If they are all getting Emsculpt on Bling Empire, it must be great, right? Body Sculpting has become very popular, and what’s a better indication of trendiness than appearing on reality TV? But what about the science? Should you believe the hype? [Aside: If you haven’t seen it, Bling Empire is a reality TV version of Crazy Rich Asians. Totally ridiculous but quite entertaining.]

Now that we have some experience with the Emsculpt Neo, we can talk about how it is different from other devices and from the original Emsculpt, and how results differ too. We’ve had to field lots of questions and can tell you definitively that the Neo, with its combination of HIFEM muscle stimulation and RF heating is a huge advance, placing it far ahead of any other device in the body sculpting world.

The original Emsculpt uses High Frequency Electro-Magnetic (HIFEM) muscular stimulation to cause massively strong contractions – called supramaximal because they are stronger than the muscle contracts in any normal physiologic condition. Emsculpt delivers over 20,000 of these supramaximal contractions in 30 minutes. No amount of cross-fit can equal that. The Emsculpt studies showed that HIFEM alone can produce on average a 16% increase in muscle and a 19% decrease in fat with 4 sessions.

Radiofrequency (RF) is a great tool to heat and melt fat. At Glow, we have many years experience with Vanquish ME and Exilis Ultra, both of which use RF. We have used these devices in combination with Emsculpt to get the best results. RF works by heating the fat cells causing damage and ultimately cell death. Emsculpt Neo has RF built in to the paddles, deploying both HIFEM and RF simultaneously. The question I had when first looking at the Neo is how does it improve results over using these technologies separately? Is there a benefit from simultaneous treatment? Will we still need those RF devices? The answer is yes and yes, as it turns out. Here’s what we have found.

The addition of RF heating improves the yield for both muscle and fat. It was not surprising that RF improves the fat loss— RF has a strong record killing fat. It turns out that warmer muscles are stronger and provide more effective contractions. This increases the yield on muscle as well. The official studies of the Emsculpt Neo show a 25% increase in muscle and a 30% decrease in fat, a marked improvement over HIFEM alone. We have seen this borne out in real life experience.

How do the other machines fit in? As always every body is different, and treatments have to be designed around each individual. Emsculpt Neo has paddles that are focused in one area about the size of the center belly fat. We use Vanquish ME because it can reach all the way from one love handle to the other, and it can also treat both the inner and outer thigh at the same time. We have found that for those areas, combining Emsculpt Neo with Vanquish ME gives us the absolute best results. Exilis Ultra can be used in many different areas that the other devices can’t reach, and it also tightens skin. So for some bodies, these devices are very helpful in achieving the desired results.

We are adding the latest before and after images to our gallery on the website here. We have found a very high patient satisfaction with our suite of body sculpting treatments, in which the Emsculpt Neo has now taken center stage. Feel free to contact us with any questions.

Yes, this is all about vaginas. As a doctor and a mom of 3, I’m so over any shyness about the topic. If you’re not in the mood to hear about it, maybe skip this one. If you are like me, this is a topic near and dear to your heart. We have always called our program “Vaginal Rejuvenation.” I was recently told the preferred term is “Women’s Intimate Wellness.” However you package it, an overwhelming number of women suffer from these symptoms eventually, and we no longer have to just put up with it.

At Glow we now have over 2 years of experience with vaginal rejuvenation procedures using the Exilis Ultra Femme 360, and the verdict is that it works and results are surprisingly long-lasting. This helps with changes related to both childbirth and menopause. Vaginal rejuvenation can specifically address:

• Dribbling
• Stretched-out tissues
• Dryness
• Pain during sex

The biggest reason women are having the procedure has been for dribbling post-childbirth, but a close second and third are for tightening and dryness. The Ultra Femme uses a 360 degree wand and radiofrequency technology to heat the vaginal wall and labia. This induces collagen formation, thickening of the vaginal wall, increased lubrication and tightening of the tissues both inside and out. Treatment consists of a series of 3 painless sessions, and we have found that results happen within 1-2 months have lasted for up to 18 months, but most women have needed some maintenance within 1 year of first treatment. In 2 years we have treated over 50 women, and 98% report either improvement or complete resolution of their symptoms and we have had zero complications.

The main benefits of treatment with the Exilis Ultra Femme 360:

• Very high success rate in treating urinary symptoms, dryness, stretched tissues and painful intercourse
• Requires only 3 sessions
• Non-invasive
• Painless
• No Downtime

What is vFit+?

vFit+ is a brand-new device for at-home use that can be used alone or for maintenance after vaginal rejuvenation with the Ultra Femme. It uses red light LED, heat and vibration to stimulate the tissues to increase blood flow. Studies have found a 95% improvement in intimate wellness, 89% increased confidence with intercourse and an 89% increase in sensation. Our own informal investigation has found that vFit+ is a good option for maintaining results from the Ultra Femme and there are anecdotal reports that is can be used as a stand-alone at-home treatment for some of the same symptoms.

vFit+ is recommended to be used for 10 minutes every other day. Results are reported to be within 1-3 months. Do you match any of these patient profiles?

