Cavitation treatment series: how many treatments should you recommend?

What’s your rule of thumb when it comes to cavitation treatment series?  How many treatment sessions do you usually start with?  Is it a range or a definite number?  And is it generally the same or does it vary from patient to patient?  Those are loaded questions and one’s that deserve close examination.  So in today’s episode we’re going to talk about cavitation and explore why a series of treatments is needed (have you ever wondered?) and we’ll break down all the factors that you need to consider when making those number of treatments determinations.  We’ll give you a Guide to use.  One that addresses every factor you need to consider.  And we’ll apply our Guide to a couple of example patients so you can easily do the same with your patients and develop the best custom-designed cavitation treatment plans.  So stay tuned. 

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You’re listening to The Body Contouring Academy’s Proven Profits Podcast 

where you’ll learn simple actionable strategies from real world successful body contouring professionals to help you generate more revenue, realize the profits you want and create the life you desire. 

Hi I’m Shannon and I’m Kay and we’re your hosts of The Proven Profits Podcast

Hi there, body contouring professionals.  Kay here.  Shannon and I both thank you so much for being here too.

It’s just an accepted fact that our non-invasive body contouring treatments are generally with few exceptions not ‘one and done.’  They require a series of treatments to produce desired results.  But have you ever wondered why exactly that is the case?  Today, we’re going to explain why that is the case with fat cavitation.  And we’re going to tell you how you can create the perfect custom-designed cavitation treatment plans  (different for each patient).  In other words, you’re going to learn how to recommend the ideal initial number of treatment sessions.  

We’re sharing the Guide we use in making these determinations and we’re applying the Guide to a couple of examples so you can see how to put it in action.  Sound good?  Let’s go.

We have so much to talk about today and we don’t want the episode to go on for too long.  So let’s just review the highlights of cavitation.

Fat cavitation is a non-invasive body contouring technology that uses low-frequency sound waves to destroy fat cells in the treated area.

Fat cavitation is also known as ultrasonic cavitation, ultrasound cavitation or simply cavitation.

Fat cavitation technology reduces inches by destroying fat cells.

The ultrasound technology used by fat cavitation produces sound waves that cause air bubbles to form below the skin surface, in and around fat cells

When these air bubbles burst, fat cells are destroyed and release their lipid contents

Over a period of time, the body’s lymphatic system picks up the lipids (fats), excess fluids and other toxins released from the treatment and eliminates them from the body

Resulting in inch loss…and permanent fat loss

If you are new to body contouring and you’re not yet certified in cavitation but think you might want to be, cavitation certification is included in our 6in1 Masterclass.  We will leave a link in our show notes so you can learn more about it.

So what about 

Number of cavitation Treatments needed?

Short answer, a series of 6 - 12 treatments to start. 

This podcast lays out our long answer.

Now let’s dive into an explanation as to why fat cavitation requires a series of treatments?

We need to review some facts.  And we think you’ll find this so interesting.  

How big are human fat cells?

The size of human fat cells ranges from 0.1mm to 0.2mm in diameter, though the exact  measurement depends on how much fat is held within the cell (which varies from person to person).  Fat cells can be up to 0.8mm in diameter.  

It’s hard to envision 0.1mm to 0.8mm.  So to put this in perspective and give it some meaning, consider the size of the tip of a ballpoint pen.  It’s 0.8mm.  

So it’s no surprise to learn that humans have a whole lot of fat cells in their body.

How many fat cells does a person have in his/her body?

The average person has between 25 and 35 billion fat cells distributed throughout his/her body.  

The number of fat cells in each person’s body is set by the time that person is an adolescent.  

And the number of fat cells cannot be decreased by diet or exercise.  With weight loss or weight gain, the number of fat cells stays constant, but the size of the fat cells can change, either shrinking or expanding.

Good news.  We can decrease the number of fat cells in the treated area with fat cavitation treatment sessions.

Okay, now that we know that, let’s explore another question.  How many fat cells (or what percentage of them) does one cavitation treatment session affect?

Clinical studies have looked at fat loss results from studying four or more fat reduction treatments.  Not one published study evaluated results from a single treatment.   

So since no studies have been published regarding fat cell numbers or the fat cell percentage reduced in one or more fat cavitation treatments, no one knows for sure.  

Ultrasound, plicometry and biopsy findings in published research have shown reduction in the subcutaneous fat layer from a series of four or more fat cavitation treatments, but there are no research findings to tell us how many fat cells are affected by one cavitation treatment session.

So…we don’t know how many fat cells must be either destroyed or shrink to lose an inch in circumference.  But an educated guess is that the number is pretty big.

Isn’t that all so intriguing?  We think so…but body contouring is our thing!

Now let’s move on to Cavitation Treatment Plans…and how many treatment sessions you should recommend to start.

And as always, before the details, we must cover the foundation.  So to discuss

The Foundation of Cavitation Treatment Plans

We need to talk about a few things

First as you know

Fat loss from cavitation treatments is cumulative but give it some thought and make sure you understand why

Fat cells are tiny (the size of a tip of a pen at the largest).

