Body Contouring: Overview
Body contouring has become a common word as many individuals focus more on significant weight loss methods. However, substantial weight loss by following a diet or undergoing bariatric surgery or post-pregnancy changes often leads to the skin being behind. Body contouring is one of the best weight loss or fat loss methods, and it has been proven to be the most significant. A few technologies available for body contouring with a great success rate are non-invasive and easy to help reduce your body weight within a few weeks or sittings.
History and Evolution of Body Contouring
Surgical abdominoplasty, or ‘tummy tuck,’ has become the cornerstone of fat reduction for decades. In the 1920s, body contouring started when physicians experimented with diverse cosmetic surgery techniques to treat extensive injuries. The medical discoveries then focused on reconstructing the faces of injured fellowmen during World War One. Several nations, including Russia, Britain, the United States, and Germany that actively participated in the war have produced some of the best cosmetic surgeons and created a global footprint in history. A French physician, Dr. Charles Dujarier, invented the first-ever fat removal technique, a precursor of modern-day liposuction, or body contouring.
Later, in 1926, Dr. Dujarier attempted excess fat removal from a model’s legs and knees when the patient developed gangrene that resulted in the amputation of her legs. After a series of unsuccessful fat-removal techniques, there was a breakthrough in 1974 when Doctors A. and G. Fischer invented the Blunt Tunneling Technique, regarded as the foundation of body contouring. It was used with a combination of rotating scalpels that broke up fat, and a tube was inserted in the region to suck the stored fat.
The procedure was not without flaws, as a few patients lost their blood while undergoing it. In addition, there was also a risk of nerve damage, and therefore, the physicians focused more on effective alternatives. As a result, in 1982, Dr. Yves-Gerard Illouz came up with his method called the Illouz method, a new technique that utilized a “blunt-tipped cannula.” Unfortunately, this new technique led to other complications and a short recovery time.
Thanks to the widely growing technological and healthcare advancements, a few improvements have been made in the body contouring field over the years. Despite all these complications, body contouring has evolved with quite significant improvements gradually, becoming a safer and more comfortable procedure with better results.
Body Contouring Coverage Areas
People use body contouring procedures to improve their looks, feel thinner, or attain a certain shape. In general, it is used in certain areas of the body where diet and exercise don’t make any difference.
Surgical procedures also remove additional skin for younger and smoother skin. But those are meant for people who suffer from post-weight loss effects. In addition, they improve saggy, loose, or wrinkled skin that is encountered with natural aging.
The body contouring procedure targets most body areas. The most common ones are:
- Arms
- Back
- Buttocks
- Belly and flanks
- Tighs
- Neck
- Chin
Trends and Technologies of Body Contouring
Stats say that the body contouring devices market size hit USD 1.46B in 2022, and it’s expected to a projected hit of around USD 2.73B by 2032, with a CAGR of 6.41% during the 2023-2032 forecast.
Its devices market has been a dynamic sector within the medical aesthetics and cosmetic surgery industry, primarily concentrating on developing, manufacturing, and distributing devices designed to reshape and enhance the body’s appearance. These devices use diversified technologies to address concerns such as excess fat, skin laxity, cellulite, and body contour irregularities, catering to non-invasive, minimally invasive, or surgical solutions to the ones seeking cosmetic improvements.
The crucial components of the body contouring devices market include non-invasive fat reduction systems and liposuction, cellulite reduction, and skin tightening devices. These technologies may onboard methods such as radiofrequency, laser therapy, ultrasound scans, cryolipolysis, and more, based on the specific contouring goal and the preferences of practitioners and patients.
The market is driven by multiple factors, including the growing demand for non-surgical alternatives to traditional liposuction methods, the increasing global emphasis on wellness and physical appearance, and technological advancements that have led to effective and safer body contouring procedures. In addition, other lifestyle factors, such as the desire for minimal downtime and quick recovery times, contribute to the popularity of either minimal or non-invasive body contouring options.
