Derbyshire Mum’s cancer gene diagnosis prompts new body positivity business

Rebecca Barton, 32, launched Sculpted Beauty, located in Borough Street in the three-county border village, earlier this year. Offering non-invasive ‘fat freezing’ treatments, the former health professional, says her aim is to empower people to feel good about their body with a treatment that “takes off inches”.

The body sculpting business offers Cryolipolysis – commonly referred to as a ‘fat freezing’ treatment, as well as providing other services including radio frequency and ultrasound cavitation.

“Women should feel good about their bodies”, said Rebecca, who advocates a healthy lifestyle alongside the treatment. “Everyone should enjoy body positivity.”

The inspirational mum, who has recently discovered she carries the BRCA1 breast cancer gene, has a five-year-old son, Kayden, and is supported by husband Ashley.

After finding a lump in her breast, which removal showed to be benign, the scare prompted her to undergo testing for the breast cancer gene. Rebecca's mum had been diagnosed with the gene in 2018 but Rebecca was pregnant with her son at the time and admits that guilt and fear had kept her from taking the test.

Now, with the gene confirmed, Rebecca says that she will undergo a double mastectomy and reconstruction but stresses the importance of looking after yourself and feeling good about your own body.

She said the treatments that she offered in the salon were medically approved and painless, explaining that the advanced technology treatment exposes fat cells to minus five degrees extreme cold, which crystallises the fat and prompts an inflammatory response. The fat cells eventually die. Over time, and with the help of drinking two litres of water a day, the body naturally eliminates these dead cells through the lymphatic system.

Rebecca set up the business after trying the treatment herself following research to “shift her stubborn mummy tum pouch”.

She said: “I wanted to share, even if it was with just one other person, how I felt after the results. I’d tried diets, various exercise routines but couldn’t get rid of my baby belly.”

However, she admitted: “It isn’t an easy fix. When I had the first treatment, I felt like I’d been robbed, but, after 4-6 weeks I started to notice the inch loss in my jeans - the button was easy to do up and they felt more comfortable.

“It wasn’t coincidence. I had bought some fancy scales and discovered that by the end of the treatment package I’d lost 7lb of fat, going from 21 on the BMI scale to 19. I have since upgraded those scales again to show people their achievements.”

According to Rebecca, the treatment has been around for 30 years but was initially price prohibitive. Now offered at £120 per treatment, the sessions come in thousands of pounds cheaper than liposuction and include an “MOT”, fortnightly check-ins, support and progress photos. In conjunction with the treatment, the standard advice of following a healthy lifestyle is advocated – a balanced diet and three lots of 30 minutes’ exercise per week.

She said: “It is important to love yourself exactly as you are but if you want to change then that is okay too.”