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Before and After Body Sculpting Rochelle Masella

How Body Sculpting Improved My Body Shape

by Rochelle September 26, 2023

This article was done in exchange for a few sessions at The Body Sculpt LA. All opinions are mine alone and I'm so excited to share them with you.

Ever heard of body sculpting? Although this has been around for a while, it’s had a major revival with the help of social media. These non-invasive treatments help firm and tone the body and can help improve the hard-to-tone areas. Although I have grown to love and accept my postpartum body, there are times that I wish my clothes fit better, primarily in my mid-section. It had become uncomfortable to sit for long periods of time and I was ready to see a smoother waistline. These treatments may not be everyone’s cup of tea but it was the right choice for me.

My Fitness History

I’ve been into fitness my whole life. It started with dance and cheerleading while also participating in team sports like softball, soccer, and track and field. Track and field was my absolute favorite sport. I’m highly competitive and love to race (especially with my Jamaican roots). After high school, I focused on dance and started weight training. It really helped develop my muscle memory and a more muscular physique. This is probably when I felt like I was in the best shape.

However, let’s face it, age, hormones, and having children will change a woman’s body. And don’t get me wrong, I still love my body! I’m still proud of how I look at (almost) 45 years old. It’s just different now.

I’ve been consistent in weight training my entire adult life with the exception of 2020 (we all know why). Moreover, in 2020 I had two young boys, ages 3 and 1. My body shape completely changed and even with consistent training over 4 years, I wasn’t seeing much improvement in my mid-section. So, I decided to try body sculpting.

Note: Please understand that I’m well aware that the women’s body is AMAZING, and takes time to adjust to having children. This is not a judgment piece on postpartum bodies, just a choice I made to make myself feel good!

So, What is Body Sculpting?

In a nutshell, body sculpting can help smooth the areas that are typically hard to tone. Sometimes even with strict dieting and exercise, certain areas just won’t improve. This is where body sculpting can help. It uses non-invasive contouring treatments that sculpt and refine your figure. There are many different techniques that can be used based on your needs. They include both modern and minimally invasive modalities.

For my treatments, I chose a location that offered multiple techniques. I wanted to target my stubborn belly fat, bra bulge, and love handles. Some of the treatments offered included:

Body Cavitation: Ultrasound cavitation uses scientifically proven non-invasive technology to break down unwanted fat
Radio Frequency: a non-invasive heat treatment that helps tighten, contour, and refine deeper lines of the skin over the face and body
Wood Therapy: This employs anatomically sculpted wooden tools to improve the body’s size and proportions while advancing overall health. This therapy helps contour the body, reduce cellulite, and facilitate weight loss.
Vacuum Therapy: this stimulates muscles and plumps areas such as the buttocks. It also helps restore the skin’s natural elasticity to smooth the appearance of wrinkles and “orange-peel” dimpling in the thighs and buttocks.

My Experience at The Body Sculpt LA

There are so many body sculpting options here in Los Angeles so I really had to research. I started by looking at before and afters on Instagram, followed by Yelp reviews, and finally, I called and spoke to the ones I narrowed down. I ended up at The Body Sculpt LA in Burbank, CA as they were closer to my area but more importantly, the owner, Maggie, was passionate, thorough, and confident about the process. She spent well over 20 minutes going over what to expect before I even stepped foot in the door.

The front of the Body Sculpt LA location in Burbank, CA.

Preparing for the appointment is super important as it requires you to drink A LOT of water, wear loose clothes, and much more! This is so you have the best possible results. As I mentioned before, I did a few sessions in 2022 which included a combination of the Waist Sculptor (Front & Sides or Back & Sides) and the Back Blaster (Bra Bulge or Love Handles). I also included add-ons like the Laser Lipo (Red Light Therapy Belt) and the Vibration Plate.

Results from Body Sculpting

My treatment plan was based on my consultation with Maggie. This included Body Cavitation, Radio Frequency, and Wood Therapy. I did a total of 9 treatments in 2022 over a couple of months and saw amazing results. My stomach felt smaller, my back fat and bra bulge shrunk, and lost about 7 pounds! And just so we are clear, I had been weight training, doing cardio, and eating healthy before and during my treatments. The treatments just sped up the results and kept me super motivated.

