UltraShape
The UltraShape head is moved over the marked area. It uses focused ultrasound aimed below the skin, so the surface is not chilled or clamped.
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Ultrashape vs CoolSculpting
UltraShape is better for an abdomen or flank with nothing to pinch into a cup. It is three painless sessions of focused ultrasound, two weeks apart. CoolSculpting is better for a pocket of fat you can hold between your fingers, including under the chin and on the arms. It clamps a fold of tissue and freezes it for 35 to 60 minutes.
At a glance
| The difference | UltraShape | CoolSculpting |
|---|---|---|
| Cost | No published price | $3,268 on average, $750 to $8,800 |
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
UltraShape
Three sessions, two weeks apart
A handheld transducer is moved across a mapped area. It focuses sound energy to a point inside the fat layer, and the force tears the walls of the fat cells. It does not heat the tissue, and there is no suction.
CoolSculpting
One or more freezing cycles per area
An applicator draws a fold of tissue against a chilled plate and holds it there. Cold harms fat cells more easily than skin, nerve, vessel or muscle, because of the lipid they hold.
What you can expect to see
UltraShape
A smaller tape measurement
In the one published trial, the treated thigh was 2.8 cm smaller around than the untreated one at 16 weeks, and fat thickness was down 22 per cent. Nine in ten people said they were satisfied.
CoolSculpting
A thinner fat layer where it is applied
The FDA's pooled review put the average fat-layer reduction at 21 per cent, across a range of 10 to 26 per cent. An independent trial found about 14 per cent.
What it will not do
UltraShape
Not for a double chin or the arms
It is used on the abdomen, the flanks and the thighs. The transducer is moved across a mapped area rather than clamped onto a bulge.
CoolSculpting
Not for a flat area with nothing to pinch
The vacuum cup needs tissue to draw into it.
How long before you see anything
UltraShape
Checked at 4, 8 and 16 weeks
The body clears the burst fat cells over the weeks after each session.
CoolSculpting
12 to 16 weeks
The fat layer keeps thinning to the 12-week and 16-week points used in the trials.
The downside
UltraShape
No pain reported, mild redness
In the published trial nobody reported pain and no adverse events happened. Mild redness happened in everyone.
CoolSculpting
Numb, red and firm for days to weeks
Bruising from the vacuum is common. So is pain that arrives a few days later, and in one review it lasted 3 to 11 days. Numbness lasting beyond 12 weeks happened in 4 of 30 patients in an arm study.
Cost
UltraShape
No published price
No average and no price range have been published.
CoolSculpting
$3,268 on average, $750 to $8,800
Self-reported by 1,928 RealSelf reviewers. It is priced per cycle rather than per session, which is why the totals scatter.
The at-home or drugstore version
UltraShape
No home version of focused ultrasound
Handheld ultrasound wands are sold for body shaping. They put a fraction of the power into the surface, and never reach the fat layer where the clinic device works.
CoolSculpting
Freezing at home is not the same
Ice packs cool the skin. The clinic device holds a fold of fat at a set low temperature for 35 to 60 minutes, and an ice pack cannot do that. Cooling your own skin that hard is a way to injure it.
Who tends to be happy with it
UltraShape
- Best for - Someone who wants a comfortable treatment with no recovery on an abdomen, flank or thigh, and who will attend three appointments.
- The mindset - Painless, slow, and limited to the middle of the body.
CoolSculpting
- Best for - Someone near a stable weight with a defined bulge, including under the chin or on the arms, and fairly firm skin over it.
- The mindset - One area, one problem, volume only, and a tolerance for a few weeks of numbness.
Before you book
UltraShape
Ask which UltraShape model the clinic has, and which areas it is approved for. The earliest version was approved for the abdomen only. Flanks and thighs came later, on later models.
CoolSculpting
For CoolSculpting, three blood disorders rule it out completely. They are cryoglobulinemia, cold agglutinin disease and paroxysmal cold hemoglobinuria. In all three, blood reacts badly to cold.
The fine print
UltraShape
UltraShape's central claim is "non-invasive reduction in abdominal circumference" — a tape measure. K141708, cleared 6 October 2014, covers the abdomen alone. Later clearances (K161952, K162163, K170370, 2016 to 2017) add the flanks and thighs. The device in the published thigh trial was a Syneron Candela system.
CoolSculpting
CoolSculpting's claim is cold-assisted lipolysis, meaning breakdown of fat. It covers the upper arm, bra fat, back fat, banana roll, thigh, abdomen and flank, in people with a body mass index of 30 or less. It was authorised through De Novo request DEN090002, decided 24 August 2010, which created the FDA device category for cryolipolysis. CoolSculpting Elite is K212707, cleared 5 November 2021.
A 510(k) clearance means the FDA agreed a device is much the same as one already on the market. It is not a finding that the device works. Blinded photo picking is the main endpoint in most CoolSculpting clearances — a spot-the-difference test, not a measurement of fat.
Common questions
Questions Patients Ask
Does UltraShape hurt?
In the published split-body trial, all fourteen participants rated the pain zero out of ten, no swelling was recorded and no adverse events occurred. Mild redness was universal. There is no cooling plate and no suction cup, which is where most of the discomfort and bruising in cryolipolysis comes from.
Is UltraShape cleared for the same areas as CoolSculpting?
No. UltraShape's clearances cover abdominal circumference, with flanks and thighs added on later models. CoolSculpting's cover seven body regions plus the areas under the chin and jaw. If your complaint is a double chin or the back of the arms, UltraShape is not cleared for it.
Which one works better?
There is no head-to-head trial, so nobody can answer that from evidence. The two devices were also cleared and measured on different endpoints - circumference for one, breakdown of fat with fat-layer thickness as the measured outcome for the other - which means their published numbers are not comparable even side by side.
How many treatments does UltraShape take?
Three, spaced two weeks apart. That is both the protocol used in the published study and the standard course. CoolSculpting is usually fewer visits with more time in each one: in a review of 3,262 real patients, the median was one session and four cycles.
Will I bruise?
No bruising was reported in the UltraShape trial, and there is no vacuum involved. Bruising after CoolSculpting is common and comes from the suction that holds the tissue in the applicator, along with numbness and firmness that can last from days to weeks.
Can I have both?
No published study has combined them, so there is no evidence on whether one adds anything to the other. There is no obvious conflict in mechanism, but sequencing and timing are things to raise with whoever is planning your treatment rather than something a website can settle.
Do either of these count as weight loss?
No. The FDA states that non-invasive body contouring will not result in weight loss, and CoolSculpting's manufacturer says its procedure is not a weight-loss treatment. A pooled analysis of cryolipolysis studies found no significant change in body weight.
Safety to keep in mind
The FDA says this plainly. These treatments do not treat obesity and do not result in weight loss. CoolSculpting's manufacturer says the same in its own safety information. The body mass index limits attached to CoolSculpting are ceilings on who may be treated, not something the treatment is meant to change.