Looking good varies in importance from person to person. So, for people who find it important enough to shell out lots of money to look good, there’s a relatively new development for them to try – laser liposuction. It’s something that’s been causing a big stir among fat melting fanatics around the world. Apparently, it is a massive improvement over old liposuction methods.

The differences between the two are numerous, from method to recovery period. Read on and see just what laser liposuction brings to the table in terms of fat blasting method.

The Tale of the Tape

Let’s begin with a simple comparison of methods. Old liposuction is heavy duty surgery that requires general anesthesia, which means that they need to knock you out to do it. Fat is essentially sucked out, which leaves a lot of flappy, loose skin where the fat used to be. That is done with a narrow tube that tends to leave scarring where it enters. Trauma is expected, as well as some bruising, though most people can get back to work within a week. The average liposuction to the abdomen easily costs around six thousand dollars, maybe more depending on where you get it.

Now, to laser liposuction. Laser liposuction or SmartLipo only requires local anesthetic, which is safer and tends to bring less complications to the game than old liposuction. There is some tightening of skin where the lasers are used. Due to the use of lasers, there is very little trauma inflicted on the body which means recovery is a lot faster.

The fat itself is squeezed out of the incisions or carefully suctioned out. It’s a lot easier than old liposuction as the laser has already broken the fat down into a liquid form, making it a lot less tough on the body than if you were dragging solid fat out of you. You won’t even need stitches; you can get to work in a day or two. It’s even cheaper, despite the image of a lightsaber – five thousand dollars for a shot at your abdomen.

So Aside From Being Fancy, Safer and Cheaper

If you’ve ever seen an old liposuction video on a documentary, in person or on television, you know how brutal it looks. It actually seems like they’re shoving a vacuum cleaner into your gut to clean it out. It’s not even accurate as people can only do so much, no matter how good they are, with their hands. You may nick a few things. There’s a ton of collateral damage to be expected from it, which led to the need for general anesthetic and a longer recovery period. Laser liposuction is more precise. Brute force is no longer necessary, allowing for accuracy and control that a hose cannot give.

Interestingly, this ease make the entire procedure shorter. Old liposuction methods, as mentioned, can leave loose skin where the fat used to be. This, then, requires another procedure to get rid of the unsightly flaps, often a face or neck lift or tummy tuck where the fat used to be to make it look more appealing. With the laser, you actually end up tightening the skin as well, as part of the procedure.

Post Procedure Detail

As stated above, people who opt for laser liposuction can probably get to work within a couple of days. Compression bandages are still necessary, however, but for a much shorter time. Old liposuction has them on you for a month and a half while laser liposuction requires it for around two weeks. The result is also generally permanent. Fat cells are limited in adults; people don’t actually get new fat cells, they just get fat cells that expand.

Concerns

Of course, with the coming of any kind of new technology comes polarization and care. While on paper, laser liposuction seems like the better choice, some experts are less than thrilled with its existence. While most of them do admit that it is a potentially helpful method, they don’t see it as the second coming of liposuction. Some of them don’t even think that it will ever replace the old kind of liposuction; not soon at least. Even people who are proponents of laser liposuction are careful in their claims, calling it an advancement in technology rather than a miracle.

Light Them Up

But is it for you? The best way to find out is to simply consult with a doctor. Perhaps, there is something about your particular body that lends itself better to the more expensive old timey liposuction. Perhaps, you’d be best serve putting your body under the tender care of a technological advantage.

Whatever the case, it is still a major investment of both time, money and some pain. Make sure that it is really what you want before you go traipsing into a doctor’s office for a laser liposuction.

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My cellulite has been a plague on my miniskirt- and short-shorts-wearing habits since I gave birth to my third child and starting pigging out on every junk food in site.

While I haven’t exactly made it my life’s mission, finding effective ways of removing cellulite has become something of a preoccupation of mine. Even though there are a lot of products that claim to be completely effective at reducing cellulite, I haven’t really found anything that can cheaply and painlessly get rid of it –ALL of it- instantly. Then again, I have had some pretty good results.

Here are some things to consider when working on reducing or removing cellulite though:

Cellulite is Fat

Despite that, obesity or being overweight doesn’t necessarily mean that a person will automatically have cellulite. Sure, a lot of obese people have cellulite, but if you’re one of those lucky types, you won’t have to add orange peel-butt to your weights woes as well.

Cellulite is fat cells in the skin’s connective tissue that have accumulated and pushed against it so that the skin in the area ripples and puckers. Like an orange. Or like the skin of a freshly-plucked chicken. Or a badly-made sponge cake.

In case you’re wondering, no, I don’t actually spend time thinking up unflattering similes for cellulite. It’s just that my cellulite really annoys me.