Before and After at the Body Sculpt LA in Burbank, CA.

In 2023, I continued with my fitness goals and just recently went back for another 3 sessions with Maggie. I was proud that I had maintained what I lost, plus an additional 5 pounds on my own. However, with weight loss, you may experience loose skin and The Body Sculpt LA has helped me shrink and tighten up those areas.

Overall, my choice to try body sculpting has helped tone up the areas in my midsection. I feel healthier, less out-of-breath, and leaner with the help of some of these treatments. This is not a replacement for working out and dieting but in my experience, it can jump-start and help maintain your body shape!

If you live in the Los Angeles area and are interested in body sculpting, be sure to visit The Body Sculpt LA for your treatments. Let them know Rochelle from www.discocurls.com sent you over and take advantage of their new client special!

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My Postpartum Hair Loss & Shedding Story

by Rochelle November 2, 2017

As many mothers know, during pregnancy, you will be blessed with luscious, full locks of hair that will make you do a double take. Unfortunately, you are likely to lose a large portion of it after delivery when your hair returns to its normal growth cycle. My postpartum hair loss is in full effect since having my son. It didn’t start until about 10 weeks postpartum but it’s important to share my story to help the other mothers or mothers-to-be out there.

Why does postpartum hair loss happen?

The normal hair growth cycle begins with the anagen phase (the growth phase), the catagen phase (the transitional phase), and the telogen phase (the resting phase). It is at the end of the telogen phase that a new hair shaft will surface resulting in shedding. The increase of estrogen during pregnancy causes the hair to continue growing and the hairs that are supposed to shed remain in place which gives the appearance of fuller, thicker hair.

Postpartum hair loss happens because when your hair returns to it’s normal growth cycle, all of the hair that was supposed to shed suddenly sheds all at once. If you shed 100 hairs per day normally but don’t shed any for 9 months, do the math and imagine whats to come in your postpartum future. What I’ve learned is that it is totally normal and eventually your hair will return.

My postpartum hair loss story

Around 10 weeks postpartum, I noticed an excessive amount of hair coming out of my Wet Brush while detangling. Although it was expected, it still took me by surprise. Some might cringe over this next statement but I started collecting the shed hair to document my hair loss. The image below shows the average amount of hair loss I experienced from each wash day.

Postpartum Shedding

Along with the hair loss comes the emotions. How much hair am I going to lose? Will it ever grow back? What you don’t know is that over time, I’ve developed a thick skin because of a previous bout with traction alopecia. It’s haunted me for years from wearing weaves and high manipulation styles.

Postpartum regrowth plan

My main concern, even more than my hair appearing thinner, is preserving my edges. They definitely were hit hard and are now noticeably thinner. The one good thing is that during all of my time on YouTube, I have learned to bring them back from the dead. Some of those things include:

Continuing with my prenatal vitamins
Keeping my scalp clean by using a clarifying shampoo
Deep conditioning my hair once a week
Using a Q-Redew handheld vapor wand to open up the pores on my scalp
Including essential oils like peppermint and rosemary in my shampoo & stylers to promote growth
Nightly scalp massages using a carrier oil and a couple drops of essential oils (peppermint, rosemary & tea tree are my favorite)

Postpartum Hair Loss

A new technique that I’m going to include is the use of a derma roller. A derma roller is a handheld device that has hundreds of tiny needles and is commonly used to produce collagen on the skin. It is also said that its use can help stimulate hair growth. With my fear or needles, it sounds like the last thing I want to try. However, if it works it will be so worth the pain!

