Everything You Need to Know About the Ab Sculpting Treatment Bravolebs Are Doing

On a recent episode of The Real Housewives of Atlanta, Porsha Williams tried Emsculpt for the first time, after Tanya Sam encouraged her to have abs of steel for a surprise trip to Carnival in Toronto. Tanya explained that it was basically the equivalent of doing 20,000 sit-ups in 30 minutes and noted that it was good to do after having a baby because it “knits all the muscles together.” Despite the initial intensity that gave Porsha the “weirdest feeling” while getting Emsculpt, afterward she said she felt good.

And while some people, like Porsha, try Emsculpt before a big trip — others, like The Real Housewives of Dallas' Cary Deuber, prefer it after they come back from vacation. Cary explained to her followers in an Instagram post, that she “didn’t have time to work out” when she was in Europe, so she used Emsculpt on her glutes to provide a “quick butt-lift” when she returned. She said that it was the “equivalent of 20,000 squats in 30 minutes.” 

Meanwhile, Melissa and Joe Gorga do the treatment as a couple, which is a Real Housewives-style date night if we've ever heard of one. 
 
So what exactly is Emsculpt and what does it do? BravoTV.com spoke to board-certified physician, nutritionist, and author of Dr. Fat Off: Simple Life-Long Weight-Loss Solutions, Eddie Fatakhov, M.D., to learn more. Dr. Fatakhov also runs The Center For internal Medicine, where Porsha visited for her treatment.  
 
What is Emsculpt?
 
Dr. Eddie Fatakhov: Emsculpt is the world's only non-invasive procedure to efficiently build your muscles. You can restore your core and get your flat sculpted abs back while achieving fat loss in the process. Unlike many other non-invasive, fat-reducing procedures, the energy waves produced by Emsculpt are low frequency and cannot be absorbed into the body’s tissue. This means the temperature of the body tissue is not altered.
 
How does it work?
 
Emsculpt uses HIFEM® (High-Intensity Focused Electro-Magnetic) technology that produces electromagnetic waves of energy that cause circulating currents to act on the motor neurons. These currents produce supramaximal muscle contractions. Supramaximal muscle contractions are much more intense and powerful than the contractions we can voluntarily achieve during exercising. The result is 20,000 contractions in a 30-minute session; increasing muscle fiber cells and destroying fat cells. Patients average a 19.2% reduction of abdominal fat.
 
How much does it cost?
 
The cost of Emsculpt treatments can range. This is primarily based in what area of the body is being treated and how many treatments may be required. Emsculpt can currently be used on the abdomen, buttocks, triceps, biceps and calves. The average cost usually per treatment is around $750 dollars.
 
How many sessions do you need before you can see results?
 
The average patient requires four 30-minute treatments (two treatments per week for two weeks) for optimal results. Many patients see results after one to two treatments, with full results visible about six to eight weeks following the fourth treatment.
 
Are there any risks?
 
There have been zero complications or adverse events reported by Emsculpt patients. The most commonly reported side effect is minor soreness.

What's the recovery process like?

There is no down-time required following an Emsculpt treatment session. Qualified and trained staff members will determine that you are an eligible patient and do not have any conditions that make Emsculpt an unsafe option.
 
How often does Emsculpt need to be done to maintain the results? 
 
From the current studies done, completing four 30-minute treatments is protocol if we are talking in the context of the abdomen (since the studies for biceps, triceps, calves, and glutes had different findings). Results were maintained one year after the four 30 minutes sessions were done. I tell patients the abdomen is muscle, you have to maintain it by working out to keep the results. Now if the patient does not work out after one year, then the patient would require one touch-up session every six months to upkeep the results. From the studies, the abdomen muscle grew up to six months after the four 30-minute sessions and was maintained the remaining six months. The fat reduction was seen at 12 weeks after the four treatments and also maintained at one year as well. In addition, doing more sessions after four did show benefit with more muscle growth and fat reduction, but not as big in terms of percentage when doing the first four sessions.  

How long do you have to wait after having a baby before you can try it?
 
Emsculpt can be done safely six weeks post-partum. Emsculpt can be especially beneficial for a woman post-pregnancy. Treating the abdomen can address a common side effect of pregnancy known as diastasis recti.

Diastasis recti is the separation of the “six-pack” muscle occurring from the two large vertical banks of muscle in the center of the abdomen pulling apart. Regular exercise cannot pull these muscles back together once the separation has occurred. Majority of women wishing to correct this resort to expensive, invasive surgery. Emsculpt has been shown to average an 11 percent reduction in diastasis recti without going under the knife.