Cellulite Can be Found on Different Parts of the Body

Like most women, my cellulite was on my butt and thighs, where a lot of my body fat seems to have accumulated. Having cellulite in these areas might limit my summer clothing and swimwear options, but I guess I’ve still got it good compared to some other folks.

Some people have cellulite in other places, too: like their arms and bellies –that means no sleeveless shirts and no bikinis or low-cut jeans. Some people have a whole lot more of it than others –eep!
Forgive me if I indulge in a bit of schadenfreude here, but I’m glad I only have a bit of cellulite on my butt and thighs, and not all over, like a few unfortunates I know.

Anyone Can Get Cellulite

You don’t necessarily have to be fat to suffer from cellulite; I was actually pretty skinny at nineteen, but that didn’t change the fact that my backside looked like an irate golf ball even then. In fact, I’ve taken some rather… unscrupulous pleasure in discovering that without the protection of a graphic artist’s airbrush, even supermodels and Hollywood starlets can have cellulite.

In my research though, I discovered, much to my envy, that men are a lot less likely to have cellulite. There aren’t any solid scientific reasons for this, but it’s still the way it is. Lucky boys.

Ah well, at least we girls can still get multiple orgasms.

We Still Don’t Know What Really Causes Cellulite, or How to Completely Get Rid of It, Short of Surgery

Sure, modern science has brought man to the moon and found ways to create glow-in-the-dark pet fish using recombinant DNA, but it’s still puttering around trying to find ways to cure cellulite or get rid of cellulite’s orange peel-ass effect without having to slice a person open.

We’re not even completely sure about how cellulite starts in the first place.

Some experts think that cellulite is caused by toxins in a person’s body; others think that it’s a hormonal –and therefore, a gender- issue, since women seem to comprise the bulk of cellulite’s unfortunate victims. Maybe it’s a combination of both.

Whatever the case may be, not knowing exactly what causes cellulite in the first place means that completely and reliably preventing or removing cellulite still isn’t a scientific reality.

There are Options for Removing Cellulite or Reducing Cellulite

Even if we can’t quite make cellulite go the way of smallpox or the dodo yet though, hope isn’t completely lost. These methods won’t always work, and some will be more effective for certain people and a complete waste of time and money for others, but at least they’re out there for you to check out:

Liposuction: Cellulite is fat. Therefore, getting rid of the fat
will get rid of your cellulite. The good thing about liposuction is that it removes the fat cells themselves, which means that it’s a lot less likely for the liposuctioned area to get fat again. This means that it’s also a lot less likely for you to get cellulite there as well. This is one of the most surefire ways to get rid of cellulite permanently.

Check with your doctor first though; liposuction might not be the best option for you and does come with some side effects.

Diet and Exercise: Yes, yes; a healthy diet and exercise are good for you. The diet-and-exercise combo solves a lot of problems; and it can play a big part in reducing cellulite. Keeping at this can get rid of any extra, unhealthy fat you might have in your body, which can, in turn, get rid of cellulite –since, like I’ve mentioned before, cellulite is fat.

Also, fruits and vegetables –like berries, spinach, and carrots- are great antioxidants and can really improve your skin and your circulation.

Moisturizers and Cellulite Creams: Even if cellulite happens below that top layer of the skin, a little moisturizer can really nourish your skin, which could actually go a long way in reducing cellulite –or at least, making it less visible. This is about all that most of those expensive cellulite creams can do. Even if these creams will claim to be effective in removing cellulite completely, try to take their claims with a grain of salt; they can only go so far.

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A lot of people have problems getting rid of the extra layers of flab on certain parts of their body. I mean, I might occasionally love my flab, since it’s my sign of my triumph over a buffet, but it doesn’t exactly help me feel very pretty when I’m attempting to cram myself into last summer’s bathing suit.

I’ve done the diet and exercise route, and sure, sometimes I drop a dress size or two, but there are some fat deposits that just refuse to go away. This is where plastic surgery procedures like liposculpture come in.

A liposculpture procedure is a less invasive, but more precise form of liposcution. Instead of making big cuts over the parts of the body where the fat needs to be sucked out, a small incision is created, and a tiny suction mechanism is used so that specific fat deposits in the body can be targeted.

Be warned though; liposculpture cost can be more expensive than normal liposuction techniques, and since this kind of procedure is a lot more likely to be considered cosmetic rather than therapeutic or correctional, health plans usually don’t support it.

How is Liposculpture Done?

When you get a liposculpture, you are essentially getting a high-precision kind of liposuction. Although here, instead of a large incision –as with normal liposuction- a small incision is made where the liposculpture suction device is inserted.

A lot of the time, people can get confused about liposculpture, since it’s often referred to as “tumescent liposculpture,” and if you’re a little oblivious, like I am, you might ask, “Is that just ONE kind of liposculpture procedure? Are there any others?”

