Sometimes all the exercise in the world won’t target stubborn areas of fat like your chin or your hips. While liposuction is one option for reducing fat, there’s a non-surgical alternative gaining popularity: Aqualyx. Read on to find out everything your need to know about Aqualyx fat dissolving injections side effects, treatment, and results.
What is Aqualyx?
Aqualyx is an injectable treatment that melts away stubborn fat. It’s a non-surgical procedure that is minimally invasive. It’s developed as a way to reduce fat pockets under the skin without surgery.
The injectable is a gel-based solution that is biocompatible and biodegradable. It contains a substance known as deoxycholic acid and plant compounds that work on fat cells when injected.
For many people, it’s tough to get rid of certain areas of fat. Some fat deposits just don’t seem to budge, no matter how well you eat or exercise. Non-surgical treatments such as Aqualyx may be more attractive than, say, liposuction, especially if you want to avoid a more lengthy recovery period. While liposuction is ideal for some patients, alternative treatments have several benefits. Aqualyx is often used to improve the contours of the body.
How Does Aqualyx Work?
During your procedure, a trained doctor injects Aqualyx into a stubborn area of fat. The solution then attaches to fatty deposits. Over time, the fatty deposits break down. Once the fat is dissolved, it’s flushed from your body through your urine and lymphatic system.
Aqualyx targets small pockets of fat. The main active ingredient in Aqualyx injections is deoxycholic acid, a substance that naturally occurs in the stomach and helps break down fat in the diet. Aqualyx injections usually contain a deoxycholic acid version targeting the treatment area’s fat cells. And that’s why the treatment continues to grow in popularity since it uses the body’s own fat-fighting mechanism to melt away stubborn fat in a highly targeted way.
Similar to liposuction, Aqualyx injections are not weight-loss tools. Instead, it can help target fat in more isolated areas. For instance, Aqualyx inner thigh treatment would target that stubborn inner area of the thigh.
Who is a Suitable Candidate for Aqualyx Injections?
If you’re considering Aqualyx injections, you shouldn’t be pregnant, breastfeeding, or have any conditions that affect how your body processes fat.
A good candidate for an Aqualyx treatment will have good skin elasticity. Skin elasticity refers to your skin’s ability to stretch and snap back into place. When you have poor skin elasticity, your skin may look saggy or crinkled.
Aqualyx is intended for those with good skin elasticity so that your skin snaps back into place after the fat dissolves. If you have poor elasticity, after the fat dissolves in the injected area, you could end up with sagging skin.
Dr Riaz Agha explains the importance of skin quality in plastic surgery in more detail in the video below.
What Happens at Your Aqualyx Treatment Appointment?
Care needs to be taken with Aqualyx injections; only a specially trained professional should administer treatment. One appointment lasts about an hour. On average, it requires between 2 and 4 treatments. Injections should be 3 to 6 weeks apart. The number of treatments you need depends on the target area.
Before your Aqualyx appointment at The Harley Clinic, you will be sent instructions to prepare for your appointment. For example, you must avoid alcohol 24 hours before your treatment. Before the procedure, you will discuss your concerns, and your doctor will determine if you are suitable for the procedure.
Your doctor will then take measurements and mark where the injections will go on the face or body. The whole process takes about 30 to 45 minutes, after which you are free to resume your day’s normal activities. After the treatment, the injection will already have started working by attaching to the cells and destroying the stubborn fat. You’ll start seeing results over the weeks that follow. Doctors suggest multiple treatments to remove fat in small amounts to control the final result.
Following the fat dissolving injections, you will receive aftercare instructions to achieve the best Aqualyx results possible. Like many treatments that focus on removing or reducing fat, Aqulyx is not a substitute for weight loss. Instead, it’s a way to combat stubborn areas of fat and improve your body’s contours by removing fat.
You might also be wondering if Aqualyx injections are painful. During your Aqualyx appointment, the solution is usually mixed with an anaesthetic. This means that it should be a relatively pain-free treatment. While there may be a small amount of discomfort, many patients find that the injections only sting a little for a few seconds. Overall, most find that the procedure is straightforward and relatively pain-free.
Aqualyx Aftercare
You don’t need much downtime following the treatment. Initially, you may experience some bruising and swelling. This takes up to 5 days to recover. In 6-9 days, you will feel much more comfortable. Avoid putting any cosmetics on the treated area for about 12 hours, as well as stay away from UV rays (sunbathing or sunbeds).
In the first week, it’s a good idea to avoid very strenuous exercise while your body is processing. But overall, Aqualyx recovery is straightforward, with many patients heading back to work after their treatment.
You may need a slightly longer recovery when having Aqualyx on the body in comparison to the face. Your plastic surgeon may recommend you wear compression bandages to support the healing process.
Aqualyx Swelling
Aqualyx works by stimulating an inflammatory response in your fat cells. While this is necessary for fat dissolving, it can result in a fair amount of swelling for up to 5 days. Depending on the area treated, you may have more visible swelling.
