Exilis for Slimming and Skin Tightening

A double chin is a layer of fat below the chin that can develop due to being overweight, losing weight too quickly or ageing skin as you get older. Loose skin can be caused by genetics or the loss of collagen, elastin and hyaluronic acid through the ageing process. Exilis regenerates these vital molecules that moisturise and renew the skin.

When facial fat is lost, the collagen beneath the skin also breaks down, resulting in looser skin and saggy cheeks over time. Exilis tighten and smooths out the skin in this area by boosting the production of elastin and collagen.

Neck jowls are excess or saggy skin on the neck, just below the jawline and chin. Almost everyone develops at least minor jowls as they age and their skin becomes less elastic. The heat from the Exilis is particularly good at improving the appearance of jowls and loose skin around the jawline

Eye wrinkles occur when the skin around the eyes becomes thinner and loses elasticity which can be accelerated by frequent sun exposure, smoking, repeated facial movements and certain genetic traits. Exilis works by heating the treated area, which stimulates the production of collagen, to tighten skin and reduce wrinkles

The raising of the frontalis muscle pulls the skin of the forehead up and causes forehead wrinkles which appear as lines across our forehead. The Exilis promotes collagen production in the deeper layers of your skin, smoothing out the appearance of wrinkles.

Flabby arms are due to an increase in body fat mass, a loss of muscle mass and a loss of elasticity in the skin. The Exilis heat destroys fat cells that your body excretes through the lymphatic system while simultaneously tightening the skin.

“Love handles” are areas of skin that extend outward from the waist that indicate excess fat accumulation around the hips and abdominal area. The Exilis destroys fat cells that the body dispels naturally while enhancing collagen production to tighten the skin.

Thigh fat is a sign of a somewhat sedentary lifestyle and under-exercised buttocks causing fat to settle in the thighs. Inner thigh fat is often caused by genetics and/or a combination of poor diet and a lack of exercise. The Exilis stimulates blood circulation to eliminate fat accumulation and cellulite in the thigh area.

People gain belly fat for many reasons including poor diet, lack of exercise, and stress. The 360° volumetric heating technology heats and shrinks the fat cells, resulting in a tighter and firmer abdomen.

A high intake of saturated fat (e.g. junk foods) results in stubborn fat on your buttocks. These types of foods lead to insulin resistance, which leads to increased fat storage, ending in fat that’s hard to lose. Exilis burns this settled fat giving the skin a firmer look and feel.

Exilis is best suited to people who are looking to reduce stubborn pockets of fat in specific areas of the body, such as saddle bags, stomach, love handles, thighs, face and intimate areas. It is also used to improve skin laxity, texture and tone on both face and body. It is also best suited for people who have mild to moderate skin laxity and want to improve the texture and tone of their skin.

The number of Exilis treatments needed can vary depending on the individual’s goals, the size of the treatment area, and the amount of fat and skin laxity to be reduced.

• Facial treatments are recommended 4 – 6 sessions spaced out at once weekly.
• Body treatments are recommended at 4 – 6 sessions spaced out at once weekly.
• Vaginal rejuvenation treatments are done once a week for 3 weeks.
• Labial tightening are done 4-6 sessions once weekly.

Exilis is a non-invasive treatment and can be combined with other non-invasive treatments.

Each patient responds differently. Some notice improvements immediately following one or two treatment sessions, but most see optimal results after the course has been completed.

It takes at least 90 days for your skin to produce new collagen and 2-3 months for your body to naturally eliminate the damaged fat cells, so you can see full results approximately three months after your final treatment.

Exilis results typically last about two years.  This treatment does not prevent weight gain. While destroyed fat cells can’t grow back, remaining fat cells in the area can expand if you gain weight. Maintaining your weight with a healthy diet and regular exercise will help prolong your results.

There are more than 15 peer reviewed studies for Exilis.

One study published in the Journal of Cosmetic Dermatology in 2013 found that people who received four Exilis treatments over a four-week period experienced an average reduction of 2 inches in the waist circumference. The study also reported that there were no significant side effects observed.

Another study published in the Journal of Cosmetic and Laser therapy in 2014 found that the treatment resulted in a significant reduction of fat in the treated area and an improvement in skin tightening.

Radiofrequency (RF) is an electric current with a positive and a negative poles and the energy travels between the two of them. Our body consists of molecules that are also charged, one side is + charged, the other is – charged. The opposites attract each other, therefore the molecules will try to rotate the minus side to the plus electrode. The polarity of the electrodes changes very quickly (the frequency of Exilis is 3,2MHz therefore the polarity changes 3 200 000 times per second). The molecules become “excited”, the friction of a molecule against another one creates the heat. That is why the RF heats even if the contact is cold.