If this question is bothering you, and the internet doesn’t seem to be very cooperative, well, worry no more. Here’s the answer: No.

Tumescent liposculpture is basically just liposculpture. The tumescent technique is a cosmetic liposuction technique that made liposculpture possible. It’s a part of liposculpting. Created by Dr. Jeffery Klein during the tail end of the 1980’s, this particular technique involves making the fat in the specified area swell and soften considerably, using a saline-based local anesthetic.

The saline solution is a double-whammy too: It softens up the fat and makes the procedure possible, and it numbs the area so that a general anesthetic usually isn’t necessary anymore. Also, by softening the fat in the area, it makes that fat a lot easier to simply siphon out using less invasive tools like syringes or suction tubes called cannulae.

What’s So Good About Liposculpture?

One of the great things about the liposculpture procedure is that it’s an outpatient one, since it’s so much less invasive than normal liposuction. This means that unless something goes horribly wrong, or you really ARE that squeamish, you won’t have to sleep over at the hospital. Most of the time, you won’t even need to worry about being too woozy from other anesthetics, since the saline solution used in the tumescent technique usually takes care of that.

Depending on the doctor or the patient though, other pain killing drugs may be used for the procedure, on top of the saline anesthetic.

Usually, after liposculpture, you can go straight home, but it’s kind of a given that if you’ve just had the fat sucked out of you, a couple of days of rest from work might be in order, and attempting to make your debut into professional Mixed Martial Arts or rugby should be out of the question.

Another great thing about this particular kind of liposuction is that since it’s not as invasive, the side-effects are usually not as bad. Normally, there’ll be some swelling, tenderness, pain, and/or bruising in the affected area, but that usually goes away after a few days. You might also leak fluid from your injection sites, and while that might be really gross, it goes away after those first forty-eight hours post-liposculpture procedure.

Is Liposculpture Right For Me?

Liposculpture may not be the right kind of surgical fat reduction for everyone though, so check with your doctor before proceeding with a liposculpture procedure. After all, liposculpture costs can be really heavy, financially, and if there should be any complications during the procedure, or if you get results that really aren’t to your liking, then the liposculpture cost that you had incurred could multiply, or be a complete waste.

It should be a given that you shouldn’t get liposculpture if you’re pregnant. This might cause complications with the pregnancy. Also, keep in mind that liposculpture is meant for getting rid of specific deposits of fat and trimming and shaping problem areas. If you have a lot of fat that you want to get rid of surgically, you might want to try liposuction or other kinds of fat-reduction techniques to get rid of the bulk of the fat before refining and smoothing out the area with liposculpture. Unless of course, you want to keep on coming back for multiple liposculpture sessions.

Another thing to consider is liposculpture cost. This kind of plastic surgery procedure can set you back anywhere from 1,200 US Dollars, to well over five thousand. And this is usually just for the doctor’s professional fees, and doesn’t include other costs either; like the price of the drugs used or use of the facilities. The liposculpture procedure can be a great investment though, since this usually guarantees that even though you gain weight, your problem areas won’t be that big of a problem anymore, since the fat cells there will have been permanently removed.

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Pilates is a great way in improve posture, and flexibility, as well as balance weight. Originally called Contrology and developed by Joseph Pilates sometime during the early part of the twentieth century, it was part of a rehabilitation program for injured World War I war veterans, as well as a holistic approach to health and fitness that encompassed elements as basic as mental control, breathing, and posture. It was originally meant to be performed with Pilates exercise equipment; in particular, Pilates machines called Pilates reformers.

What Is the Pilates Reformer?

The most basic Pilates machine/machines is the Pilates reformer. Developed by Joseph Pilates himself after the WWI era, this particular machine hasn’t really changed much. This piece of Pilates exercise equipment is essentially a resistance machine designed for core strength, flexibility, and good spinal alignment.

Since its beginnings during the 1920s, a lot of different forms of Pilates have developed, but all of them retain the same basic principles of core strength, mental discipline, and breathing control. Pilates reformers have evolved as well, to suit the needs of the different forms of Pilates that now exist.

How Does a Pilates Reformer Work?

For the most part, Pilates reformers are composed of a spring attached moveable carriage, two rope pulleys with hand/foot straps, and a foot bar. A practitioner is meant to build strength and flexibility with this machine by pulling or pushing against these moving parts. There are subtle differences for reformers of different Pilates types, but they all share these figures and are really useful for strength and resistance training.

For all of its versatility though, this particular piece of Pilates exercise equipment can best reach its greatest potential when it’s being used in conjunction with Pilates exercises. This means that if you want to use this machine well, you should at least understand some of the basic principles of Pilates, like knowing your core and maintaining correct alignment and breathing.

All of its elegance and effectiveness is really wasted if you don’t use it correctly. In fact, used incorrectly, you might even end up injuring yourself, so try to take a few lessons in Pilates basics and reformer safety before using this Pilates machine.