My postpartum hair loss case hasn’t been terrible considering my history. It’s now been 6 months postpartum and it has definitely slowed down. There is a noticeable improvement on my hairline and hair overall. In total, the experience lasted about 3 months and I’m finally feeling like myself again.

image of postpartum hair loss

What are your favorite ways to speed up your postpartum hair growth? Share with me down below in the comments…

Video: MY POSTPARTUM HAIR LOSS & SHEDDING | MEET MATTEO | DISCOCURLSTV

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Pregnancy & Postpartum Update Weeks 36 & Beyond

by Rochelle July 27, 2017

So, I’m a little late for this update but better late than never, right? The reason being is that my water broke earlier than anticipated (although it’s totally normal week 39) and postpartum life has been a whirl wind ever since. Luckily, I’ve created some free time to update you via the blog and through my YouTube channel. Here’s how it’s going…

Pregnancy Weeks 36-39

The last weeks of my pregnancy were when things started to get a bit uncomfortable. Shortly after I started maternity leave, it started getting harder to walk. The extra weight made my feet start to swell more than before and I couldn’t walk or sit for long periods of time. In total, I gained 40 pounds with the last 10 happening during the last couple of weeks. The majority of my maternity leave was spent at the beach since flying to a destination was no longer an option. Also, my appetite was insane! You know those giant plates of food you get at Cheesecake Factory? Well, this girl was clearing them and made room for more.

Pregnant Fun In The Sun!

Notice the heading ends at week 39? As I said before, week 40 never happened because my water broke. Fortunately, at 39 weeks it’s still considered the safe zone for delivery. At about 1:30 a.m. while in bed sleeping, I felt what I thought was a giant baby kick. It woke me up but didn’t concern me. My husband arrived shortly after from work and that’s when I noticed the slow leak was happening. Although still doubtful, my instincts told me to go to the bathroom and that’s when I noticed a little bit of blood. My internal alarm went off and soon enough, we were off to the hospital.

Finally, around 8 pm my little man arrived (It’s a Boy!!!). He didn’t have a name for a couple days but we settled on Matteo and he’s literally a dream come true.

Want to read my previous pregnancy updates? Click here.

Postpartum Life

Postpartum life has flown by, except for the first month…that first month felt like it went really slow. We had a full crew awaiting our arrival that included my mother, sister, and in-laws over a span of three weeks. With all hands on deck, my husband and I were able to have meals prepared for us, take a shower, and get a nap in here and there.

Our days consisted of feeding, soothing and staring down our newborn with breaks in between to ice between my legs and spray myself down with Dermoplast. The nights were obviously sleepless but we were prepared for that. Although we were blessed with the extra help, it wasn’t a reality until they left and my husband went back to work full time, leaving me home alone with our son.

Dermoplast & Diapers & Pads, Oh My!

Postpartum Difficulties

The most difficult part of the first 6 weeks was breastfeeding. My expectations of breastfeeding with ease and saving money on formula quickly diminished after I left the hospital. While in the hospital, Matteo wouldn’t latch so it was advised to use nipple shields which helped tremendously. We took home a breast pump to help stimulate milk production but discovered I had a low milk supply.

Even with the pumping, every nursing tea, fenugreek, mother’s milk supplement, and oatmeal bars, it was still low. Supplementing with formula was a must so I continued to pump while adding whatever I could to the formula. After 6 weeks, only drops were being added to the formula bottle and it was getting to be too stressful. My favorite thing about breastfeeding him was the bonding but we manage to still bond over a bottle.

I only dream of producing this much now!

Our recent challenges now focus on sleep. When you’re sleep deprived you want so badly for your child to rest, not only for their benefit but for yours! Sleep training will eventually be on the agenda but for now, sleep research is the focus. The book, “Healthy Sleep Habits, Healthy Child“, has been helpful although I am still unsure if I will use the methods. At a minimum, it has given me perspective on why babies do or don’t sleep and how that affects them in the future.

Overall, being a mother has given me purpose and fulfilled a gap that has been missing in my life. Sure, my personal life has come to a halt but the trade off is so worth it! That balance will eventually return so in the mean time I plan to enjoy this thing called motherhood!

*Disclosure: I may earn a small commission for my endorsement, recommendation, testimonial, and/or link to any products or services from this website. Your purchase helps support my work to bring you more cool posts! All thoughts and opinions expressed here are my own*

Watch my Pregnancy & Postpartum Vlog below!

