, Marie emphasized that one other difference they offer clients is that they don’t shortcut their treatments. They really make sure they do the procedure for the entire duration recommended, which is actually at least 40 minutes in the abdomen to achieve results. In Posh and Glam, they do 50 minutes to ensure the quality of the treatment.  To further ensure the quality of their service, Marie emphasized that the Posh & Glam therapists, facialists, and aestheticians undergo training for the procedures, and in fact, are trained the “Calayan Way”.  Some even have medical backgrounds, such as nursing and physical therapy.

So…would I do it again? Honestly, I wouldn’t mind   Hehe. Seriously though, if I were to do it again, I’d probably opt again for the home service procedure rather than go to one of those places around. I’m shy eh! Hehe.

As for costs, usually, the procedures goes for about Php 2000-3500 per area. That may sound quite steep but compared to other surgical procedures, it’s really not bad at all. Also, Posh and Glam, in tandem with Awesome.ph will be offering a voucher deal really soon for 90-minute treatments (meaning 2 areas already!) at reduced prices. I don’t know the exact details yet, but I will definitely post them here as soon as I know

By the way, here are some photos of the treatment:

There are a few more photos on my blogs Facebook page, so do feel free to drop by…and you might wanna like my page as well