Most people who message me about a stubborn bit of stomach have already read about fat freezing, and they want to know which one to book. I do fat dissolving injections at House of Glam HQ in Southsea. I do not do fat freezing. So I will tell you plainly what each one is good at, where each one falls short, and what my prices are: £100 for a small area, £150 for a medium area, £180 for a large area, or £350 for a course of three medium-area sessions. I am Natasha, and I do every treatment here myself.
Which is better, fat freezing or fat dissolving injections?
Neither is better across the board. They are two ways of reducing a pocket of fat that has not responded to the rest of what you do, and they suit different pockets. The short version: fat freezing needs fat you can pull into an applicator, and it avoids needles. Fat dissolving can reach smaller and awkward areas, like under the chin or along the jaw, and it needs a course of injections.
| Question | Fat dissolving injections | Fat freezing |
|---|---|---|
| How it works | A solution injected into the fat breaks down fat cells, which your body then clears | An applicator draws the area in and cools it until fat cells are damaged, which your body then clears |
| Needles | Yes, a series of small injections with a fine needle | No |
| Areas it suits | Small or awkward pockets, including under the chin and along the jaw, plus the stomach, arms, back and thighs | Pinchable areas big enough to fill an applicator, such as the stomach and love handles |
| How many sessions | Usually three to six, two to four weeks apart | Often fewer, sometimes one per area |
| The days after | Swelling and tenderness, typically seven to ten days, sometimes bruising | Redness, numbness or tenderness in the area for a while |
| At House of Glam HQ | Yes, from the price list below | Not offered |
If you are standing in front of a mirror trying to decide, the pinch test is where I would start. Take the area between your thumb and fingers. If there is a generous, soft roll that you could lift into a cup, it is the kind of fat that freezing was designed around. If it is a smaller, firmer pocket, or it sits somewhere an applicator will not sit flat, injections are usually the more practical route.
How fat dissolving works
The solution goes into the fat layer itself, just under the skin, through a series of small injections across the area. It breaks down the membranes of the fat cells there, and over the following weeks your body clears what has been broken down. The change is gradual. You do not walk out smaller.
The product I use as standard is Lemon Bottle, which is a blend of riboflavin, lecithin and bromelain. Aqualyx is available on request, and if that is what you want, message me before you book so it can be confirmed for your appointment. I have written more about the product in what Lemon Bottle is and how it works.
How fat freezing works
Fat freezing, also called cryolipolysis, and sold under names like CoolSculpting, uses a device rather than an injection. An applicator is placed over the area, draws the tissue in with suction and cools it. Fat cells are more sensitive to cold than the skin around them, so the aim is to damage the fat while leaving the skin alone. As with injections, your body then clears those cells over the following weeks and months.
The appeal is obvious: no needles, and for the right area, fewer appointments. The limit is just as obvious once you have seen an applicator. It needs enough tissue to hold, and it needs a surface it can sit on.
What are the downsides of fat freezing?
The ones people mention most are temporary: redness, numbness, tingling, tenderness and sometimes bruising in the treated area. Some people find the suction and cold uncomfortable for the first few minutes of each cycle.
The one worth knowing about before you book is rarer. It is called paradoxical adipose hyperplasia, and it means the treated area develops more fat rather than less, usually showing up a few months after the treatment. It does not go away by itself, and correcting it generally means surgery. It is uncommon, though published estimates of how uncommon vary. Ask about it before you book.
The other downside is simply fit. If your pocket is small, firm, or under your chin, a large applicator may not be the right tool for it.
Why is my belly bigger after fat freezing?
In the first days and weeks, the most likely answer is swelling. A treated area can look fuller, not flatter, before the change starts to show, and that is true of injections too. If the area is growing months later, and it feels firm rather than swollen, that is the pattern described above, and it needs to go back to whoever carried out the treatment.
I cannot assess someone else’s fat freezing result for you, and I would not try. What I can say is that neither treatment shows its result in the first fortnight, so please do not judge either one on day three.
What are the downsides of fat dissolving?
It is fair to ask the same question of the treatment I sell. You will be swollen and tender in the treated area, typically for seven to ten days, and sometimes bruised. It stings while it goes in, and most clients describe a warm ache afterwards rather than pain. You can work the next day, but I ask you to avoid alcohol, hard exercise and saunas for 48 hours.
It also takes time and more than one visit. Most clients need three to six sessions, two to four weeks apart, before the change is obvious. If you want one appointment and done, injections will frustrate you, and I would rather say that now than take a booking you regret.
