Cryoskin
The Cryoskin head is moved over the area by hand rather than clamped on. Gel is applied first so it slides, and nothing is drawn up into a cup.
← All comparisons
Dermapedia / CompareProcedures
Cryoskin vs CoolSculpting
Cryoskin has nothing published behind it. A practitioner moves a hand-held probe over the skin, switching between warm and cold, and no study reports what this does to fat. CoolSculpting is the one with measured fat loss behind it. It holds a fold of tissue in a cold cup for a set number of minutes, and pooled results show the fat layer thinning by about a fifth.
At a glance
| The difference | Cryoskin | CoolSculpting |
|---|---|---|
| Cost | Sold as a course of about five | Paid per cycle, not per session |
CoolSculpting
The applicator draws a fold of skin and fat up into the cup and holds it there while it chills. That suction is why the area feels tugged for the first few minutes.
Side by side
The differences that matter
What you actually do
Cryoskin
A wand passed over the skin
A practitioner moves a probe over the area, cycling between warm and cold. The tissue is not held in place and there is no set dwell time. The dose is whatever the operator's technique gives that day.
CoolSculpting
An hour under a cold cup
A vacuum cup draws a fold of tissue in and holds it at a set temperature. Cycles run 35 to 60 minutes, down to minus 11 degrees. The machine stops on its own if the surface drifts past the target.
What you can expect to see
Cryoskin
Nothing measured
No study reports what temperature Cryoskin reaches, or what happens to the fat layer after. People do describe a comfortable session. That is a statement about the hour, not the result.
CoolSculpting
About a fifth less fat in the pinch
FDA pooled 4,792 treatments and found a mean fat-layer drop of 20.6% on ultrasound, or 3.9 mm. An independent trial measured about 14% at 12 weeks. Only 44% of the people in it noticed any fat loss themselves.
What it will not do
Cryoskin
Not established
Nothing has been published, so there is nothing to rule in or out.
CoolSculpting
Not loose skin, not cellulite
It thins a defined, pinchable pocket of fat in a cleared area. It does not treat loose skin, cellulite, or fat spread over a large area.
How long before you see anything
Cryoskin
No published timeline
No one has published a timeline. There is no report of anything changing.
CoolSculpting
About twelve weeks
Fat cells die over the weeks after treatment. The measurements are taken at 12 weeks.
How long it lasts
Cryoskin
Not known
Nothing has been measured, so there is nothing to say.
CoolSculpting
Long-term data rests on two men
The long-term follow-up is two men, photographed at 2 and 5 years, then again at 6 and 9 years. No group has been measured.
The downside
Cryoskin
No published safety record
Clinics describe no downtime. But there is no published safety record. That is a gap in what is known, not evidence of safety.
CoolSculpting
Numb, firm and often sore
The area is numb, firm and often tender. A review of 554 procedures called delayed pain not uncommon. It arrives a few days later and lasts 3 to 11 days.
Cost
Cryoskin
Sold as a course of about five
Priced on clinic terms. There is no studied protocol to compare a package against.
CoolSculpting
Paid per cycle, not per session
One multi-site practice covered 18,203 cycles. The median was 4 cycles per patient. Budget for the cycles, not the visit.
The at-home or drugstore version
Cryoskin
Nothing to copy at home
Nobody has published what the device delivers, so there is no version to copy. An ice pack does not get fat cold enough for long enough to injure it.
CoolSculpting
No home fat-freezing device
The effect depends on holding tissue at a set temperature for 35 to 60 minutes, with a sensor and a cut-off. A cold wrap only chills the surface.
Who tends to be happy with it
Cryoskin
- Best for — Someone who wants a comfortable, low-commitment treatment and is judging it on how the sessions feel.
- The mindset — Enjoy it for what it is. Do not expect a number, because none has been measured.
CoolSculpting
- Best for — Someone near a stable weight with a defined bulge in a cleared area and firm skin over it.
- The mindset — An hour of unpleasant cold, then three months of waiting for a small change you may or may not see.