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Group photo from the Mazda Field Trip #WeAllGrow

#WeAllGrow Summit Long Beach, CA 2017 Recap

by Rochelle April 23, 2017

Last month I had the pleasure of attending the #WeAllGrow Latina Summit in Long Beach, CA. As silly as it sounds, I felt a bit nervous attending as a non-latina but my good friend Rocio Mora of RisasRizos.com assured me that everyone was welcome. The summit was an amazing 3 days of listening to influential speakers, networking, courses, and one incredible field trip.

What is the #WeAllGrow Summit?

According to their website, the #WeAllGrow summit is the go-to professional conference for Latinas in the digital space. As the audience was primarily women (with just a sprinkle of men), it was comforting to be surrounded by so many powerful, inspiring people. At any point, you could be rubbing elbows with top executives and entrepreneurs as well as your favorite blogger and influencer.

Photo Credit: Robson Muzel. My Curl-Friends Jeshua Vivieros, Rocio Mora, Ada Rojas

What made this entire experience special was that everyone was there to experience growth whether that was within their own business, blog, or relationships. It was genuine, uplifting, and not once did it feel catty. I overheard someone use a phrase that really resonated with me, “There’s enough sunshine for everyone”. It’s safe to say that, that phrase set the tone for the weekend.

Day 1: Field Trip with Mazda

Our first day was spent on a field trip. There were several field trip options but WAG (#WeAllGrow) purposely pairs you up with the brand that best fits your lifestyle. They might be mind readers because the Mazda field trip was exactly what I was hoping for considering my husband and I just purchased a Mazda CX-5!

The day was spent testing out several of the Mazda 2017 models including the spacious CX-9, CX-3, Mazda 6, Mazda 3 and the sporty MX-5 (Miata). We began our trip from Hotel Maya in Long Beach and explored the coastal region of California down to Palos Verdes. After visiting each destination, we switched cars to truly feel the way each car handled along some of the innovative technology the new models offered.

Group Photo for Mazda Field Trip at the #WeAllGrow Summit

Photo Credit: Carley Hummel. Coastal Views on the Mazda Field Trip

Some of our stops included the South Coast Botanical Gardens, Roessler Point in Palos Verdes and finished at the beautiful Terranea Resort in Rancho Palos Verdes. We were swept away at the Terranea Resort to a private dining area to have lunch and meet Teresa Spafford. At Mazda’s North American Operations she is the design manager for colors, materials and finishes, and advanced design planning. We learned her history and her inspiring story of evolution within Mazda.

The Terranea Resort Entrance for the Mazda Field Trip

The Glamorous Entrance of the Terranea Resort

After lunch, we went ocean side to paint…something I hadn’t done since I was a child. It was pleasantly therapeutic and I didn’t do half-bad! The grand finale was a wine and chocolate pairing that looked amazing but I could only half partake in as I was 6 months pregnant (Find out more about my pregnancy here). The chocolate was amazing though! Fortunately, after such a long day our DriveShop operators drove us safely back to our resort.

Days 2 & 3: Keynote Panels, Courses & Networking

The next two days were spent at Hotel Maya filled with keynote panels, breakout sessions, and networking events. Throughout each day we experienced inspiring keynote panels hosted by several speakers, entrepreneurs, bloggers, influencers, and celebrities. In addition, there were plenty of breakout sessions that offered specialty courses for growth. The topics included building professional websites for your business, DSLR and photography tips, expert blogging tips, generating income, building your brand and much more.

In between the keynote panels and specialty courses, there were networking breaks that gave us a chance to visit with many of the sponsors in their individual suites. I was able to visit several of the suites including Neutrogena, Aveeno, Johnson’s Baby, Stitch Fix, Narciso Rodriguez, Chase Slate, Wordpress, Mazda, and TurboTax. These visits gave us a chance to finally meet some of the contacts for these brands and develop relationships for future collaborations.

Most importantly, these days introduced us all to like-minded individuals all working hard to attain growth within ourselves. Even though I had my initial concerns about not being Latina…everyone was so welcoming and never made me feel out of place. It truly harnessed the energy of the sisterhood that connected us all.