This market is characterized by a highly competitive landscape with different companies offering diverse technologies. Common trends in the body contouring devices market include the development of combination therapies and technological innovation that address multiple concerns simultaneously. Besides, strategic partnerships tied between cosmetic surgery practices, device manufacturers, and aesthetic clinics play an essential role in shaping the landscape of this market.
Clinical evidence, regulatory considerations, and safety profiles are the key factors in the market, as patients and practitioners prioritize the safety and efficiency of body contouring procedures. Ongoing research and development activities concentrate on refining the pre-defined or current technologies, exploring novel approaches, and expanding the range of areas that can be catered to.
Body Contouring Technologies
There are two types of technologies in which body contouring methods can be applied: invasive and non-invasive body contouring methods. Let us look at a few of them below:
Invasive Body Contouring Methods
Liposuction
Liposuction, the other name for body contouring, still reigns supreme as a leader in the cosmetic world, catering to patients to remove the branches of unwanted fat for a more contoured and slim appearance. Layers offer the latest proceedings in liposuction technology with tumescent or laser-assisted techniques. These days, liposuction techniques are more precise, require less downtime, and are much safer to undergo. Also, it is a versatile tool that can sculpt multiple body areas, and in some cases, all the body areas can be treated in a single session.
Body Lift Procedures
Body lift procedures are specifically popular for weight loss patients who want excess skin removal for a more attractive physique and appearance. Layers offer multiple lift procedures, including breast lift, tummy tuck, thigh lift, arm lift, and neck lift or v shape neck. They also provide body contouring packages for patients who need more than one type of surgical treatment provided at the same time, especially for women after weight loss surgery or pregnancy or a lower body lift that addresses more than one body area.
Non-invasive Body Contouring Methods
The ever-evolving world of non-invasive body contouring techniques has been widely used and has grown in popularity. For patients needing extra contouring, Layers offers the right solution with our non-invasive body contouring options. These include CoolSculpting and SculpSure, which can be implemented with no downtime required.
Ultherapy
Ultherapy is the latest non-invasive technique that uses ultrasound energy to lift and tighten certain body areas like the brow, face, under the chin or double chin, and neck. This technique treats the deep layers of the skin without disturbing the skin surface and boosts patients with a rise in collagen production to reveal a more youthful appearance in only 2-3 months.
CoolSculpting
Coolsculpting offers an approved device that removes fat in those stubborn areas of the upper arms, inner thighs, or stomach by freezing them away permanently. In about a very few sessions or weeks, the frozen fat cells die off, and the body absorbs and eliminates those cells naturally to give patients a one-time solution if they maintain their ideal weight.
SculpSure
SculpSure is known for its quick procedure using a temperature-controlled device, which is similar to the CoolSculpting method. Instead, it uses heat produced by a laser. The process is implemented to trouble spots of the body like the thighs, flanks, or stomach to deliver intense heat absorbed by the fatty tissue. In just about 6-12 weeks, patients can notice visible results after just one sitting.
Who can benefit from Body Contouring Procedures?
Individuals suffering from excess fat and skin in certain areas are the primary and target individuals who benefit from body contouring procedures. These include liposuction and tummy tuck. Candidates who have their ideal weight within 10 pounds of their ideal body weight, are healthy and are non-smokers. Weight loss patients who struggle with excess and loose skin that has lost elasticity possibly find that specific body lifting procedures may overcome that problem and show off the hard work they’ve committed to.
In addition, people who will benefit from body contouring are the women who decide to have a tummy tuck on their post-pregnancy. Another group seeking body contouring is men who want to get their sculpted and chiseled look to their physique. The physicians at Layers will listen to your aesthetic requirements and determine your appropriate body contouring treatment plan, with noticeable results observed. Based on your requirements, body type, and other factors, treatment may vary from person to person to better provide the best results for you.