So imagine how many fat cells we need to destroy for inch loss!

That’s why fat destruction from fat cavitation treatments must be cumulative.

Meaning that multiple treatments are needed so we can build on the fat loss from prior treatments to achieve the patient’s desired results.  

Next, undertreatment is the kiss of death for your business

Undertreatment leads to poor results and unhappy patients

Your cavitation treatment plans must include 

An appropriate sized treatment area 

            and 

An adequate number of cavitation treatment sessions to achieve desired results.

We’re all familiar with number of treatments, but regarding treatment area size it is so hard to define an appropriate size treatment area, but a good rule of thumb is the size of your hands.  An ideal sized cavitation treatment area is no more than 2-3 hands in size and even that depends on the other factors involved…which we will discuss shortly. 

Let’s get into some details about the different ways

body contouring providers can undertreat with cavitation - so you know what to avoid

Providers can fall short and underdeliver in three ways  

By treating an area that is too large for therapeutic results  

By including fewer than needed treatment sessions in the plan

Another mistake that can be made might come as a surprise…and that is treating too many areas at the same time.  

For many reasons, we recommend focusing on treating one area at a time, delivering excellent results, then moving on to the second area, etc. 

That’s not to say we have never treated multiple areas, but there are cautions in doing it.  We have a great blog article discussing the implications of treating multiple areas.  We’ll leave a link in the show notes for it if you want to take a look.  It’s called Considerations when deciding to treat multiple body contouring areas in one visit

Now we’re ready to go over our Guide to creating the perfect custom Cavitation Treatment Plans

First step in determining the number of treatment sessions to include in a cavitation treatment plans is your assessment of many factors, let’s start with 

Health and Lifestyle Factors:

Age. Generally the older the patient, the more treatments that might be needed

Overall health. Patients with chronic illnesses may need more treatments 

Daily activity. Patients with desk jobs and sedentary lifestyles may need more treatments

Diet and nutrition. Patients who may not comply with your post-treatment diet and nutrition instructions may 

need more treatments

Motivation and attitude. Patients who do not seem motivated may need more treatments. 

Sleep quality. Patients who report too little sleep or poor quality sleep may need more treatments.

Stress. Patients who describe a high stress life may need more treatments. We can’t omit a brief discussion about.

Lymphatic Function and Lymphatic Booster Treatments

Because these lifestyle factors we just discussed - all of them can lead to poor lymphatic function.  

That’s why we say that All cavitation protocols should include Lymphatic Booster treatments to assist the patient’s lymphatic drainage.  

If you want to learn more about these treatments or about why you need them, we have a blog called and we’re leaving a link to it in our show notes.

Here’s some cautions if you identify a patient with Inefficient lymphatic function 

Do not perform more than one cavitation treatment per week if your patient has insufficient lymphatic drainage.  

Observe these patients closely as more than one week's space between treatments may be needed to allow the body time to process the fat debris from the treatments.  

Expectations

You have to determine each patient’s expectations.  They have them.  The sad truth is all patients come to us with preset expectations.  We have to uncover them and make sure they are realistic, in other words to make sure we can meet their expectations and how many treatments it’ll take to do it..  

If you need help in this area, we have a great blog article about doing the assessment and care plans called How to build wow body contouring treatment plans.  We will leave a link to it in our show notes.  

Okay that’s lifestyle and health status factors. Next you need to consider the 

Fat Factors

What you’ll be considering are the characteristics and the location of the fat that your patient wants reduced

Before we discuss the Location and Characteristics of Fat, we need to clarify something you may already know

With any non-invasive body contouring treatment, including cavitation, we can treat subcutaneous fat, but not visceral fat,

Subcutaneous fat = fat cells can be located between the skin and the muscles

You can grab and pinch this fat

Visceral fat = fat cells can also be located deep inside the abdominal cavity

This fat makes the tummy feel hard like a watermelon; you cannot grab and pinch this fat

Okay let’s move on the location of the fat which also defines the characteristics of the fat

Type 1 Metabolic Fat 

Abdomen

The fat cells are large and have very little fibrous component.

**This type of fat responds well to cavitation treatments.

Type 2 Structural Fat

Found in multiple locations  

This type of fat plays different functional roles based upon surrounding structures.  

**It is wrapped in a fibrous mesh, making this type of fat more resistant to cavitation treatments than metabolic fat, but it can be treated.

Found in the

Inner knees

Inner thighs

Armpits

Breasts

Pectoral area

Hips

Type 3 Fibrous Fat

Found in multiple locations

These are small fat cells wrapped in a thick, fibrous shell.

**This type of fat is the most resistant to cavitation treatments, and likely to need repeated treatments. 

This type of fat is located in areas of mechanical stress (areas of movement) such as 

Outer thighs

Arms

Knees

Pectoral area

‘Buffalo hump’

Other areas involved in motion 

We also need to assess for the Thickness of the Fat Layer

How thick of a layer of fat can you treat?

