Body contouring in Singapore fat, muscle or skin, and what each costs

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Fat, muscle or skin: what are you actually treating?

Most people looking for body contouring want a smoother outline in one or two areas: the lower tummy, love handles, inner thighs, upper arms or bra line. What makes that area look the way it does decides which treatment is worth paying for.

Fat you can pinch between two fingers is subcutaneous fat, the layer contouring devices are designed to reach. Fullness that feels firm and cannot be pinched, especially across the upper tummy, is often visceral fat around the organs, which no device can target. Soft, crepey skin that moves easily but has little to pinch is laxity, not fat. And an area can look soft because the muscle underneath has lost tone.

Most people have a mix. Our Aesthetic Specialist starts with a pinch test and a look at the skin before suggesting anything.

Options at SkinRev Lab

Four non-invasive treatments, four different jobs

• SKINSHAPE uses Miglou second-generation UHF microwave energy to warm the fat layer and the skin above it. It suits stubborn, localised fat that comes with mild laxity or cellulite, on the abdomen, flanks, thighs, arms, back and bra line or buttocks, as well as the double chin and lower face. About 30 minutes per zone.
• SKINUSHAPE uses guided ultrasound on the Alma PrimeX, acting mechanically on fat cells rather than mainly heating them. It suits deeper or more compact pockets of fat on the abdomen, flanks, thighs, arms, back or buttocks. It does not tighten skin, so it is paired with a skin treatment when laxity is part of the picture.
• SKINSCULPT uses a high-intensity electromagnetic field from a 36 cm plate to trigger strong, involuntary muscle contractions while you stay fully clothed, in about 30 minutes per region. Regions are the buttocks, tummy, thighs, underarms (upper arm) and pelvic floor. It is a muscle treatment first, not the main tool for a thick layer of fat.
• SKINTIGHT uses microplasma on the Alma PrimeX to resurface the skin and prompt collagen renewal. On the body it is used for loose, crepey skin on areas such as the abdomen, arms and thighs, in sessions of about 30 minutes.

Side by side

Body contouring options at SkinRev Lab compared

All four are performed by our Aesthetic Specialists at CityLink Mall. Prices are in Singapore dollars, per session, before GST.

Prices

How body treatments are priced, and how zones are counted

SKINSHAPE, SKINUSHAPE and SKINTIGHT are priced per 15 × 15 cm zone, per session. SKINSCULPT is priced per region, because its large plate treats a broad muscle group in one placement.

Larger areas need more than one zone. A full abdomen is usually treated as two zones, and abdomen with flanks is typically three or four. A bra-line area usually spans one to two zones per side. Your Aesthetic Specialist measures the areas and sets out the total at consultation, before anything is booked.

As an illustration only, a full abdomen mapped as two SKINSHAPE zones would be 2 × S$288, or S$576 per session before GST, at standard rates. First-visit rates apply once per new client, to one zone or region, on the first session.

Body contouring is planned as a course spaced a few weeks apart, so ask for the course total, not just the price of one visit.

Expectations

What body contouring can and cannot do

• It changes contour, not weight. The number on the scale often barely moves, because the volume treated is small.
• It suits adults at or near a stable, healthy weight with soft, pinchable fat in one or two zones. If there is a lot of weight to lose, a medical weight-management plan comes first.
• Change is gradual. Treated fat cells are cleared by the body over several weeks, and after SKINSHAPE collagen remodelling continues for up to three months after the final session.
• Results vary with your starting point, the area, the number of sessions and your habits in between. Remaining fat cells can still enlarge if you gain weight, so a stable weight helps keep the contour.
• Published reviews of non-invasive fat reduction describe mild to moderate effects, in the order of a few centimetres of circumference across a course (Kennedy 2015; Alizadeh 2016). That is a realistic frame for any device.

Combining

Why plans often combine two treatments

Because fat, muscle and skin are separate layers, one device rarely covers everything. Common pairings are SKINSHAPE with SKINSCULPT, to reduce a soft fat layer while building the muscle beneath it; SKINUSHAPE on a deeper, compact area with SKINSHAPE where skin quality and cellulite also need attention; and either contouring treatment with SKINTIGHT where loose skin would otherwise look more obvious as the area slims.

After pregnancy, have your postnatal check and any abdominal separation assessed before muscle stimulation. SKINSCULPT supports core strength, but it is not a treatment for diastasis recti.

IN Eternity Clinic

Doctor-performed body options

Some situations call for a medical treatment. These are performed by Dr Sin Yong at IN Eternity Clinic, 9 Scotts Road, #12-01 Pacific Plaza, beside Orchard MRT, and priced at consultation by the clinic. SkinRev Lab can pass your enquiry on, or you can WhatsApp the clinic on +65 8815 3008.

• 4K Body Lift: radiofrequency through insulated microneedles on the CLASSYS Secret Duo platform, treating compact fat and the skin above it in the same visit, under numbing cream. Expect tenderness and pinpoint marks for some days, and possible bruising.
• Onda Pro: DEKA Coolwaves microwave energy at 2.45 GHz, absorbed mainly by fat while the skin surface is cooled, for pinchable fat on the tummy, flanks, thighs or arms and for mild to moderate cellulite.
• Fat freezing (cryolipolysis): controlled cooling of a distinct, pinchable bulge, with change over two to three months. It does not tighten loose skin, and redness, swelling, tenderness or numbness can last days to a few weeks.
• Non-surgical BBL: a radiofrequency protocol that reduces fullness in the lower back, flanks and outer hips and firms buttock skin, for a rounder, lifted-looking shape without adding volume.
• Medical weight management: a doctor-supervised programme with assessment, blood tests and regular reviews, for when overall weight and health, rather than one area, are the priority.

See a doctor first

When SkinRev Lab is not the right starting point

Large amounts of overhanging skin or a wide muscle separation are surgical territory, and we will say so rather than sell sessions. See the doctor at IN Eternity Clinic first if any of these apply.

• The fullness is firm and cannot be pinched.
• There is a fold of skin that hangs over your waistband, or a visible ridge down the middle of your tummy after pregnancy.
• You have had a hernia or abdominal surgery, or have an implanted device.
• You are pregnant or breastfeeding.
• There is a lump that feels different from the surrounding fat, is growing or is tender. That needs a diagnosis, not contouring.

Sources

References & sources

1. Kennedy J, Verne S, Griffith R, Falto-Aizpurua L, Nouri K. Non-invasive subcutaneous fat reduction: a review. J Eur Acad Dermatol Venereol. 2015;29(9):1679-1688. PMID 25664493.
2. Alizadeh Z, Halabchi F, Mazaheri R, Abolhasani M, Tabesh M. Review of the mechanisms and effects of noninvasive body contouring devices on cellulite and subcutaneous fat. Int J Endocrinol Metab. 2016;14(4):e36727. PMID 28123436.

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