Woman&Home: What is EMSculpt Neo and does it really work for body sculpting?

Woman and Home

September 2022

Woman&Home’s Beauty Channel Editor, Fiona McKim delves into the trending body treatment that is EMSculpt Neo. She reveals everything you need to know about the treatment with a little help from The Cosmetic Skin Clinic. Fiona covers what EMSculpt Neo does, whether it worked for her, how long it takes to work and if she preferred CoolSculpting or EMSculpt Neo.

Fiona McKim discovers a lot of people are talking about EMSculpt Neo and “calling it the best tweakment for body contouring since CoolSculpting.” She notes that The Cosmetic Skin Clinic’s founder, Dr Tracy Mountford said “EMSculpt Neo is now the industry benchmark for reduction in fat layer, muscle growth, and strengthening.”

Fiona can’t deny this treatment is intriguing since a “30-minute session is said to replicate the effects of doing 24,000 squats or sit-ups” and that “Kim Kardashian is a confirmed fan and J-Lo a rumoured one.”

What does EMSculpt Neo do?

“EMSculpt Neo is a body contouring treatment that works on two levels. It uses electromagnetic energy to build muscle and radio frequency to break down fat. It’s designed for specific areas – usually, the stomach or buttocks, although thighs and arms can be treated too.”

It has impressive claims such as it can trigger muscle contractions equivalent to 24,000 sit-ups or squats, and that four sessions “can result in a 30% fat reduction and 25% muscle mass increase.”

How does EMSculpt Neo work?

In your treatment session, the practitioner will attach paddles to the treatment area “for 30 minutes, once a week, four weeks in a row. Said paddles send HIFEM (high intensity focused electromagnetic technology) into the muscles. This causes them to contract at a rate no HIIT class could achieve, leaving muscle fibres ready to rebuild stronger than before. Meanwhile radiofrequency warms the muscles up for their supersonic workout, and also triggers the destruction of fat cells in the target area.”

EMSculpt Neo has not suddenly arrived on the scene. It should be noted that “EMSculpt (hold the Neo) has been around since 2018, as a standalone HIFEM muscle-building treatment without the radiofrequency. It’s been steadily gathering buzz and peer-reviewed scientific publications since then (40 and counting) So surely, chucking a bit of fat-loss into the mix just sweetens the deal?” The combination of science and too good to believe results led Fiona to try it for herself.

Fiona’s EMSculpt Neo experience

When it came to EMSculpt Neo, Fiona was sceptical. She thought, “Surely this cannot work. And yet… what if it does? The best outcomes tend to be on the abs and glutes, the latter of which I’d describe as one of my better physical attributes, gone a little downhill. Put bluntly, my bum is a decent size but could use a lift. And from the sounds of it, EMSculpt Neo is the treatment that could take me there.”

With any treatment, Fiona always advocates you do your research, pick a reputable clinic and book in with an expert you can trust. That’s why she chose The Cosmetic Skin Clinic. She says The Cosmetic Skin Clinic is “multi-award-winning and Doctor-founded, and my aesthetic medical practitioners, Rachael and Magda boast decades of experience with body contouring procedures between them. Wherever you go, be choosy.”

At her session, she had an intensity test to determine what levels she could handle. Once it had been determined she could handle the highest level, her treatment began. Fiona found the treatment to be “not painful, just weird and quite funny” with her “bum bopping away independently” while she watched shows.

30 minutes later, the treatment was all done. Fiona says her session “passed in a flash and, aside from a tiny bit of next-day muscle ache (not 24,000 squats-worth, mind) there is zero downtime. So far, so matching up to its fast, pain-free promises.”

Does EMSculpt Neo actually work?

“It does, as long as you have the right expectations. No non-invasive procedure is going to radically transform your body into an unrecognizably different one and honestly, that shouldn’t be the aim going into these things. EMSculpt Neo improves on what you’ve got in a way that you’ll notice, but you won’t walk into rooms and people will gasp at the difference.” Fiona says she found this to be a good thing but important for others to consider before booking.

Fiona’s EMSculpt Neo verdict

She found EMSculpt Neo worked for her. At Fiona’s post-treatment review, she saw an improvement from her before and after pictures.

Fiona says there is a tangible change which she will describe “because sharing thong-clad pictures with the internet is the stuff of nightmares”. From side-on there is a distinct lift, roundness, and, as Rachael points out, a small posture improvement due to strengthening muscles, which is quite a common fringe-benefit apparently. Another pleasant surprise was the functional benefit – I can get through the hideous squat jump section of my weekly boxing class without slithering to the floor, shaky-legged. That’s real progress, and motivation to maintain my perked-up behind.”

How long does it take EMSculpt Neo to work?

To get the best out of EMSculpt Neo, you need to invest time and that also means being available for your 4 -6 weekly appointments. “The final results can take another 3-4 weeks to show after that.”

Fiona advises that to make the results achievable, you need to make it work by “being consistent, and consistently available through the whole course of treatment, so avoid starting EMSculpt if you have a holiday imminent or can’t commit.”

With muscle-building treatments results are not immediate and to get great results, you need to nurture them with a healthy lifestyle that complements it or booking maintenance appointments.

Is EMSculpt Neo better than CoolSculpting?

“One isn’t necessarily ‘better’ than the other” but Fiona found she preferred EMSculpt Neo for comfortability, and that it takes less time with no downtime even if it does need more sessions.

She says, “if you are relatively active and/or toned and simply want to build strength, improve muscle tone, and smooth your shape then EMSculpt Neo might be a better pick.”

Fiona champions CoolSculpting for cases in which people “don’t want to build muscle particularly” but are looking for fat reduction. She says CoolSculpting is great for areas such as under the chin or lower back “where you aren’t looking to tone, per-say. Again, it is targeted and not a total transformation, but can result in an effective smoothing and re-shaping of very specific areas.”