Supermodel Linda Evangelista opened up her heart and soul on what turned out to be the consequences of a CoolSculpting beauty procedure. The procedure makes it possible to get rid of local fat deposits through exposure to low temperatures. However, the procedure did not go well for Evangelista. She shared her experience in a new exclusive photo shoot for People.
"I loved being up on the catwalk. Now I dread running into someone I know," the 56-year-old told the magazine. "I can't live like this anymore, in hiding and shame. I just couldn't live in this pain any longer. I'm willing to finally speak," Linda admitted in the interview.
In September, Evangelista filed a $50 million damages lawsuit against CoolSculpting's parent company, Zeltiq Aesthetics Inc., alleging that she was unable to work after seven CoolSculpting sessions that she had had from August 2015 to February 2016.
Within three months after the procedure, Evangelista started noticing bulges on her chin, thighs, chest and armpits. The areas of her body that she wanted to make smaller suddenly got bigger and went numb.
"I tried to fix it myself, thinking I was doing something wrong," she said, pointing to dieting and overexercising. "I got to where I wasn't eating at all. I thought I was losing my mind," the supermodel said.
In June 2016, she took her concerns to a doctor. The doctor diagnosed her with Paradoxical adipose hyperplasia (PAH) — a rare condition that explained the adverse effect of the CoolSculpting. She was told that no diet and no exercise would ever fix the situation. This is a rare side effect that affects less than one percent of CoolSculpting patients, the doctor told Evangelista.
After the procedure, Linda still tried to correct the situation and underwent two liposuctions at her own expense. The clinic offered her to pay for the first procedure only if she agreed to sign a confidentiality agreement, but the model refused. After the surgery, Evangelista said she had to wear compression stockings, belts and a chin band for eight weeks.
"The bulges are protrusions. And they're hard. If I walk without a girdle in a dress, I will have chafing to the point of almost bleeding. Because it's not like soft fat rubbing, it's like hard fat rubbing," the model said, adding that the illness also affected her posture, as she can no longer press her arms against her sides.
The US Department of Health and Human Services approved the CoolSculpting procedure in 2010. The procedure is based on a process known as cryolipolysis, when fat tissue is cooled to a temperature below the freezing point. Research shows that this form of treatment, which is popular due to its affordability and minimal recovery time, can reduce localised fat deposits by up to 20 percent.
Linda Evangelista spoke about her unsuccessful experience last year. As she said, her body was disfigured. The consequences of the unsuccessful procedure caused Evangelista to become a reclusive person.
Linda Evangelista was one of the most famous supermodels during the 1990s. Over the span of her breathtaking career, she has appeared on over 700 fashion magazine covers, including eleven covers of Vogue USA. Evangelista was also the muse of late designer Karl Lagerfeld and photographer Steven Meisel.