Nothing published is not the same as nothing works
Cryoskin
No study reports Cryoskin's temperature at depth, the time held there, or the fat layer before and after. That is not the same as saying it does nothing. It means the question is open. Everything now said about its effect on fat comes from people selling it.
What CoolSculpting's own numbers are worth
CoolSculpting
The main result in most CoolSculpting clearances is a photograph. Blinded reviewers see a pair of images and pick the one taken first. In the under-chin study of 60 people, they were right 91% of the time. That shows they can tell the pictures apart. It does not say how much fat went.
The lump that can appear months later
Cryoskin
Whether Cryoskin carries any similar risk is unknown. It has not been studied.
CoolSculpting
Paradoxical adipose hyperplasia is the one uncommon outcome worth knowing about before you agree to CoolSculpting. The treated area becomes firm, clearly edged and larger than before. It often takes the shape of the applicator, and usually shows up two to six months later. It does not settle on its own, and correction is surgical.
The fine print
Cryoskin
No FDA record could be found for Cryoskin. The 510(k) database returns no clearance under Cryoskin or Cryosense, and the device registration and listing database returns nothing either. Those searches are scoped to those product names. A 510(k) clearance is a finding that a device is much the same as one already sold, not proof of benefit. But it produces the indication text, the named body area and the labelled reasons to avoid a device, and Cryoskin has none of it.
CoolSculpting
CoolSculpting is cleared for named areas and body types. The wording is cold-assisted lipolysis of the upper arm, bra fat, back fat, banana roll, thigh, abdomen and flank, in people with a body mass index of 30 or less. Under the chin and jawline are cleared separately, up to 46.2. The category was created by De Novo DEN090002 on 24 August 2010. Elite is K212707, cleared 5 November 2021. The device is marketed by Zeltiq/Allergan.
Common questions
Questions Patients Ask
Is Cryoskin FDA cleared for fat reduction?
No clearance could be found for it. The FDA 510(k) database returns nothing under the device name Cryoskin and nothing under Cryosense, and the device registration and listing database returns nothing under Cryoskin. That is a statement about those names in those databases, not about every cold device sold.
Is Cryoskin the same as fat freezing?
Not in the sense that matters. Cryolipolysis works by holding fat at a controlled temperature for a controlled length of time - 35 to 60 minutes in the cleared protocols. Cryoskin uses a probe moved over the skin that alternates warm and cold. What temperature the fat reaches under it, and for how long, has not been published.
Does Cryoskin work?
There is no published study of it, so nobody can answer that from evidence. Cryolipolysis has real data behind it, but that data was generated on machines that deliver a different exposure, and it does not transfer automatically.
Does CoolSculpting hurt more?
Generally yes during and after. The applicator is intensely cold at first, then numb, and the area is often firm and tender for days. Delayed pain starting a few days later, lasting 3 to 11 days, is a recognised effect. Cryoskin is usually described as comfortable, which is the honest advantage of a milder exposure.
How many sessions of each?
Cryoskin is typically sold as a course of about five, though no studied protocol exists to check that against. CoolSculpting is sold in cycles rather than sessions: in a review of 18,203 cycles, the median was 4 cycles and 1 session per patient.
How long do CoolSculpting results last?
The fat cells that die are cleared and do not come back, but the published long-term evidence is two patients photographed at 2 and 5 years and again at 6 and 9 years. There is no measured long-term cohort, and weight gain afterwards will enlarge the fat cells that remain.
Can I have Cryoskin over an area that has had CoolSculpting?
No study has looked at combining them or at doing one after the other, so there is no evidence either way. Tell whoever is treating you what has already been done to the area, and if a firm lump has developed in a previously frozen area, that needs assessing before anything else is applied to it.
Safety to keep in mind
FDA says it directly. Its patient page on body contouring says these treatments will not cause weight loss, or bring the health benefits that come with it. CoolSculpting's maker says the same. The body mass index limit in its clearance is a ceiling on who can be treated. It is not a number the treatment is meant to move.
There is an unresolved mismatch inside FDA's own documents. The Elite summaries state minus 15 degrees in one place and minus 11 in another.