That depends on whether your patient has unrealistic expectations or realistic expectations.

 What are your patient’s expectations?  

Your patient is coming to see you with preset expectations and you must uncover them. 

Would she be happy losing an inch from her waistline or does she expect more?

Is she thinking she could get a total transformation?

Is she hiding her true expectations?

Who can  you treat with cavitation?

You can treat almost any size of patient, even if your patient is a large person who wants to target an area with a thick layer of fat…as long as she has realistic expectations and will be happy with the results you can reasonably obtain.

And as long as she agrees to the number of treatments you recommend.

What do you think so far?  Have you given this much thought into designing your cavitation treatment plans?

Let’s put the Guide to action now with a couple of examples.

We think that really shows you how helpful it is. Before we look at these patients, Shannon has a message for us.

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Each course is complete with an explanation of technologies, method of action, step by step treatment protocols, downloadable forms and more.

After completing each course you’ll have the knowledge to deliver desired results and generate maximum revenue. 

Become a body contouring expert! Visit bodycontouringacademy.com click on Certification Courses from the menu and discover the courses that can transform your business today!

Ok back to the first example

Patient example: Janie S. is a 27 year old professional ballet dancer, is fit and a healthy weight.  She has not gained weight but has developed a ‘pudge’ in her tummy that she’d like to reduce with cavitation.  The size of the fat layer on her abdomen measures about two hands in size and upon pinching seems to be about an inch thick.  She is coming to see you for cavitation and says she wants it “all gone.”

Go through your checklist.

Health and Lifestyle Factors ✓ Low Risk

She is active, normal weight and leads a healthy life

Fat Factors: Abdominal Fat ✓ Treatable metabolic fat

Fat Layer ✓  An inch thick Size of Area ✓  Two hands

Expectations Wants it ‘gone’✓ or ✗  Might be problematic; need to advise the patient that you can reduce but cannot promise that it will be ‘all gone;’  * See if she want proceed.    

Number of Treatments: This patient might reach her desired reduction at 6 treatments; start with 6 but educate her about the possibility of 

needing more.  

But here’s a TIP from experience:  When patients hear six treatments, even though you’ve told them they may need more, they often cling to the idea that six treatments will get them where they want to be.  These patients may be unhappy to hear they need more treatments after completing six treatments, they need more treatments.  So if you have any doubt about the possibility of needing more than six treatments, recommend nine or whatever you think may be needed.  You can always stop before nine treatments if your client is happy sooner. 

Here’s a very different example

Eloise J. is a 59 yo legal secretary who is 5’2” and weighs 175 pounds.  She has raised two boys as a single mom.  One son has left home, but she still supports the twenty year old.  She says she wants to lose weight but she has always hated her ‘thunder thighs’ and now that she’s raised her kids, it’s time to do something about them.  The size of fat she’d like to reduce is about one hand on each side, but a thick layer of fat is present. She sits all day at work and is too tired to exercise when she gets home.  She eats out for breakfast and lunch and tries to eat healthy at dinner.  She says her twenty year old worries her because he quit school and doesn’t want to work.  She doesn’t sleep well with those worries.  She is coming to you for cavitation to reduce her outer thighs.

Health and Lifestyle Factors: ✓ or ✗  High risk, but most of our patients fall into this category.  These patients need education in diet and exercise, as well as education about the lymphatic booster treatments.  You need to determine how much her lifestyle will slow down her progress and how much space she’ll need between treatments. She is treatable with cavitation, but will be hard to treat.

Fat Factors: Fibrous Fat ✓ or ✗  Treatable, but resistant to treatments.  Educate your patient that this fat is very resistant to treatment and it may take many treatments and sometimes improvement can be very minimal, especially in light of her lifestyle factors. One thing you could do is ask her if she would like to reduce any other area and steer her in that direction…of course after your education about it all.   

Fat Layer✓ or ✗ Since a thick layer is present, you need to educate your patient about needing multiple treatments.

Size of Area  ✓  Must add the one hand on each thigh to equal two hands.  Within the size limit of treat-ability. If it were two hands on each thigh, we would call that two treatment areas because you just couldn't effectively treat all of it in one session.

Expectations: ✓ or ✗  You will need to explore her desire to ‘do something about them.’  Does that mean totally get rid of them?  What does   she want? Number of Treatments: 12 or more, definitely.  If this patient wants to proceed, we’d recommend doing three or four treatments and reassessing for reduction, smoothing, any kind of results.  Ask her at this  time if she wants to continue because all the factors are just stacked against her.  

So you can see that 

The number of cavitation treatments to include in your cavitation treatment plans varies from patient to patient, but the factors that contribute to the number of recommended treatments are the same for every patient.  And by using our Guide to custom design your cavitation treatment plans, you can ensure you are addressing every factor so as to provide each of your patients with expert education and advice to deliver the very best results every time.  That’s it for today. Until next time, Beautiful Wishes

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