This question comes up in my treatment room most weeks, usually phrased as a worry rather than a question. Someone has a pocket they have stopped liking, they have read about liposuction, and they want to know whether the injections I do are a smaller version of the same thing.
They are not. They do different jobs, and the honest answer for a lot of people is that neither one is the right answer yet. Here is how I explain it in Southsea, with my actual prices on the page rather than a number I give you after you have sat down.
The short answer, if you only read one section
Fat dissolving injections are a non-surgical treatment for a small, defined pocket of fat. A course of small injections into one area, no anaesthetic beyond numbing cream, no cutting, no stitches, and most people back at work the same day with some swelling. Most clients need three to six sessions before the change is obvious.
Liposuction is surgery. A surgeon removes fat physically through small incisions, under local or general anaesthetic, in one procedure. It moves far more volume than an injection can, and it comes with everything surgery comes with: a surgical consultation, an operating list, recovery time, and a surgeon’s fee.
I do not offer liposuction and I am not going to pretend my injections are a substitute for it. If what is bothering you is a large area, or loose skin rather than fat, injections will disappoint you and I would rather say that before you pay me.
What each one actually does
| What you are comparing | Fat dissolving injections | Liposuction |
|---|---|---|
| What it is | A course of small injections into one area, no cutting | Surgery. Fat is removed physically through small incisions |
| Who does it | Natasha, at the Southsea clinic | A surgeon, in a theatre or surgical clinic |
| Anaesthetic | Numbing cream only | Local or general anaesthetic |
| Appointments | Three to six sessions, two to four weeks apart | One procedure, plus surgical aftercare |
| How long each one takes | 40 minutes, or about an hour for a large area | Set by the surgeon |
| Afterwards | Swelling for seven to ten days, home and driving the same day | A surgical recovery, set by the surgeon |
| Loose skin | Not treated. Injections work on fat, not on skin | A question for the surgeon, not one I can answer for you |
The row that matters most in that table is the last one. Neither treatment tightens loose skin. If the softness under your chin is skin that has lost its spring rather than a pad of fat, dissolving the fat underneath can leave the area looking no better. That is the single most common reason I turn a fat dissolving booking away.
Do fat dissolving injections work on belly fat?
On some of it, yes. On most of it, no, and the difference is worth being clear about.
The fat these injections reach is the layer sitting just under the skin, the bit you can take hold of between your finger and thumb. If you can pinch it, I can usually treat it. The lower stomach pouch that sits above the waistband and refuses to move is the classic example, and it is one of the most booked areas here after the chin.
What the injections cannot reach is the deeper fat that sits behind the abdominal wall, around the organs. You cannot pinch it, and no injection gets to it. That is the fat that shifts with sleep, food, movement and time, not with a needle. If your stomach is firm and round rather than soft and pinchable, this is not the treatment for you and I will tell you so at the assessment.
Size matters too. One session treats one area. A medium area here is a lower stomach, the upper arms, back rolls or love handles. If what you want is your whole midsection reduced in one go, that is a surgical conversation, not this one.
Do fat dissolving injections last forever?
No, and I would be careful with anyone who tells you otherwise.
What I tell clients is this: the change holds for as long as your weight stays roughly where it is. It is not a lock. If your weight goes up by a stone, the treated area can fill out again along with everywhere else. This is why I am blunt on the point that it is not a weight-loss treatment. It reduces a pocket that has stayed put while the rest of you has not. It does not change what the scales say, and it does not stop them changing later.
The flip side is that nothing about it is a commitment. You book one session, you see how your area responds, and you decide after that. There is no contract and no package you are locked into.
What fat dissolving costs at my Southsea clinic
Four options, every one of them priced here. Every price is published, where most Portsmouth clinics quote only after a consultation. Each button goes to that exact service on Fresha.
| Area | Price | Session |
|---|---|---|
| Small area, under the chin and along the jaw | £100 | 40 minutes |
| Medium area, lower stomach, upper arms, back rolls or love handles | £150 | 40 minutes |
| Large area, the whole stomach, a full back or the thighs | £180 | 1 hour |
| Course of three, medium area | £350 | 3 sessions |
| Standalone consultation, deducted from your treatment | £15 | 15 minutes |
Lemon Bottle is the product I use as standard. Aqualyx is available on request, message me before you book so it can be confirmed for your appointment. Chin and jaw sit in the small area at £100, not the medium one.
