Does radio frequency melt fat? Hype vs facts.

Can RF melt my fat to then be eliminated from my body by my lymphatic system?

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• Is RF fat melting a real thing? Does RF melt fat?

• OK, let’s say safe RF can melt fat. Could you be able to ‘pee’ or ‘poo’ it and therefore get rid of it?

• Does radiofrequency melt fat cells?

• How does radiofrequency reduce cellulite fat then?

• Radiofrequency can only remove cellulite fat - not subcutaneous fat

• Facial fat loss after radiofrequency

• RF microneedling fat loss

• Nothing “melts fat”

• Have a skin tightening/cellulite treatment in London with the experts

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Is fat melting with RF a real thing? Does RF melt fat?

I don’t know where this “fat melting” idea came from, but those who invented this phrase a few decades ago, obviously did not know that fat is already liquid in fat cells. In fact, scientists call the lipid content in fat cells “the adipocyte lipid droplet”.

So next time you visit a clinic where they claim that they can “melt your fat”, inform them that fat is already liquid and does not need to melt. And tell them to leave tiktok and open a book for a change.

I am not trying to be smart here. Language like this from a treatment provider, who wants to charge you £££ or even ££££ per session for their “fat removal” services, reveals that they are either clueless or simply lying - and treatment with them will most probably be a disappointment.

So avoiding uneducated therapists/doctors who talk about “fat melting” is a simple rule of thumb to ensure someone knowledgeable treats your skin.

OK, let’s say safe radiofrequency can melt fat. Could you be able to ‘pee’ or ‘poo’ it and therefore get rid of it?

Even if fat was solid and needed to melt, that wouldn’t mean that:

• Fat would be removed from the fat cell, just because it’s liquid

• You would be able to get rid of your fat by peeing it, poo-ing it, sweating it through your pores or making it disappear into thin air with some technology-based magic sorcery

The fact is that you would still have to oxidise (“burn”) the “melted” fat in your muscles and organs to get rid of it. Basic biology 101. You do not need to be a doctor to know that. And if you are a doctor and don't know that, or pretend you don't know, then you should not practice medicine.

Does radiofrequency melt fat cells?

Furthermore, there is no way to ‘melt’ the actual fat cells.

You can indeed destroy/burn fat cells with unsafe, painful, destructive RF methods which require anaesthetic cream, such as extreme intensity RF, microneedling RF or extreme intensity HIFU.

But then, with these methods, you will also burn all other cells around fat cells and potentially end up with a lot of scar tissue (which ironically is then baptised as “skin tightening” by those providers).

Not very smart.

How does radiofrequency reduce cellulite fat then?

It is all about stimulating two natural fat reducing processes:

• Lipolysis (fat release out of fat cells)

• Adipocyte apoptosis (accelerated fat cell death)

Anything drastic that “melts” (basically, burns tissue) is simply stupid and dangerous (and to add insult to the injury, usually very painful and expensive too).

Radiofrequency can only remove cellulite fat - not subcutaneous fat

Some people are worried that RF skin tightening will lead to “melting their fat”, i.e. their subcutaneous adipose tissue, which is located under the skin and which gives shape/volume to the bum, thighs etc.

This fat WILL NOT and CANNOT be removed by normal radiofrequency. In fact, normal, safe, stimulating RF that is provided without anaesthetic cream, only reduces hypodermal adipose tissue, i.e. cellulite, which is located inside the skin - not deep, subcutaneous fat tissue.

So by having a radiofrequency skin tightening / cellulite reduction treatment you will NOT lose your bum (unless you opt for those unsafe, destructive, super expensive, painful, “one-off miracle fat loss” RF treatments mentioned above, which are applied with anaesthetic cream).

Needless to say at the clinic we provide safe, stimulating deep-acting, high-power radiofrequency, which is applied without anaesthetic cream, over 6-12 sessions (not a miracle one session) and which does NOT reduce subcutaneous fat.

In the last 14 years we have provided 13,000+ RF sessions (January 2025) and we have never seen any subcutaneous fat reduction, other than 1-2mm max and even that was only occasional and with something like 12 sessions (our RF is focused on the hypodermal tissue, i.e. cellulite, not on deep fat tissue). Clearly not enough for us to claim fat reduction and not enough to reduce anyone’s bum size visibly either.

In fact, we wish there existed a radiofrequency (or other) treatment that effectively, safely and efficiently reduces subcutaneous fat, on the bum, thighs, arms, stomach or anywhere else - with skin tightening or without. But no such treatment exists, so we don’t offer or claim non-surgical fat removal.

(* Of course, rare paradoxical reactions may occur once in 1,000 or once in 10,000 sessions, but after our 13,000 deep-acting, high-power radiofrequency sessions over 13+ years we have not seen anyone’s subcutaneous fat disappear or anything else negative happen other than minor temporary irritation.)

