Coolsculpting is a method for getting rid of unwanted fat and helping to tighten up parts of the body that haven't responded enough to weight loss and exercise. However, Coolsculpting can surprise and concern some potential patients when they're reading about it, as mentions of cellular damage may come up. Despite it sounding like a bad thing, this kind of damage is actually beneficial to the body and your overall appearance. Here's what you should know about it and why it's not negative like it sounds.

The Way the Body Works

The body is constantly at work replacing old parts of itself with new, replacement pieces. This is typically not something people can see simply looking at themselves, but it's happening nonetheless. For example, your bones are full of cells that weren't there when you were born. This is because your body has gradually replaced old, weakened bone cells with new, healthy ones that were freshly produced and ready to take over.

Some cells, once produced, are constantly replaced by the body even if they no longer serve a purpose. This is true of fat cells. Once a fat cell has been created to accommodate stored fat, it continues to exist, just without anything stored inside of it. However, even empty, if you have enough of these cells, they can contribute to not looking as smooth and taut as you'd like.

How Coolsculpting Resolves the Problem

Coolsculpting works by using a temperature that's safe for the skin and muscle of your body, but harmful to fat cells. In essence, the cold damages the fat cells, which triggers the body to handle the rest by breaking them down fully and hauling them away, without replacing them with new ones.

Other Methods, Similar Concepts

If the concept of 'damage' still frightens you, then you should know that this same concept applies to many beauty techniques these days, because it works. For example, microneedling, which is often praised for its ability to reduce wrinkles and built-up collagen, also requires stimulating and damaging the area. This causes the body to put more effort into the region, building that new collagen and revitalizing the tissues.

The same is also true of simple acid peels and other applications. By forcibly triggering the body to get rid of damaged regions, the body can restore some of its healthier, younger-looking appearance. While Coolsculpting focuses on getting rid of something rather than restoring something, the same general concept applies to both and has been shown to be safe.