BodyFX
A course of weekly clinic sessions A handpiece delivers radiofrequency energy while suction and massage roll the tissue. The session count comes from clinic pages, not from the maker.
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Dermapedia / CompareProcedures
Bodyfx vs CoolSculpting
BodyFX is aimed at the look of dimpled skin. It is a course of clinic sessions that use radiofrequency with suction and massage. The wording behind the device calls the change temporary. CoolSculpting is aimed at a pocket of fat. It freezes fat in one area so the body clears it over the following weeks, and it does nothing for dimpling.
At a glance
| The difference | BodyFX | CoolSculpting |
|---|---|---|
| Cost | No dated national figure exists | Paid out of pocket, per cycle |
CoolSculpting
Side by side
The differences that matter
What you actually do
BodyFX
A course of weekly clinic sessions
A handpiece delivers radiofrequency energy while suction and massage roll the tissue. The session count comes from clinic pages, not from the maker.
CoolSculpting
A set cooling cycle, often several
An applicator draws a fold of tissue against chilled plates and holds it there for a set cycle. In a review of 3,262 patients, the typical course was 4 cycles in 1 session.
What you can expect to see
BodyFX
Dimpling that looks less obvious
No clinical trial of the BodyFX applicator could be found. That is not proof it does nothing. But there is no published number for how much it changes, or for how long.
CoolSculpting
A thinner pocket of fat
The FDA's review of 4,792 treatment cycles found the fat layer got about 20% thinner. That is the thickness of the pinched fat layer at one spot. It is not body fat, and it is not weight.
More photographs
CoolSculpting
What it will not do
BodyFX
Will not remove a bulge of fat
Nothing published has tested BodyFX against volume you can hold between your fingers.
CoolSculpting
Will not smooth dimpled skin
Taking fat out from under dimpled skin does not release the fibrous bands that cause the dimples. Sometimes the surface looks more obvious afterwards.
How long before you see anything
BodyFX
Over a course of weekly sessions
Nothing has been published on when a change appears, or whether it does.
CoolSculpting
About three months
The cold inflames the fat cells so they die off. Immune cells then clear them over the following weeks. Most trials checked results at 12 weeks.
How long it lasts
BodyFX
Temporary
The word temporary sits in the device's own indication. There is no published follow-up to put a number on it.
CoolSculpting
Measured only out to about three months
The trials stop at the 12-week check. Past that, there is no measured figure.
The downside
BodyFX
Walk-in, walk-out, by clinic accounts
Clinic sources describe it that way. No maker's instructions could be obtained to confirm it.
CoolSculpting
Numb, red and firm for days to weeks
Pain that arrives several days late is common. In a review of 554 procedures, it lasted 3 to 11 days and cleared on its own. It happened most often in younger women treated on the abdomen.
Cost
BodyFX
No dated national figure exists
Nothing citable has been published for BodyFX. Any range you see is one clinic's marketing.
CoolSculpting
Paid out of pocket, per cycle
1,928 RealSelf reviewers self-reported an average of $3,268, from $750 to $8,800. 59% of them rated it "Worth It".
The at-home or drugstore version
BodyFX
Home rollers, cups and radiofrequency wands
A home wand puts a fraction of the power into the surface. It never reaches the depth a clinic device works at. And the idea itself does not release the bands.
CoolSculpting
There is no home version of fat freezing
The treatment holds a fold of tissue at a set cold temperature under a vacuum. A cold pack, a wrap or a freezing belt cannot do that at that depth.
Who tends to be happy with it
BodyFX
- Best for — Someone whose complaint is the surface of the skin, who has read the word temporary and accepts it.
- The mindset — A course of sessions aimed at appearance, with no published trial to set expectations against.
CoolSculpting
- Best for — Someone near a stable weight with a bulge that will not shift, and fairly firm skin over it.
- The mindset — One area, one problem, volume only, measured over about three months.
Neither of these will change what you weigh
CoolSculpting
The body mass index limits in the CoolSculpting paperwork are a ceiling on who can be treated. They are not a target the treatment moves.
The fine print
BodyFX
BodyFX was cleared on 8 October 2013 as K131362, submitted as the "InMode WMbody device", against the Viora Reaction as predicate. Its FDA product code covers a device "intended to temporarily alter the appearance of cellulite". The full indication also covers relief of minor muscle aches, pain and spasm, and temporary improvement of blood circulation. There is no fat, lipolysis, circumference or named body region in it. InMode holds other clearances on other applicators, and some of those do carry fat wording.
