Annette Clark debated for more than a year about bringing a service into her spa that focused on blasting fat cells. Not only did the owner of Izalia Laser Hair Removal & Rejuvenation Spa in Alexandria want to make sure she was providing a safe service for her clients; she also wanted to make sure she wasn’t promoting the unhealthy stance of saying you can be happy by changing your body.
For a year she studied up on a new device that uses ultrasound and radio frequency to essentially destroy fat cells in the body, slowing the reappearance of future fat cells and leaving clients with tighter skin and smoothed-out cellulite. It’s Alma Lasers’ vShape Ultra, what Izalia is calling The Fat Blaster.
“The science has been evolving on how to target fat,” Clark says. “The industry has evolved over time on how to approach this in a way that actually works. I’ve been on the sidelines going to all the manufacturer demos, listening to what they say, seeing the results and waiting for it to be the right thing to get involved with for my clients. And I finally decided last year that the technology had evolved enough.”
The Fat Blaster utilizes ultrasound waves tuned to the exact resonance of a fat cell, causing them to burst, and then uses radio frequency to spin water molecules so fast that they compress and burst.
“With the [Fat Blaster], it doesn’t hurt somebody and I can’t hurt them,” Clark says, “so there’s [no] risk. In a lot of laser aesthetics, there are risks: You can burn people, blister people. With this, there is not risk and that is one of my favorite things.”
The process is simple and takes about 20 minutes per area worked on, which is about a 9- by 5-inch section. The client lies on the spa table and a technician first rolls the ultrasound device, a handle with a round disc on the end, over the targeted area for 10 minutes. The client feels a warm sensation on the area and hears the sound waves running through the body. Then the radio frequency device is rolled over the area for another 10 minutes. After the treatment, there is a slight redness for a short amount of time, less than a few minutes.
Fat cells don’t burst every time, Clark says, so multiple treatments are necessary and are spaced a couple weeks apart to allow the body to break down and flush the burst fat cells out of the system before doing another round.
“We’re not trying to create unrealistic expectations,” Clark says. “We call this an extra service for fit people wanting assistance with stubborn fat. This is not an obesity corrector, but it is for people who are working out and eating properly but still have some fat areas [they want to get rid of].”
Sessions of six cost $3,200 for arm and leg areas, and there are lower price points for the neck and abdomen areas. Treatments booked for April are 20 percent off. // izalia.com