1. Young Adult: exercise and activities and intimate wellness are important to you. Whether you might have a child in the future or not, maintaining sexual health and intimacy are a top priority.
2. Mom: very little time to yourself, starting to address changes in appearance and health. Connecting with your partner is important to you and things have changed since giving birth; Kegels have not worked. Looking for something easy and convenient to help.
3. Perimenopausal: have a little more time to invest in yourself and fighting aging, a strong emotional connection to your partner is more important than ever. Looking to get back the youthful feeling inside and out.
4. Postmenopausal: your mental and physical state don’t quite match and you’d like to restore the intimacy and confidence you used to have.

The main benefits of vFit+

• Improved confidence with sexual function
• Increased blood flow
• Privacy: at-home treatment in the privacy of your own home
• Affordable
• Non-invasive
• No downtime

We think that both the Ultra Femme and the vFit+ are fantastic tools for, OK I’ll say it– Women’s Intimate Wellness. If you have any questions about these treatments or whether you might be a good candidate, we are here to help! Please contact us if you’d like to find out more.

Many of us face a moment where we can’t believe that with all our efforts, those blobs of extra fat are just not going away. Only a few years ago, the only option was liposuction. The amazing thing is that technology now allows us to burn the fat without surgery. At Glow we have a great fat reduction program using Vanquish ME, Exilis Ultra and Cellutone. We use these in combination to reduce stubborn fat on the belly, back and legs while at the same time tightening the loose skin. You might have heard of Coolsculpting– because they do a lot of direct marketing to consumers. In this post I’m going to explain how our program works and why I didn’t buy Coolsculpting because I found it to be inferior in results, pain, complications, effectiveness and cost.

Fat cells are fragile. If you stun them sufficiently, they will not survive. If you zap them with Radiofrequency (RF), Ultrasound, Laser or Freezing, many of them will go into what we geeks call “apoptosis.” This means programmed cell death. Die fat cells, die! The cellular bits get resorbed by your body and the fat in the cell gets released into your lymph system and you eventually (think weeks to months) excrete it.

Vanquish ME and Exilis Ultra work to kill fat cells in complementary ways. Vanquish sets up an RF array that tunes to your fat, heating the fat cells up selectively. Exilis Ultra uses both RF and Ultrasound to heat fat from the skin surface. This combination approach effectively burns the fat at the same time as heating the skin to tighten it. Then the Cellutone is used– it is a shock wave device– to push more fat cells into apoptosis and break up the fat to start the process of clearing through the lymph system. The treatments do not hurt and they give a smooth uniform reduction in the fat. Most people already have loose skin in these areas but in addition shrinking the fat also creates a surplus of overlying skin. So the simultaneous skin tightening is a huge benefit from our treatments that cold technology cannot produce.

Slimming down with Vanquish and Exilis Ultra is usually done in 4 treatments about a week apart. Because the technology uses the difference in hydration of the fat to work, it is important to drink lots of fluids and stay hydrated through the course of treatment. There is no downtime and results slowly evolve over the next 3-6 months. Want to slim down for summer? Start in February or March!

OK– so now that we know how it works, how is Vanquish/Exilis/Cellutone better than coolsculpting?

• Results: Coolsculpting uses a vacuum cup to suck the fat and freeze it. To do an area like the belly, it requires 4 to 6 cups to cover the whole thing. Any fat that is not suckable into a cup will not be treated. So, the results tend to be more lumpy, with occasional “shelfing” where fat has been killed in one area but the adjacent fat is left intact. We have spent quite some time with our devices correcting uneven results from coolsculpting..
• Pain: Coolsculpting hurts quite a bit during the freeze (about 8 minutes) and then the thaw (longer).
• Complications: occasional nerve damage, which is usually temporary but can last months. There have been reports of paradoxical hypertrophy of the fat (it gets bigger!)
• Effectiveness: Coolsculpting also has no skin tightening effect at all, so a very successful treatment will often leave a pocket of loose skin over it. We have also used Exilis Ultra to tighten these areas of sagginess created by coolsculpting.
• Cost: Lastly– coolsculpting is more expensive both for the physician and for the patient. If you could use a better machine for less, wouldn’t you?

If you have any questions, as always I’m here to answer them! Call us or click here to book a consultation online.