For example, if you have double chin treatment, you may experience Aqualyx chin swelling. The chin is a difficult area to cover up, so for this; it’s a good idea to take some time away from work and social events for up to 72 hours.
After your Aqualyx treatment, there will be some swelling. It’s normal for the swelling to increase in the first 24 to 48 hours. Typically, the swelling goes down over the following week and, in very rare cases, can persist longer than a week. The swollen area may look a little uneven and feel uncomfortable in the beginning.
After the swelling goes down, you will then start to see some small lumps and bruises. These should clear up over the next couple of weeks. The lumps and bruises are usually only slightly visible.
Aqualyx Results
Aqualyx is an effective, quick and minimally invasive way to reduce stubborn fat pockets. What’s good about the fat dissolving injections is that you can target almost all areas with fat deposits. Some of the most popular areas for Aqualyx are:
- Chin
- Arms
- Thighs
- Hips
- Stomach
- “Man boobs”
- Knees
The fat dissolving injections take about 4 weeks to work from injection. The results are not instant, so give yourself the time to see your results. You will start to see results after about 8 weeks with clear flattening, firming, and fat dissolving effects.
How Effective is Aqualyx Treatment, And How Long Do Results Last?
Following your Aqualyx treatment, the results are long-lasting and permanent. The injections target and destroy fat cells for good. But it doesn’t make you immune to weight gain. Unfortunately, no procedure can stop the effects of weight gain for anyone. The fat cells you have can still grow if you gain weight. That’s why it’s so essential to maintain a healthy lifestyle with a nutritious diet and regular exercise. As everyone is different, the results may differ between individuals.
The treatment helps target small pockets of fat; you can’t use it over large areas. It is, however, considered a suitable option for removing stubborn fat in places like the thighs, inner thighs, stomach, jowls, back, and knees. Since fat is destroyed in the treatment area, the effects are usually permanent. Your doctor will remind you to stick to a healthy diet and exercise since you can still gain weight in the treated area.
Generally, Aqualyx injection is a highly effective fat-loss injection treatment. The injections start working right away but at a gradual pace. You will notice a reduction in fat deposits in the treated areas in the following weeks after your initial treatment. This varies from one person to another and generally takes between 3 to 6 weeks. Since Aqualyx is a cumulative treatment, results improve after each session until you reach your goals.
Once the injection destroys the fat, the results are permanent. However, if fat cells remain, they can get bigger, forcing you to undergo the treatment again. That means that while the same fat cells will not return if you gain weight, the other fat cells could grow bigger and increase in size. And that’s why doctors insist on a healthy diet and exercise routine.
Aqualyx vs. Liposuction
Aqualyx is an effective alternative to liposuction when you want to get rid of stubborn body fat. The treatment involves injections that help break down fat cells you pass out in the urine. The doctor injects a water solution into a specific area like the stomach or thighs, which breaks down excess fat cells. The body then absorbs them into the bloodstream and passes them through urine.
Compared to liposuction, it is a non-surgical solution. Liposuction is considered a surgical procedure whereby a surgical technique removes fat from areas like the abdomen, thighs, hips, buttocks, arms, and neck. Liposuction also helps contour the body.
Like Aqualyx treatment, if you gain weight after liposuction, the fat cells that remain increase in volume and size. In addition, liposuction is also a suitable option for breast reduction and gynaecomastia treatment.
Aqualyx Fat Dissolving Injections Side Effects and Risks
When considering any type of treatment, whether it’s breast augmentation, a facelift, or Aqualyx, it’s important that you know about any potential side effects, risks, and complications. So, what are the side effects of fat dissolving injections?
There may be some discomfort while injecting the treatment area, and you may experience some tenderness, swelling, redness, and skin irritation on the injection site. But this should settle down.
In general, any Aqualyx side effects should go down in about 3-6 days. Some patients also experience bruising, but this should subside in a few days after your treatment. There are no major known side effects that are associated with Aqualyx.
Although there are a few significant side effects of fat dissolving injections, there are some people who should avoid using Aqualyx, including:
- Women pregnant or breastfeeding
- People with certain conditions such as autoimmune disorders
If you are looking for a non-surgical treatment to target stubborn fat cells, Aqualyx fat dissolving injections could be a suitable alternative to surgical procedures, such as liposuction. Sometimes it can be frustratingly challenging to target stubborn fat on the chin, knees, and stomach. When deciding to have Aqualyx injections, it’s important that you commit to a healthy lifestyle, as this is the best way to maintain your results long-term.
Aqualyx London at The Harley Clinic
Unlike liposuction or other body contouring surgeries, Aqualyx fat-dissolving injections are minimally invasive to target stubborn fat cells. Even when you follow a healthy diet and exercise, some pockets of fat won’t budge. Aqualyx can produce long-lasting results without the need for a lengthy recovery time.
To start your Aqualyx UK journey at The Harley Clinic, book your consultation today at our Harley Street cosmetic surgery clinic.
Interested in learning more about cosmetic surgery? Read our ultimate guide on the latest Plastic Surgery Statistics.
