EMS Treatment or fat freezing — which fits your goal?
This is the question we are asked most often about body treatments, and the honest answer is that they are not competing options. They answer different goals.
If you pick the wrong one for what you actually want, you will be disappointed by a treatment that was working perfectly well — just not on the thing you cared about.
4 min read · Published · Shape Zone, London SW8
- EMS Treatment — muscle stimulation, tone and definition. 40 min, new client £89
- Fat freezing — body contouring for suitable localised fat. 30–60 min, chin £99, body from £150
- Neither is a weight-loss treatment
- They are often combined inside a Body Transformation programme
Start with what you want to change
Say the goal out loud before naming a machine. "I want more definition through my stomach" and "I want this pocket on my flank to look smaller" are different sentences, and they lead to different treatments.
Muscle tone and definition point towards EMS Treatment. A localised area of fat you want contoured points towards cryolipolysis — fat freezing.
What EMS Treatment does
EMS Treatment uses electromagnetic stimulation to create repeated muscle contractions in the treatment area. It is designed to support muscle stimulation, toning and definition. It is not a weight-loss treatment.
A session is 40 minutes. The areas we treat are the abdomen, buttocks, thighs and arms. It is planned as a course rather than a one-off: new client £89, single session £125, four sessions £360, ten sessions £650.
It feels like strong, repeated muscle contractions — intense but manageable for most people, with the intensity built up gradually and adjustable throughout. Workout-style soreness the next day is normal.
What fat freezing does
Cryolipolysis applies controlled cooling to one marked area at a time, for body contouring on suitable areas of localised fat. Changes develop gradually over roughly 8 to 12 weeks, and results vary from person to person.
Sessions run 30 to 60 minutes. Chin cryolipolysis is £99; body areas start from £150. There are two routes: Vacuum 360 draws the tissue into a cooling cup and suits larger, pinchable bulges, while vacuum-free CryoMAX uses flat cooling pads with no suction and suits flatter areas.
It is cold and slightly odd for the first few minutes, then the area goes numb. Neither method is side-effect free — temporary redness, tenderness or numbness can occur.
When people use both
Plenty of clients end up doing both, at different stages. A common pattern is contouring a specific area first, then working on tone across the wider region — or the reverse, depending on which bothers you more.
That is what a Body Transformation programme is for: a structured course of 4, 6 or 8 sessions combining suitable treatments around one goal, agreed at consultation.
Questions
No. It is a muscle-focused treatment designed to support muscle stimulation, toning and definition. Shape Zone does not present it as a weight-loss treatment.
Yes, at different stages of a plan. They are often combined inside a Body Transformation programme, with the combination and sequence agreed at consultation.
They are not comparable on speed. EMS Treatment is booked as a course of sessions; changes after fat freezing develop gradually over roughly 8 to 12 weeks. Results vary between individuals.