These aim at the same tissue by opposite means: one heats fat, the other freezes it. Radiofrequency fat reduction passes electrical current through tissue, which resists it and warms up. CoolSculpting is cryolipolysis - a cooling applicator holds a fold of tissue at a temperature that damages fat cells while leaving skin, nerve and vessel unharmed.
First, a mix-up worth clearing up: radiofrequency microneedling is not a fat-reduction treatment. Morpheus8 is the radiofrequency device most people have heard of, and fat reduction, body contouring and cellulite appear in none of its clearances. The one study that measured the fat layer under the chin by ultrasound after microneedle fractional radiofrequency found the skin thickened and the fat layer unchanged - the paper's title contains the phrase "without Lipolysis". Fat loss does appear in FDA post-market reports for this device class, but as an unwanted event rather than a treatment.
Within InMode's own range, the fat and cellulite claims belong to specific body applicators. The Evolve Transform applicator (K231495, October 2023) is cleared, in a sequential radiofrequency and muscle-stimulation mode, for "non-invasive lipolysis (breakdown of fat) of the abdomen" and "reduction in circumference of the abdomen" - abdomen only, not arms, thighs, flanks or chin. Separately, the BodyFX, WMbody and EmBodyFX applicators (EmBodyFX is sold as Evolve Trim) are cleared for "temporary reduction in the appearance of cellulite" using radiofrequency combined with massage - WMbody under K131362 (2013), EmBodyFX under K183450 (2019). BodyTite and FaceTite name no fat reduction at all.
CoolSculpting has the more specific paperwork of the two. It was granted through a De Novo request in August 2010 (DEN090002), which created the FDA category for this technology. The CoolSculpting Elite clearance (K212707, November 2021) names "cold-assisted lipolysis (breakdown of fat) of the upper arm, bra fat, back fat, banana roll, thigh, abdomen, and flank, or 'love handles' in individuals with a Body Mass Index (BMI) of 30 or less." Under the chin and jaw is separately indicated up to a BMI of 46.2. What it is not cleared for is skin: no CoolSculpting indication contains the words laxity, wrinkle, lift, tighten or collagen.
On InMode's platform the fat and cellulite claims sit with named body applicators - Evolve Transform for abdominal fat, BodyFX and EmBodyFX for the appearance of cellulite. Morpheus8 is not one of them.
The device that created the FDA category for cryolipolysis, granted in 2010.
The cellulite applicators combine non-thermal radiofrequency with massage, at 1 MHz and 10 to 50 W. The abdominal fat indication belongs to a mode that pairs radiofrequency with muscle stimulation, not radiofrequency alone.
A vacuum applicator pulls tissue between cooling plates, with target temperatures down to -15 degrees C. Over roughly 8 to 12 weeks the body clears the damaged fat cells and the layer thins. Nothing is done to the skin itself.
"Non-invasive lipolysis of the abdomen" and "reduction in circumference of the abdomen" belong to Evolve Transform, and only to the abdomen. "Temporary reduction in the appearance of cellulite" belongs to BodyFX, WMbody and EmBodyFX. Morpheus8, BodyTite and FaceTite carry no fat wording at all.
Upper arm, bra fat, back fat, banana roll, thigh, abdomen and flank in people with a BMI of 30 or less; under the chin and jaw separately, up to a BMI of 46.2.
Otherwise the honest answer on this side is the appearance of cellulite, and the cleared wording for that is explicitly temporary.
It does nothing at all for loose skin, and losing fat can make existing laxity more obvious.
No published study or labelled figure gives a recovery time for these applicators, so no number is quoted here. Ask the clinic for their own expected timeline, in writing.
The treated area is commonly numb, red and firm for days to weeks, and delayed-onset pain or nerve discomfort in the first one to two weeks is common. These are conventional descriptions rather than labelled figures.
No published study measures comfort for these applicators.
The part people are least prepared for comes afterwards - the delayed pain or nerve discomfort described above.
This is the complication readers should know about before booking cryolipolysis, and it does not have a counterpart on the radiofrequency side.
Paradoxical adipose hyperplasia is a firm, well-defined enlargement of the treated fat pad, appearing roughly two to six months after treatment and conforming to the shape of the applicator. It does not resolve on its own and generally requires liposuction or surgical removal.
Three published figures exist, and they do not agree.
The best current estimate is the 2025 meta-analysis: roughly 1 in 455, low-certainty. It is worth knowing, and it is not a reason on its own to rule the treatment out - but you should hear it before you book, not afterwards.
There is no comparable published incidence figure for radiofrequency body devices.
What does exist sits with radiofrequency microneedling, and it points the other way. An analysis of the FDA's post-market reporting database from January 2013 to October 2025 found 114 reports containing 224 events, of which 26 were fat loss - the third most reported category. That database is voluntary and has no denominator, so those are proportions of reports and can never be read as a chance of something happening to you. Set against it, a split-face study in 30 people measured the fat layer under the chin by ultrasound after microneedle fractional radiofrequency and found the skin thickened while the fat layer did not change significantly.
So on the radiofrequency microneedling side, fat loss is a documented complication with no measured rate, and deliberate fat reduction is not something the device is cleared or shown to do. If someone is selling you Morpheus8 as a fat treatment, that is the gap to ask about.
CoolSculpting's cleared wording contains no words about skin at all. On the radiofrequency side, InMode's Evolve Tite applicator (cleared as EmBodyPlus, K183450) is cleared for temporary relief of minor muscle aches and pain, temporary relief of muscle spasm, and temporary improvement of local blood circulation - not for tightening either.
That matters practically, because removing fat can make loose skin more noticeable rather than less. If skin laxity is part of what is bothering you, say so at the consultation and ask what is being planned for it, separately.
Tell your provider about a pacemaker or an implantable defibrillator, and about any metal implant near the treatment area, before any radiofrequency treatment. These are labelled contraindications for radiofrequency devices generally and are precautionary rather than tested - your cardiology team is the right place for that advice.
If what you are actually being booked for is radiofrequency microneedling on the face or under the chin - needles rather than a hands-free applicator - tell your provider at booking if you get cold sores. Antiviral medicine is started in advance, not after a blister appears. There is no published data on cold-sore reactivation after radiofrequency microneedling specifically; the precaution comes from laser resurfacing, where reactivation is well documented.
Ask which applicator is being used, and which cleared indication covers the area you want treated.
These can mean a spreading infection and need urgent care the same day.