No. The first minute tingles while the intensity is being raised, and then it settles into waves of contraction and release that most people find relaxing. If a zone cramps, the intensity is too high and it is turned down. That is a settings problem, not something to endure.

Is this a weight-loss treatment?

No, and we would rather be straight with you about it. What it does is contract muscle and drive the circulation and lymphatic drainage that contraction produces. That is genuinely useful for heaviness, puffiness and tone, particularly in areas you are not training. It is not a substitute for cardio and it does not take weight off you.

Why do I have to drink so much water?

Because the drainage is half the treatment. Lymph has no pump of its own, so the contractions are what move it, and once it is moving, it drains into your circulation and leaves through your kidneys. Without enough fluid in the system, you have moved things along without giving them a way out.

How many sessions will I need?

A full series is ten, at two to three a week. The package is five, so most plans are two packages. Spreading the sessions out does not work as well: a series accumulates, and one session a fortnight simply starts over each time.

Can I have it if I have a pacemaker?

No. A current applied near an implanted electronic device is the one absolute contraindication here, and it is not something that can be worked around with lower settings. The same applies to any other implanted electronic device.

Can I have it after having a baby?

Yes, after waiting: six weeks after a vaginal birth, and six months after a caesarean. The abdominal wall needs to have healed before it is stimulated, and a scar that is still remodelling is not something to contract repeatedly. Your doctor’s clearance settles it.

How long does the result last?

Six to eight months is the usual expectation after a full series, and what actually holds it is what you do in between. This treatment supports an active routine; it does not create one. Muscle tone and drainage both respond to movement, and they both fade without it.

How much does it cost?

$90 a session, or $600 for a package of ten. A full series is usually ten, so most plans are one package. Your practitioner will tell you what your zones actually need at the assessment, before you buy anything. Taxes extra.

A nurse at Ideal Body Clinic adjusts muscle-stimulation pads on a patient lying on a treatment bed during a Slimwave session.

Body contouring

Slimwave® Montreal: Weight-loss & Body Sculpting Treatment

Your lymphatic system uses your muscles as its pump. Fluid moves only when the muscles beside its vessels squeeze them, which is why sitting still all day leaves legs heavy and why movement is the standard advice. This treatment puts pads on mapped zones and runs a programmed cycle of contraction and release through the muscle underneath, for forty-five minutes, while you lie down.

Monkland · Sherbrooke
Consultations in French and English

Monkland · Sherbrooke
Consultations in French and English

Treatment time: 30 to 45min; Pads are placed on mapped zones and the cycle runs while you lie still
Downtime: None; A tingling sensation at the start of the session, and nothing afterwards
Results appear: 3 to 5sessions; Lightness in the area usually comes first; tone follows across the series
Results last: 6 to 8months; Held by staying active: this supports a routine, it does not replace one
Price: $90per session; Up to $600. Confirmed at your consultation.

Slimwave® weight-loss

How it works

What does Slimwave do?

It works your muscles and helps fluid drain away.

Your lymph system moves fluid only when the muscles around it squeeze. After a day of sitting, fluid stays put, so your legs feel heavy and puffy. Pads on your skin make the muscles contract and relax in waves, which moves the fluid along. Most people feel lighter right away, and tone builds across the series.

01
Fluid builds up when you sit still
02
Pads make your muscles squeeze and relax
03
Lighter right away, firmer across ten sessions

Results

Your results, step by step

10 visits, two or three a week. Full results at the end of the series.

Your visit · 30 to 45 min
Pads on, and you lie down
You drink a glass of water first. The technician places pads on your mapped zones, then the waves of squeeze and release begin. The first minute tingles, and most people find it relaxing after that.
Same day
Lighter right away
The area usually feels lighter as you leave. Drink several glasses of water to help the fluid leave your body.
Day after
Mild muscle soreness
The muscles that worked can ache a little, like after exercise. It shows the pads were in the right spots.
Sessions 3 to 5
The lightness starts to last
The light feeling now holds between visits. This shows the series is working.
Session 10
Your full series
The series is complete. Staying active keeps your result for 6 to 8 months.

Muffin tops after Slimwave Montreal treatment at Ideal Body Clinic — Muffin tops Slimwave Montreal at Ideal Body Clinic

Muffin tops before Slimwave Montreal treatment at Ideal Body Clinic — Muffin tops Slimwave Montreal at Ideal Body Clinic

These photos (or videos) are published for informational purposes to illustrate the nature of the procedure. They do not constitute any guarantee of results. Results vary from person to person.

7 areas

Where the pads go

Where this treatment is used. Your plan is confirmed at the consultation.

