A non-invasive body contouring system, comprising: a housing; a source of electromagnetic radiation configured to generate treatment energy and, disposed within the housing an applicator; a cooling surface for contacting skin and being suitable for passing EMR therethrough; an umbilical cord extending from the housing and coupled at a distal end to the applicator; the applicator being configured to contact a surface of a body and deliver treatment energy thereto, wherein the umbilical cord is configured to receive treatment energy from the source and deliver the treatment energy to the applicator, wherein the applicator is configured to initially apply electromagnetic radiation to a skin surface for a duration sufficient to initially raise a temperature of a target region at or below a dermis/hypodermis junction to a hyperthermic temperature in a range from about 42 °C to about 47 °C; wherein the applicator is further configured to thereafter maintain the target region within the hyperthermic temperature range for a treatment duration from about 20 minutes to about 30 minutes, wherein the applicator is configured to maintain the temperature of the target region within the hyperthermic temperature range by modulating the electromagnetic radiation applied to the skin surface so as to cyclically cool and heat the target region, the treatment comprising a cooling phase and a heating phase, wherein the system is configured to provide electromagnetic radiation to be employed during the heating phase a) in a power density range of 1 W/cm 2 to 5 W/cm 2, or b) in a power density range of 0.5 W/cm 2 to 10 W/cm 2 and in the wavelength range of 800 to 1300 nm; wherein the duration of the cooling phase is in a range from about 3 seconds to about 15 seconds and the duration of the heating phase is in a range from about 3 seconds to about 15 seconds; and wherein the applicator is configured to terminate application of electromagnetic radiation to the skin after the treatment duration. a housing; a source of electromagnetic radiation configured to generate treatment energy and, disposed within the housing an applicator; a cooling surface for contacting skin and being suitable for passing EMR therethrough; an umbilical cord extending from the housing and coupled at a distal end to the applicator; the applicator being configured to contact a surface of a body and deliver treatment energy thereto, wherein the umbilical cord is configured to receive treatment energy from the source and deliver the treatment energy to the applicator, wherein the applicator is configured to initially apply electromagnetic radiation to a skin surface for a duration sufficient to initially raise a temperature of a target region at or below a dermis/hypodermis junction to a hyperthermic temperature in a range from about 42 °C to about 47 °C; wherein the applicator is further configured to thereafter maintain the target region within the hyperthermic temperature range for a treatment duration from about 20 minutes to about 30 minutes, wherein the applicator is configured to maintain the temperature of the target region within the hyperthermic temperature range by modulating the electromagnetic radiation applied to the skin surface so as to cyclically cool and heat the target region, the treatment comprising a cooling phase and a heating phase, wherein the system is configured to provide electromagnetic radiation to be employed during the heating phase a) in a power density range of 1 W/cm 2 to 5 W/cm 2, or b) in a power density range of 0.5 W/cm 2 to 10 W/cm 2 and in the wavelength range of 800 to 1300 nm; wherein the duration of the cooling phase is in a range from about 3 seconds to about 15 seconds and the duration of the heating phase is in a range from about 3 seconds to about 15 seconds; and wherein the applicator is configured to terminate application of electromagnetic radiation to the skin after the treatment duration.