Fat cells are more sensitive to cold than the skin, nerves and muscle around them. The treatment uses that difference: the area is brought down to a temperature low enough to affect the fat cells while leaving the tissue above them unharmed. The cells that respond are then broken down and carried away by your body over the weeks that follow. Nothing is removed on the day, which is why the change is gradual rather than something you see when you stand up.

We go through your goal for the area and look at it with you, then you lie down and we treat it. There is a warming phase first, then the cold comes on and holds. Most people describe the first minute as the part that takes getting used to and are comfortable after that. You can talk to us the whole way through and tell us at any point if you want us to ease off.

Because each session only affects the fat cells it reaches, and your body needs time to clear them before the next one adds to it. The change accumulates across the course, and it keeps developing for a while after your last session for the same reason. We give you an honest number for your body and your goal at your first visit rather than selling you a package before we have seen you.

No. Nothing is injected, nothing is cut and there is no anaesthetic. It works entirely from the outside of the skin. The area is usually pink and cold to the touch for a short while afterwards and can feel tender, and we go through exactly what to expect for your area before we start.

It is used where there is a pocket of fat to treat, which is usually the stomach, the flanks, the thighs, the arms or under the chin. It is not a weight loss treatment and it will not do the job of one: it reshapes an area rather than changing what you weigh. If your area or your goal is not a good fit for it we will tell you that at your first visit.