CoolSculpting
CoolSculpting was authorised through a De Novo request, DEN090002, decided 24 August 2010, which created the FDA device category for cryolipolysis. Every body area since has been added by a separate 510(k): upper arm, bra fat, back fat, banana roll, thigh, abdomen and flank, in people with a body mass index of 30 or less. The submental and submandibular areas are cleared separately, up to a body mass index of 46.2. CoolSculpting Elite is K212707, cleared 5 November 2021.
The main endpoint in most CoolSculpting clearances was blinded photo identification: whether trained reviewers can pick out the "before" picture better than chance. That is a spot-the-difference test, not a measurement of fat. For BodyFX there is nothing to hold the wording up against, as no published trial of the applicator could be found.
Common questions
Questions Patients Ask
Is BodyFX FDA cleared for fat reduction?
No. The clearance checked here is K131362, granted 8 October 2013, and its wording covers relief of minor muscle aches and pain, relief of muscle spasm, temporary improvement of blood circulation, and temporary reduction in the appearance of cellulite. There is no fat, lipolysis or circumference claim in it. That is scoped to this clearance — InMode holds other clearances on other applicators, and some of those do carry fat wording.
Will BodyFX get rid of a bulge of fat?
It is not cleared for that, and no published trial of the BodyFX applicator could be found to test it either way. If the thing bothering you is volume you can hold in your hand, that is the problem cryolipolysis is indicated for, not this one.
Will CoolSculpting improve my cellulite?
Not by design. Cellulite is caused by fibrous bands tethering the skin, and removing fat volume does not release them. Zeltiq's earlier skin-cooling clearance from 2009 — a different device from the fat-freezing one, with no fat claim in it — carried a minor claim for "temporary reduction in the appearance of cellulite" using an optional massage function. That is not part of the cryolipolysis indication, and it is worth not confusing the two.
Can I have both?
They act on different tissue, so there is no conflict in principle. Nothing has been published on the combination, and the sequence is worth discussing: taking fat out from under dimpled skin does not tighten it and may make the surface more obvious.
Which one has more downtime?
CoolSculpting has more to feel, though little to see. The area is numb, red and firm for days to weeks, and pain arriving several days after treatment is common — one review of 554 procedures found it lasted 3 to 11 days. BodyFX is described in clinic material as a walk-in, walk-out treatment, but no manufacturer instructions for use could be obtained to confirm that.
How long do the results last?
For BodyFX, the cleared wording says temporary and there is no published follow-up to put a number on it. For CoolSculpting, the long-term evidence is genuinely thin: the entire published durability record is two men photographed at 6 and 9 years. The measured trial follow-up stops at 12 to 16 weeks.
How do I know which problem I actually have?
Pinch the area. If what you feel is a soft pad of tissue and the surface stays smooth, that is volume. If the surface pulls into dimples, especially when you pinch or when the light is from the side, that is the cellulite pattern. Many people have both, and someone examining you can tell you the proportions in a way a website cannot.
Safety to keep in mind
Cellulite comes from fibrous bands, not from fat. Under the skin, bands run from the deeper tissue up to the underside of the dermis, and fat sits between them. When the bands are tight and the fat pushes up, the surface pulls into dimples. That is the mattress or cottage-cheese look.
A published review found that treatments aimed at fat do not produce lasting change. That suggests fat is not the main cause. Treatments aimed at the bands are the ones most likely to last. The review's authors had industry ties.
Reducing fat volume does not release a band. Someone can lose fat in an area and still have exactly the same dimpling.
A separate set of devices cuts the bands directly. Cellfina and Avéli release them mechanically, and they sit in the FDA's dedicated cellulite category. BodyFX does not. It sits in the older class of vacuum-and-massage devices.
Non-invasive body contouring is not a weight-loss treatment. The FDA says it "does not treat obesity or improve your health. It will not result in weight loss." CoolSculpting's maker says the same, and adds that it does not replace diet, exercise or liposuction.
Both devices are cleared, not approved. Clearance under the 510(k) route means the FDA agreed a device is much the same as something already legally on sale. It is not a judgement that it produces a worthwhile effect. The FDA lists "improving the appearance of cellulite" as a separate cleared purpose from "reducing small areas of fat".