From vacuums to miracle gels, we test the treatments that claim to... banish the mummy tummy

Another day, another picture of a celebrity mother on the beach, sporting a supernaturally flat stomach.

Last week it was Victoria’s Secret model Alessandra Ambrosio, below, whose daughter is aged three.

A fortnight before, fellow model Heidi Klum, 39, who has four children, tweeted pictures to followers of her bikini-clad washboard stomach.

Yummy mummy... and her washboard tummy: Victoria's Secret model  Alessandra Ambrosio with her three-year-old daughter

Yummy mummy... and her washboard tummy: Victoria's Secret model Alessandra Ambrosio with her three-year-old daughter

And Jennifer Lopez, 42, who gave birth to twins just three years ago, has also been pictured on stage recently, proudly displaying her flat tummy.

Back in the real world, more than half of new mothers who were surveyed for a parenting magazine said they were unhappy with their shape after giving birth.

So it’s not surprising that shelves at clinics and chemists heave with non-surgical treatments that claim to rid women of  their post-pregnancy bellies. But do any  of them actually work? JILL FOSTER spoke to the experts to find out.



Med Contour Dual

FLAB ZAPPER 

THE TREATMENT

Med Contour Dual. £149 for one session or £975 for ten. med-contour.co.uk

THE CLAIM

Low-frequency ultrasound rays are directed at the fat cells in the stomach through a hand-held device.

They ‘rupture the adipose cells, activating metabolic processes which lead to the body’s natural elimination of fat waste’.

Mummy tummy is usually caused by fat and loose skin, and heat produced by the device promotes production of collagen, the protein that gives skin firmness.

EXPERT VERDICT

Dr Ravi Jain, cosmetic doctor and founder of the Riverbanks Clinic, London, says: ‘The mainstay of my work is liposuction, an operation in which fat is sucked out of the body via thin tubes called cannulas, so I was sceptical a non-invasive treatment claimed to be able to do the same.

'But we tried it and I have been impressed. The science is plausible. We use this technology after lipo to smooth out any irregularities. But it can be effective on its own.’

DOWNSIDE

‘Patients need good muscle tone to begin with. The results are subtle compared  with liposuction,’ says Dr Jain.Treatment could lead to a rise in fat levels in the blood, so anyone with high cholesterol or other circulatory problems should avoid it.

MUMMY TUMMY BUSTING RATING: 4/5                                                                  

 


Paris Freeze

PARIS FREEZE

THE TREATMENT

Lipocryolysis.From £650 per area. aestheticmedicontour.com

THE CLAIM

Dubbed ‘The Paris Freeze’, in this non-invasive procedure ‘fat is rapidly cooled until the fat cells crystallise, which permanently destroys up to a third’.

A device is positioned around the target area, which creates a vacuum effect. The treatment takes 25-45 minutes per area. Up to six weeks later, the makers say that patients notice a visible and lasting difference.

EXPERT VERDICT

Dr Ross Perry, of www.cosmedics.co.uk and an expert in non-surgical treatment, says: ‘Freezing is a novel approach and one that has approval from the FDA [the American regulatory body] for getting rid of fat.

‘It is one of the few methods that actually does work. The low temperature kills fat cells but does not damage the skin.’