Klarna spreads a treatment over three monthly payments, so the course of three works out at £116.67 a month. You can pay per session or per course, and there is no contract either way.
Book a small area, £100 · Book a medium area, £150 · Book a large area, £180 · Book the course of three, £350
What liposuction costs, and why I will not put a number on it
I do not perform liposuction and I have no way of quoting for it, so I am not going to invent a range to fill the gap. A surgical price depends on the surgeon, the areas, the type of anaesthetic and where the procedure is carried out, and the only honest source for it is a consultation with a surgeon or a clinic that does the operation.
What I can tell you is what you are comparing. With me you are paying per session for an area, and most people need three to six of them. With surgery you are paying once for a procedure and its aftercare. Those two shapes do not line up neatly, and a straight price comparison between them usually misleads whoever is making it.
If you want the injection side broken down properly, I have written out what fat dissolving injections cost per area and per course as its own page.
What a session is actually like
You book the area itself, not a consultation. I assess it at the start of that appointment with no separate fee. If you would rather talk it through first, a standalone consultation is £15 on Fresha and comes off your treatment, it is a fifteen-minute slot, so we book the treatment in for another day rather than doing it there and then.
The session itself is forty minutes for a small or medium area, about an hour for a large one. Numbing cream goes on first. Then a series of small injections across the area with a fine needle, working in a grid so the solution goes in evenly. Most clients describe a sting and a warm ache rather than pain, and it settles within a few minutes of finishing.
There is no sedation, no cannula and no theatre gown. You walk in, you walk out, and you drive yourself home.
The ten days afterwards
Expect swelling and tenderness in the treated area, typically seven to ten days, sometimes with bruising. The area often feels firmer and looks bigger before it looks smaller, which catches people out if nobody has warned them. Nobody has to know, but you will feel it when your waistband sits on it.
No alcohol, no hard exercise and no saunas for forty-eight hours. Then carry on as normal. There are no dressings to change, no compression garment and no follow-up appointment to attend unless you want one.
Two to four weeks later you can have the area treated again. Three to six sessions is the usual range before the change is obvious, and that is the part people underestimate when they compare it to an operation. Surgery is one appointment and a long recovery. This is several short appointments and almost no recovery at all.
When injections are the wrong answer
I would rather lose the booking than take money for something that will not work. These are the cases where I say no.
- You want to lose weight. This is the wrong treatment and I will say so rather than take the booking. It reduces a pocket. It does nothing to the number on the scales.
- The problem is loose skin, not fat. If the tissue under your chin is skin rather than a fat pad, dissolving what is underneath can make it look worse, not better. I check this by hand before anything is booked, and I have set out that check in full in what fat dissolving will and will not do about a double chin.
- The area is large and you want it done once. A whole midsection, in one visit, is a surgical question.
- You want a guaranteed result on a date. I cannot promise how many sessions your area will need, and I will not pretend to.
If you are weighing this up against a machine treatment rather than surgery, I have also written about the difference between fat dissolving and fat freezing, which is a much closer comparison than this one.
Who it is not suitable for at all
Adults only, eighteen and over. Not in pregnancy or while breastfeeding, and not with liver or kidney disease, an active autoimmune condition, or a known allergy to the ingredients. Tell me your medical history when you book, not when you arrive, so I can tell you honestly whether to come in.
Booking in Portsmouth
I am Natasha, and I do every treatment at House of Glam HQ myself, including this one. The clinic is at 1A Auckland Road East, Southsea, a few minutes from the centre of Portsmouth, and I have been doing injectable work for more than seven years.
If you are still not sure which side of the line your area falls on, message me and describe it. You will get an honest answer, including when the answer is no. The full price list and everything else about the treatment sits on the fat dissolving injections page for Portsmouth and Southsea, and there is more on what the treatment is used for locally if you want the background.
Book on Fresha · WhatsApp me on 07831 846273 · or call 07831 846273.