Watch my vlog from #WeAllGrow Latina Summit 2017:

Have you ever attended the #WeAllGrow Summit? What are some of your other favorite digital conferences for women? Let me know down below in the comments.

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#Slayternity: Dressing the Bump With Cute Maternity Clothes

by Rochelle January 12, 2017

As the day’s pass and my belly grows, I’ve come to realize that I refuse to be frumpy throughout this pregnancy. I was able to wear my normal clothes for the first couple months, then I got creative with a rubber band around the button of my jeans. When that stopped working it was finally time to invest in a few simple pieces. Although maternity clothes are helpful, they are not completely necessary to be comfortable and fashionable at the same time. Here are some of my staple pieces this winter:

Faux Shaggy Coat

There’s nothing more I hate than being cold but I needed an updated piece that screams “Oscar the Grouch” realness. This coat from First & I is long, soft to touch, and so warm. Not to mention so 70’s chic, I could die! Pair this with a black turtleneck to dress it up or a simple, loose fitting white tee to dress it down.

First & I Shaggy Faux Fur Coat | ASOS

Belly Grazing Necklace

One of my favorite pieces from MarkieChar designs is this matte finish gold tone chain with a sliced peach rainbow agate. Not only is it gorgeous, the length of this necklace is perfect for showing off your baby bump. If you are in the Las Vegas area, definitely check out this shop for more amazing pieces.

MarkieChar Designs Matte Gold Chain With Sliced Rainbow Agate

Skinny Maternity Jeans

This was the maternity clothing I did splurge on. With my ever growing belly, there was no way I could continue with pant extenders and belly bands, I just needed comfort. These skinny black maternity jeans from H&M and have a full band for maximum comfort. I have them in several colors and they will come in handy even after the baby’s born for Thanksgiving dinner.

H&M Mama Skinny Jeans

Leather High Top Sneakers

As the weight on my scale increases, the heel size decreases which is why I’m becoming a sneaker head. It’s not easy finding a size 10 shoe that doesn’t make me look like Bigfoot but my Vans Leather SK8-Hi Slim Zip are the perfect remedy. The white waffle rubber outsoles and gold zipper dress up any casual look.

Vans Leather SK8-Hi Slim Zip

What are your go-to maternity clothes? Tell me all about it down below in the comments.

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Pregnancy Announcement: I’m Having a Baby!!!

by Rochelle January 10, 2017

In my search of feeling complete, I’m proud to give my official pregnancy announcement! It’s exciting and terrifying all at the same time but deep down inside, it’s what has been missing from my life. In general, I’m a private person…especially when it comes to family. However, part of the promise to my readers is to share more of my life with you all. For the remainder of my pregnancy, I will gladly post updates not only to share but to hopefully comfort other soon-to-be mothers.

My husband and I are over the moon about this news. What an adventure it will be! I’m currently 23 weeks pregnant and in my second trimester. We announced publicly at the halfway mark, 20 weeks. Of course, our families knew but I wanted to be well into the pregnancy before we went public. Many of you might not wait that long to announce but here are a couple reasons we did:

Pregnancy Belly 20 Weeks

Shock Value: Make the Pregnancy a True Surprise!

We really wanted to ‘wow’ our friends, what better way than to show up with an obvious belly. We were flooded with questions from so many of our friends and family and we wanted to be prepared with answers we were comfortable with. For my own reasons, I needed to have a few check-ups with my doctor because I was still in disbelief that this was really happening!

Pregnancy Glow

Bonding With My Husband

There are only a few moments like this in your lifetime and I wanted to enjoy this one with just the two of us. It was our little secret that we got to smile, laugh, and cry about. We thoroughly enjoyed all of the little white lies that we had to come up with as well. Food poisoning, antibiotics, diet…you name it, we gave you an excuse not to drink.

I hope many of you join me on this journey of love and life. For your enjoyment, I’ve included my recent Life Update youtube video that talks more about my pregnancy and features a surprise guest (Hint: It’s my husband!!!) Click on the video to watch now and don’t forget to subscribe to my YouTube channel so that you never miss another video!

Do you have a fun pregnancy announcement story to share? Tell me about it in the comments below.

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