What fat dissolving costs at House of Glam HQ
These are all four fat dissolving prices, plus the consultation. Every price is published, where most Portsmouth clinics quote only after a consultation.
| Fat dissolving | Price |
|---|---|
| Small area, under the chin and along the jaw, about 40 minutes | £100 |
| Medium area, lower stomach, upper arms, back rolls or love handles, about 40 minutes | £150 |
| Large area, the whole stomach, a full back or the thighs, about an hour | £180 |
| Course of three, medium area, two to four weeks apart | £350 |
| Consultation booked on its own, deducted from your treatment | £15 |
The course of three is £100 less than three single medium sessions. Klarna spreads a treatment over three monthly payments, so the course works out at £116.67 a month, and there is no contract either way.
On the consultation: if you book the area itself, I assess it at the start of that appointment and there is no separate fee. If you would rather talk first, a consultation on its own is £15 on Fresha and comes off your treatment. It is a short slot, so the treatment is booked in for a later appointment rather than done there and then.
I have not put a fat freezing price next to mine, and that is deliberate. I do not offer it, so I have no price of my own to give you, and I am not going to repeat a figure from somewhere I cannot check. For the full breakdown of what injections cost across a course, see what fat dissolving injections cost.
Which fat dissolving injections are best for belly fat?
For most stomachs I use Lemon Bottle, which is my standard, with Aqualyx available on request. The more useful question is which area your stomach counts as. A pocket below the belly button, or the love handles, is the medium area at £150. The whole stomach, treated as one area, is the large area at £180.
The stomach is also where the decision between the two treatments is closest. A soft, lifting roll across the lower stomach is exactly what fat freezing was built for. A smaller pocket that stays put, or someone who would rather not have a device clamped to them for the length of a cycle, is where injections make sense. Tell me which you are when you message and I will give you a straight answer, including if the answer is that injections are not the right choice for you.
What about liposuction?
Liposuction is surgery. It is carried out by a surgeon, under anaesthetic, and it removes a larger volume of fat in one go, with a longer recovery to match. It is not something I offer, and it belongs in a different conversation from either of the two treatments on this page. If the amount you want to lose is more than a pocket, that is the honest place to start, with a surgeon or your GP.
What neither treatment will do
Neither is a weight-loss treatment. Both reduce a pocket. Neither moves the number on the scales in any way that matters, and neither slims you overall. If you want to lose weight, fat dissolving is the wrong treatment and I will tell you so rather than take the booking.
Neither tightens loose skin either. That matters most under the chin, where what looks like fat is sometimes skin, and it is the first thing I check. Fat dissolving works best when you are near the weight you usually sit at and one area has not followed the rest. There is more on that in who fat dissolving suits and what recovery looks like.
What is the safest way to reduce a pocket of belly fat?
No treatment carries zero risk. The honest ranking is roughly this: treatments without surgery carry less risk than surgery, and the biggest safety factor in either non-surgical route is being assessed properly and told when to say no.
For fat dissolving, that means telling me your medical history before you book. I do not treat during pregnancy or breastfeeding, or where there is liver or kidney disease, an active autoimmune condition, or a known allergy to the ingredients. You need to be 18 or over.
What happens at a fat dissolving appointment
You book the area, not a consultation. When you arrive, I look at the area with you, check it is fat rather than loose skin, and agree what is being treated. Then numbing cream goes on and sits for a while, and I work across the area with a series of small injections using a fine needle.
A small or medium area takes about 40 minutes, and a large area about an hour. You leave with the area swollen and a little tender. After each session I will tell you where you have got to, and we decide on the next one from there rather than committing you to a number up front. If the option you are really weighing up is surgery rather than a machine, I have written separately about how fat dissolving injections compare with liposuction.
Fat dissolving in Southsea, and how to book
Fat dissolving is £100 for a small area, £150 for a medium area, £180 for a large area, or £350 for a course of three medium-area sessions. A consultation on its own is £15 and comes off the treatment. Everything is done by me, at 1A Auckland Road East in Southsea. You can see the full treatment page for fat dissolving injections in Portsmouth.
Book the small area, chin and jawline, £100, the medium area, £150, the large area, £180 or the course of three, medium area, £350. Or book a £15 consultation first if you would rather talk it through.
If you are still weighing up fat freezing against injections, message me on WhatsApp or call 07831 846273. Tell me where the area is and send a photo if you are happy to, and I will tell you honestly which one I think suits it.