Facial fat loss after radiofrequency

On the face, subcutaneous fat is not located very deep, as is the case for the rest of the body. This means that if radiofrequency is focused too deep during facial skin tightening treatment, it can indeed reduce facial fat (hence all the stories about “radiofrequency ruined my face”).

But this effect varies widely: from none to a lot.

With our safe technique, even if we wanted to, we would not be able to efficiently reduce facial fat on all our clients that requested. It would be a hit and miss situation and in the “miss” situation it would take too many sessions for good results.

So we don’t do it and we focus our RF more superficially to avoid any such fat loss (but not too superficially which is not good either).

However, what can really reduce facial fat is the destructive RF treatments mentioned above, which are provided at extremely extreme intensities, with the help of a numbing cream.

As discussed above, these procedures are inherently unsafe and we do not provide them at the clinic.

RF microneedling fat loss

“Can I lose fat with RF microneedling or plain microneedling?”

That’s a common question at the clinic.

As mentioned above, yes, there can be fat loss, wanted or unwanted, with RF microneedling when provided at high intensity and deep enough.

The problem is that that fat loss is often accompanied by scar tissue, burns and other adverse reactions, and there is no guaranteed way to know if you are going to be the lucky one who loses fat without adverse reactions or the unlucky one who has to spend tens of thousands of pounds on multiple Harley Street consultants to fix the damage. It’s a coin toss, literally.

And another problem is that fat loss may not occur either - and still get burns and adverse reactions.

Regarding normal microneedling (without RF), no you can not lose fat with it, unless the fat loss is the result of an adverse reaction to a deep and injurious microneedling treatment.

Nothing “melts fat”

In short:

• No radiofrequency, laser, ultrasound, acoustic wave therapy (AWT), HIFEM, HIFU, cream, gel, serum, infrared compression tights, infrared LLLT, or any other technology, gimmick or not, can melt fat

• There exists no fat melting, as in lipid melting or adipocyte melting. Let’s stop talking about something that doesn’t exist. Fat is already “melted” in your body. If it wasn’t you would be dead.

• Some treatments, as mentioned above, may damage your fat tissue (and other tissue next to it), either in order to tighten your skin or just for straight fat reduction. However, I wouldn’t touch those treatments with a bargepole, either as a therapist or a client, as neither fat loss nor avoidance of burns can be guaranteed (more examples here). But hey, some people do like to play russian roulette, so each to their own…

Have a skin tightening/cellulite treatment in London with the experts

At LipoTherapeia we have specialised 100% in skin tightening and cellulite reduction for more than two decades and 20,000+ sessions.

This is all we study and practise every day and have researched and tried hands-on all the important skin tightening equipment and their manufacturers.

As strong, deep acting radiofrequency and deep-acting, high-power ultrasound cavitation are the technologies of choice for skin tightening and cellulite reduction, we have invested in the best RF/ultrasound technologies in the world.

Furthermore, over the last two decades we have developed advanced RF and cavitation treatment protocols in order to make the most of our technologies, for maximum results, naturally and safely.

And for even better, faster results, we now combine our RF/ultrasound treatments with high-power red/infrared light LED treatment.

Our radiofrequency/ultrasound/LED treatments are comfortable, pain-free, downtime-free, injection-free, microneedling-free, 99.5%+ safe and always non-invasive.

And our focus is on honest, realistic, science-based treatment, combined with caring, professional service, with a smile.

We will be pleased to see you, assess your cellulite, skin laxity or fibrosis, listen to your story, discuss your case and offer you the best possible treatment.

Learn more, check prices and book an expert cellulite / skin tightening treatment at our London clinic.

Advanced, infrared / blue / red light therapy treatments in London at LipoTherapeia

At LipoTherapeia we are passionate about phototherapy (also known as photobiomodulation/PBM, red light therapy, infrared light therapy, blue light therapy, LED light therapy etc) and we use the most powerful equipment available today (up to 200mW/cm2), for best results and treatment of large body areas.

We use specialised therapy protocols for skin rejuvenation / anti-ageing, pigmentation / post-inflammatory hyperpigmentation (PIH), moderate/severe acne, skin redness, sensitive/inflamed/irritated skin, wound healing, sports injuries / musculoskeletal pain and overall wellness / well-being.

Our LED phototherapy sessions are comfortable, deeply relaxing and super-safe and are great to enhance our radiofrequency/ultrasound treatments for skin tightening / cellulite reduction.

On our booking page you can book stand-alone phototherapy sessions or combine them with our other treatments, as an add-on.

Learn more or check prices and book an expert LED phototherapy treatment at our London clinic.

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