The heat (controlled and constantly checked) leads to collagen fibres shrinkage and stimulation of new collagen fibres production and skin tightening.

For body treatments with Exilis combination of cooling and heating allows the energy to penetrate to the fat layer and adding fat reduction effect to skin tightening. Facial treatment exhibits only skin tightening without fat reduction.

Fat freezing is an effective way to kill fat cells. One should however know that for fat freezing:

• The results will be seen in 2-3 months after the treatment only
• Some report the treatment as painful either before the treatment or soon after it
• 4-6 total sessions are required using different size of the applicators
• The treatment only works on the tissue that can be sucked between the two freezing panels inside the applicators (that is why pain before the treatment in case of some body areas)
• There is no skin tightening happening during the treatment and therefore the patients need to book the skin tightening treatment too.
• Incidence of PAH – paradoxical adipose hyperplasia is small, however the medicine cannot predict to which patient it will occur. Instead of slimming in the treated area, the body creates more fat cells and the client becomes “wider”.

For BTL Exilis none of the above conditions apply. The slimming results can be measured after the first session in most cases. The reduction after the first session is 1-2 cm only and the patients may not notice it, but it can be measured. This is due to lipolysis, which is shrinking the volume of the fat cells. The biggest volume reduction happens 2-3 months after the first session due to apoptosis, which is death of fat cells and the time necessary to wash out the dead fat cells through the lymphatic system.

The patients feel heat during the treatments but it is not intolerable or painful. 4-6 sessions are required too. BTL Exilis can work anywhere on the body for slimming or skin tightening. Exilis tightens the skin while killing fat cells / shrinking their size.

Exilis is a Monopolar Radiofrequency (RF) Technology, meaning one ‘pole’ is the handpiece which is used on the body, and the other pole is an adhesive electrode which is placed on the body. The electric current flows between them. Monopolar RF on its own is just a skin tightening system (the facial handpiece is for skin tightening not volume loss on the face). The body handpiece uses cooling of the tip. Our body has two types of heat receptor … one tells the brain hot, the other tells the brain cold. … you deliver the heat through a tip which is cold, therefore the client´s brain is tricked/deceived and he tolerates high power for a longer period of time and this enables the heat to penetrate to the fat layer.

CE Medical certificate for Exilis says ” The Exilis Ultra 360 is intended for treatment of obesity by means of controlled reduction of fat cells, induced by radiofrequency field in cooperation with ultrasound and for treatment of sexual dysfunction after vaginal delivery by means of improvement of vaginal laxity.”

Radiofrequency devices are colour blind, Laser devices target specific colour spectrums. This makes them coluor specific and their target tissue must be seen from the surface. The most popular treatments will be hair removal, acne treatment, vascular lesions. CO2 lasers were popular for facial “peeling”, but the downtime is long, the patients look sunburned for 4-6 weeks so this treatment lost its popularity.

Velashape  is a Bipolar Radiofrequency Technology. Radiofrequency is an electric current, it flows from one pole to the other using the shortest path between the electrodes (poles). Because these are on the skin surface, the current will always flow on the surface and not penetrate to fat layer in order to heat it and affect it in any way. Patients will complain about the heat before the heat can penetrate to the adipose tissue. Exilis uses cooling of the tip (see below).

• Velashape uses vacuum which helps with lymph drainage
• Velashape uses infrared laser probes that according to their users manual heats the tissue up to 3mm which is not enough for slimming

This explains Velashare may be good for skin tightening but it is not a slimming device

The FDA clearance of Vela is “The VelaShape is indicated for the relief of minor muscle aches and pain, relief of muscle spasm, temporary improvement of local blood circulation, temporary reduction in the appearance of cellulite and for temporary reduction of thighs circumferences.”

At least 90% of all other Radiofrequency devices available in South Africa are bipolar, and this is regardless if they are called Tripolar, Quattropolar, Multipolar. This is because there are just two poles, + and -. Tripolar is not a third generation of Radiofrequency devices, it is not superior as for the research or similar. Tripolar is Bipolar, Quattropolar is Bipolar and they ALL can only be used for skin tightening, collagen remodelling. They cannot be used for fat reduction.

Venus Legacy, Venus Freeze and Lavatron also belong in this category.