Three months ago I undertook my first treatment at London based aesthetic clinic Ideal U to combat my cellulite.
After years of yo-yo dieting and bad habits I am finally getting to a ‘happy’ and steady weight. I have a good fitness routine and am eating well so its about time I got my body into shape inside and out. My first area of concern is my legs. I have always hated my knees (far to chunky for my liking) and in recent years I have developed cellulite on the backs of my thighs. Even now after losing three stone I still have cellulite on the back of my legs and I could see no way of it disappearing.
Pre, during and post treatment
Creams, exercise and body brushing are not shifting my cellulite alone, I needed an intervention.
Ideal U are a London based clinic offering state of the art treatments. They are doctor led, meaning the clinic is owned and ran by a doctor, Dr Lana, which is always a great benefit. See my views on choosing clinics in the blog post here.
Ideal U own two clinics both in central London and it is here that they have the Exilis Elite, the number one device for skin tightening, cellulite reductions and body sculpturing, loved by LA celebrities such as Kim Kardashian.
Ideal U co-founder Dr Lana discovered the BTL Exilis Elite when researching the market on body sculpting treatments. She was so taken with the technological advances in non-surgical treatments along with the amazing results of the Exilis Elite that she invested in her own machine, the first in the UK.
Exilis Elite is a medical grade, FDA approved and clinically proven treatment for body sculpting and skin tightening. It works in a much more advanced way then the current cool sculpturing machines available on the market.
This device offers facial rejuvenation in the form of skin tightening, wrinkle reduction, jaw line tightening, lip plumping, eye lid lifting, eye bag reduction, cheek contouring, brow lifting and neck tightening.
For the body you can offer skin tightening, body contouring, permanent fat reduction, cellulite reduction and sculpting (such as a bum lift). The treatment requires no down time and no scarring or marks like the surgical solutions.
Exilis Elite is a face and body platform for rejuvenation winning Best Aesthetic treatment awards for 4 years in a row as well as Best Skin Tightening and Body Sculpting, recently winning the Elle 2017 award.
First Session
After my initial consultation with Dr Lana where we discussed problem areas I booked in for my first session.
Dr Lana conducted the treatment herself and filled me in on the medical and technical aspects of the treatment and how it would irradiate my cellulite. Ideal U have trained aestheticians who can conduct the treatment. They are specifically trained to use the Exilis Elite and can guide you on the areas they feel will see the most benefit.
First of all I laid on the beauty couch and Dr Lana applied a conducting gel. Pads were attached to my back and the treatment began. The machine has two application heads, one of the body and another for the face. Dr Lana used these to first work on the left thigh and then the right before repeating.
The device is placed on the skin in a rotating motion around the affected areas. The temperature is slowly raised so I am free to ask Dr Lana to stop if I get uncomfortable. The treatment works by warming the fat below the skin. There is an optimum temperature the device reaches to work the best it can, and it is advised to hold tight and reach this.
During Treatment
The hand held massage tool, the device head, makes the skin feel warm then I felt like the area was numbing as it got hotter. Treatment on the areas is timed and limited and Dr Lana would tell me how many minutes I had left before the treatment stopped. The more fat beneath the skin and between the skin and bone the easier you will find the treatment. It is not painful but is uncomfortable. To me it was a bit like my runs at the gym… I count down in my last 2 minutes.
What does all this heating up do? This device uses mono-polar radio frequency with linear ultrasound and cooling, being medical grade, it is twice as powerful as most of the non-surgical devices on the market. It is the first machine of its kind to combine radio frequency and ultrasound. Where are a lot of cool sculpting machines cannot be used for combined procedures or areas that BTL Exilis Elite can be used on face and body by controlling the radio frequency and linear ultrasound for the desired result.
After treating the leg for ten minutes Dr Lana vigorously rubbed the thigh with massage movements. This breaks the tissue beneath and ensures the best result. This was done on both legs then repeated. In total the whole treatment was approx an hour and a half.
I expected to feel a bit ‘jelly legs’ after the treatment but I was fine, I jumped off the couch and walked to the tube station. I didn’t have any adverse effects. Over the following days I had some light bruises, after all that area of my body doesn’t normally see so much activity.
Slight bruising after the first treatment
Second Session
My second session followed a week later. Again I had two sets of treatment but this time I knew what to expect and I felt more relaxed. The bruises from the first treatment had already disappeared. After the treatment I felt great, no bruises or soreness at all. My legs looked read and blotchy but Dr Lana assured me this was a good sign!
During Treatment
Third and Final Session
Not everyone needs a third session. For me the area on the leg is pretty big and for the best result I needed more treatment. For other areas it might be less. After the third session I was definitely seeing results. Other had noticed as well.
The final results cannot be really assessed until three months. I was impressed by the first few weeks and I doubted it would get better, but it has!
After three months my legs are far better! I do not have the bumpy skin, roughness, pimping or mattress effect anymore. I can wear close fitting clothes like skinny trousers, leggings and close fitting dresses without seeing dimples on my legs.
My legs will never be perfect but they are so much better. I do not feel embarrassed by the back of my thighs anymore and I know with just a slight tan any lasting dimple and marks can be hidden.
The best part? I lost 1/2 inch from each thigh!!! The scales have remained the same but fatty lumps on my legs have gone.
The treatment also means they will never come back in that area!
The machine is not just for cellulite but also for skin tightening, facial rejuvenation and fat loss.
For further information or to book a consultation check out the website here https://www.idealu.co.uk