Comparing The AirSculpt® and Emsculpt Body Contouring Treatments

What is AirSculpt®?

AirSculpt® is a customizable body sculpting procedure designed to address anywhere from chin to ankle. 

This minimally invasive treatment permanently reveals one's muscles by removing concealing fat while helping tighten the treated area's skin. Patients experience minimal pain thanks to its patented technique, which plucks fat cell by cell through a freckle-sized entryway, leaving no apparent scars behind. 

Fat transfers, an AirSculpt® specialty, can also be seamlessly performed to deliver the exact results patients want, whether a curvy hourglass figure or a tight and toned abdomen with naturally enhanced breasts. 

Using this power-automated technology allows AirSculpt® surgeons to gently sculpt dramatic yet smooth changes customized to each patient's preferences. 

AirSculpt® treatments are considered minimally invasive due to the use of local anesthesia. Still, the lack of needles, scalpels, or stitches minimizes discomfort and allows for a short downtime of just 24 to 48 hours. Patients often return to work the very next day with minor soreness. Traditional liposuction approaches are much more abrasive, requiring riskier general anesthesia and weeks of downtime. 

What is Emsculpt?

Emsculpt is one of the many nonsurgical body contouring treatments that have become available in recent years. 

Instead of helping remove excess fat, this procedure is designed to build muscle in a specific region like the buttocks, thighs, or abdomen. Emsculpt uses a rubber pad placed on the target area to emit intense electromagnetic waves, causing contractions that increase muscle tone and strength.

Treatments can be mildly uncomfortable, and several sessions – usually about four – are required to deliver ideal changes. Although patients may experience some degree of fat reduction, Emsculpt is not designed for fat loss, so any such results are considered a bonus.

Beyond the traditional Emsculpt muscle-building procedure, Emsculpt Neo also offers nonsurgical fat reduction results. Flat pads called applicators are placed on target regions like the abdomen, and a combination of electromagnetic waves and radiofrequency heating are emitted.  

Is AirSculpt® the Same as Emsculpt? 

AirSculpt® physically removes fat, whereas Emsculpt Neo indirectly disrupts fat cells from above the skin. Results with AirSculpt® are far more dramatic and quick to appear. Emsculpt requires a lengthy period of waiting, whether for muscle building alone or fat reduction as well.

Furthermore, AirSculpt® offers a permanent reduction of fat cells, as they do not regenerate once removed. Emsculpt only causes the cells to empty their contents, meaning they can re-expand if weight is gained. 

AirSculpt® focuses on removing or transferring fat, not building muscle. Procedures like the 48-Hour Six Pack™ are designed to remove fat concealing a patient's stomach muscles but do not directly stimulate muscle growth. 

4 Reasons to Choose AirSculpt® Over Emsculpt

Single Treatment Results

With AirSculpt®, there are no sessions – just dramatic changes sculpted in one treatment with minimal downtime of one to two days. Patients often experience newfound motivation to adopt new weight loss goals or diet and exercise plans thanks to the quick, dramatic changes they see.

Emsculpt requires patients to return for multiple sessions spaced two weeks apart, which can quickly cause costs to add up. Results are somewhat unpredictable with nonsurgical techniques like Emsculpt, so the number of treatments needed can vary considerably from patient to patient. 

Lasting Transformation

Approaches like Emsculpt, which emit energy from pads through the skin, do not deliver immediate changes. Instead, they work by triggering bodily reactions that slowly generate desired outcomes. These effects are typically temporary, as the muscle contraction or fat reduction stimulated by Emsculpt can quickly reverse. With AirSculpt®, fat cells are permanently removed and cannot regrow, meaning any fat that returns post-treatment appears in untreated areas. 

Enhanced Versatility 

Emsculpt pads only come in so many shapes and sizes and are only designed for specific parts of the body like the stomach, buttocks, or thighs. AirSculpt® surgeons have several robotic, rapidly spinning tools at their discretion to sculpt any part of the body from chin to ankle, delivering the personalized changes each patient requests. For those looking to tone under their buttocks, Banana Roll AirSculpt® or the Power BBL™ can be perfect choices, whereas patients looking to uncover their abdominal muscles may instead go with the 48-Hour Six Pack™.  

Tighten Loose Skin and Remove Cellulite

Although AirSculpt® primarily removes or transfers stubborn fat, it also helps tighten the skin on treated areas to provide patients with a firm, toned look. Arm AirSculpt®, for example, can reveal one's natural tricep and bicep muscles with strategic fat removal alone. 

Traditional Emsculpt is designed to promote muscle growth over time – any fat reduction is considered an extra benefit, and no improvement in skin tightness is expected. 

AirSculpt® now also offers AirSculpt® +, a unique add-on that significantly tightens a region's skin to its newly contoured figure. Additionally, their newest treatment, AirSculpt® Smooth, instantly removes cellulite dimples through the same two-millimeter-wide entryways, smaller than a lead pencil eraser. 

Call the Elite Body Sculpture office closest to you to book a free consultation and learn more about AirSculpt®.