Are There Other Kinds of Pilates Exercise Equipment?

The Pilates reformer might have been the first machine developed specifically for Pilates, but there have been a lot of other Pilates machine/machines and Pilates exercise equipment since.

Pilates Mats

Most studios will have their own, but if you plan on doing Pilates at home, a Pilates mat is probably the first thing you should consider purchasing. Most beginner Pilates exercises will involve mat-work, and the mats for Pilates are generally thicker than yoga mats, since there are fewer standing exercises and more rolling exercises.

The Pilates Magic Circle

This particular piece of Pilates exercise equipment is often also referred to as an exercise ring, fitness circle, and magic ring. It’s a pretty versatile Pilates machine to use. These pieces of exercise equipment are usually made of flexible metal or rubber, and around thirteen inches in diameter, with pads on either side. They’re usually meant for gentle to moderate resistance training, and are lightweight and durable. It’s usually a good idea to get a magic circle with pads on both the inside and the outside and to stay away from the ones that are either too “squishy,” or too flimsy.

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If you’ve just lost a lot of weight or have just had a baby, it’s likely that your stomach isn’t as firm as it used to be anymore. Usually, in cases like these, a tummy tuck can be a good way to firm it back up. A tummy tuck, which is also known as a complete abdominoplasty, is a cosmetic surgical procedure, where some of the extra skin and fat around your midsection –what some might refer to as a “spare tire”- is removed.

A tummy tuck can do wonders for getting you to slip back into pre-baby weight jeans, but if you want to look good in a bikini or a pair of speedos, the scarring that can come with it can often be a bit of a problem.

Fortunately, there are certain kinds of tummy tucks that reduce this little surgical issue significantly. With a partial tummy tuck, or a mini tummy tuck, a much smaller incision is made, and the subsequent scarring is much less evident. This kind of tummy tuck is sometimes also referred to as a scarless tummy tuck, but if truth be told, it’s more of a “really tiny scar” tuck.

One of the reasons why mini/partial tummy tucks are referred to as “scarless” is because the smaller size of this kind of abdominoplasty’s scar tends to make it much easier to conceal, even if you opt to try on an outfit that’s more than just a little risqué.

There are a number of differences between complete and partial tummy tucks, but general procedure is still mostly the same: excess skin and fat around the lower abdominal area are removed.

With a complete tummy tuck though, instead of a small cut, the incision made is normally from hip to hip, above the pubic area.
There are a lot of ways for a surgeon to make the scar less visible, even with a complete abdominoplasty. Nonetheless, a partial tummy tuck is still much easier to conceal.

Whether you choose to get a complete or a partial one, you will first have to consult your doctor, to make sure that you are a good candidate for the kind of tummy tuck you want to get. For a partial tummy tuck, it’s usually great for people who don’t have as much extra skin or fat to remove. A complete tummy tuck, on the other hand, is a slightly more dramatic procedure, and it’s best for those with a lot of extra belly flab to get rid of.

Because a complete tummy tuck is a procedure that’s considerably more invasive than the scarless kind of tummy tuck, the recovery period tends to be longer, and the risks of complications are higher. However, if you really have a lot of excess skin and fat, this kind of tummy tuck may be your only option.

On the other hand, a partial tummy tuck can be a lot simpler, but may not cover as much area as the complete procedure. Among the benefits of the mini tummy tuck though, is the fact that usually, a patient doesn’t have to go completely under for the procedure. Most of the time, a local anesthetic and a sedative are used together, and the procedure can normally be done in about two hours or less.

If a mini tummy tuck goes well, a patient can usually be released to recover in their own homes a few hours after the procedure is completed. For both complete and partial tummy tucks, it really isn’t a good idea to do anything too strenuous or physically taxing for a few days or even weeks after the procedure. However, for the scarless tummy tuck, a patient can usually go back to work or whatever normal activities they might have, within a few days.

In any surgical procedure where a person with a knife and a mask slices you open and cuts out bits of you and gets rid of them, there will be a bit of pain involved. There are drugs for that. One of the great things about partial tummy tucks is that over-the-counter pain medications are usually enough to help you deal with whatever postoperative pain you might experience.

For both kinds of procedures, it can take three to six months before your body recovers completely, and even though you won’t be able to avoid the scarring that can occur, those scars usually fade over time.

Regardless of the kind of tummy tuck you opt to get though, whether it be the complete abdominoplasty, or the scarless tummy tuck/mini tummy tuck/partial tummy tuck, success isn’t always guaranteed, and sometimes, touch-ups or additional procedures might be necessary before you get the sculpted look you want. Whether or not that happens though, you should never forget to schedule follow-up consultations with your doctor so that they can detect any possible problems and help you manage your recovery.

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