01
Abdomen
02
Flanks and waist
03
Thighs
04
Glutes
05
Legs and knees
06
Arms and shoulders
07
Neck and face

Reviews

Google reviews that mention this treatment

★★★★★
Postpartum and desperate to do something. They made me wait until I was cleared, which was frustrating at the time and obviously right. Started Slimwave after and the heaviness in my legs went within four sessions.
Valérie Painchaud · October 2026 · Google
★★★★★
Forty-five minutes lying down while several zones get worked at once. I nearly fell asleep during my third Slimwave session. The water afterwards is not optional, as they say more than once.
Sylvie Tanguay · September 2026 · Google
★★★★★
I stand all day at work and my legs were heavy by four o’clock every afternoon. Ten Slimwave sessions and that has genuinely changed. They were also clear that it would not make me lose weight, which I respected.
Johanne Rivard · August 2026 · Google
★★★★★
J’ai demandé si le Slimwave servait à perdre du poids et on m’a répondu franchement que non, en m’expliquant ce qu’il fait vraiment. J’ai fait la série pour la circulation et la tonicité, et j’en suis satisfaite sur ces bases.
Nathalie Cormier · July 2026 · Google
★★★★★
J’ai fait du Slimwave pendant ma convalescence après une blessure au genou, quand je ne pouvais pas m’entraîner. Cela a maintenu une activité dans mes jambes pendant trois mois où je ne pouvais rien faire moi-même. Les courbatures du lendemain étaient étrangement rassurantes.
Éric Boisvert · June 2026 · Google

Compare

Pads across many zones, or a field on one

Both contract muscle without you doing the work. They differ in how deep they reach, how much of the muscle they recruit and what you should expect from them.

Compare with

	Slimwave® weight-lossThis treatment	Emsculpt NEO® body sculptingView treatment →
How it reaches the muscle	A current through pads on the skin	A focused magnetic field through an applicator
What to expect	Drainage, circulation and muscle tone	Muscle growth, and fat reduction above it
Zones per session	Several, worked in sequence	One
The series	10 sessions, two to three a week	4 sessions per area
Treatment time	30–45 minutes	30 minutes per session
Downtime	None (mild muscle soreness or redness possible)	None (muscle soreness or skin sensitivity possible)
Price	$90 – $150 per session (packages available)	$550 – $2,000, depending on number of sessions

Each treatment’s facts come from its own page. Prices and timings are confirmed at your consultation.

Your visit

Pads placed, intensity set, forty-five minutes lying down

Performed by trained technicians, after an assessment that maps the zones and checks your history.

At the assessment
At the assessment
Your zones are identified and your history is checked
A pacemaker rules this out entirely, as does pregnancy. After a birth you wait six weeks, and after a caesarean six months, before starting.
5 to 10 minutes
5 to 10 minutes
A glass of water, then the pads
You drink a glass of water first: what the session moves has to be carried away afterwards, and that needs fluid in the system before you begin. Then each pad is placed over the motor point of a specific muscle, in the same spots each session so the series builds rather than restarts.
30 to 45 minutes
30 to 45 minutes
The sequence runs
The first minute tingles, and then it settles into waves of contraction and release. Intensity is raised to what you say is enough.
After the session
After the session
You drink several glasses of water afterwards
This is the second half of the treatment, not aftercare advice. Lymph drains into your circulation and leaves through your kidneys.

Tell us about any pacemaker or implanted device
A current near an implanted device is the one absolute contraindication here
Drink a glass of water before you arrive
Drainage needs fluid in the system before the session, not only after it
Wait six weeks after a birth, six months after a caesarean
The abdominal wall has to have healed before it is stimulated
Skip heavy body lotion on the zones
The pads need clean contact with the skin to reach the motor point

Safety

Side effects, and who it is not for

Nothing is injected, nothing is heated and the skin is not broken, so there is very little to recover from. The contraindications below are about the current, and the first of them is absolute.

Your history is checked for implanted devices before anything is booked
Intensity is raised with your feedback, never beyond it
We will tell you plainly that this is not a weight-loss treatment

Common and temporary

A tingling sensation at the start of each session
Mild muscle soreness the following day
Needing to pass urine more than usual for a few hours

Less common

Redness where a pad sat, settling within the hour
Muscle cramping during a session, usually a sign the intensity is too high
Skin irritation under the pads in sensitive skin

Wait, or choose another option, if

You have a pacemaker or any implanted electronic device
You are pregnant
You gave birth less than six weeks ago, or had a caesarean less than six months ago
You have epilepsy or a seizure condition
You have an active cancer, a serious heart condition or a deep vein thrombosis, unless your doctor has cleared it
You have broken skin, an infection or a recent surgical scar in the area