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Skin Conditions, Body care, Skin Science & Anatomy
Cellulite: how to get rid of it.
22
Jan
Jan
Cellulite, that unsightly wave of dimpled skin that sits just below your butt cheek.
Why is it so difficult to treat?
The reason is, most of what is known about cellulite is wrong, and simple repetition of errors of the past.
Sorry to disappoint you, but despite popular belief, cellulite has nothing to do with any of the following theories:
- diet
- genetics
- smoking
- medication
- fluid retention
- lack of exercise
- poor circulation
- contraceptive pill
- hormone replacement therapy
Even if it gets us labelled as a HERETIC and BURNED at the STAKE, we want to dispel these dimple dashing myths, once and for all.
So what exactly is cellulite?
Frustratingly, in our industry, we find even our colleagues refer to cellulite as adipose or fat tissue, this is due to misinformation; it is actually a disorder of the connective tissue, affecting type I collagen that begins with the onset of the menstrual cycle.
Type I collagen is the most prevalent protein found in our body – we liken it to our internal scaffolding; a non-bony structural tissue found throughout the whole body. It is this type I collagen that accounts for many female disorders, which is driven by the sex hormones oestrogen and progesterone.
This is a critical concept to understand, and if by chance, you find it difficult to get your head around, ask yourself why is it that men don’t get cellulite.
The clinical grades of cellulite
Grade One
This is characterised by smooth, perfect skin, without any dimpling on standing or lying down.
Deterioration of the skin starts as the integrity of the blood vessels and capillaries, which create a complex transport network throughout our skin, slowly begin to breakdown.
Grade Two
The skin becomes pale with decreased elasticity as dermal deterioration continues; the temperature of the skin is also cool to the touch, which is due to the decline of the micro-circulatory system.
Clumping in localised areas becomes apparent, and with grade two cellulite, you start to see a dimpled appearance on standing, but when lying down this disappears.
During this stage, it is not uncommon for gaps to start appearing in the dermis, which is a result of the normal inflammatory process.
Grade Three
This is where skin dimples on standing and lying down, and when pinched it gets worse; the “orange peel” effect is now evident.
The build-up of fluids and toxins continues to accumulate as the metabolism in the skin’s cells begins to decline. Both the protein synthesis and the repair process are drastically reduced, which contributes to the thinning of the dermal layer.
Grade Four
By now, hard protein deposits begin to form visible nodules, which appear as obvious wave-like structures on the surface of the skin.
The anatomy of cellulite
Ever wondered why it is, that your dimple-dashing buttocks and thighs are the only areas that show cellulite?
Well, this is where nature cleverly makes our body store nutritional fat for infants during pregnancy. This fat is very stubborn and not easily mobilised, making it difficult to remove.
Why is this fat so difficult to mobilise? There are only two layers of subcutaneous fat found within the body:
- superficial layer
- deeper layer
These layers are kept separated by connective tissue, known as fascia.
Fat in both of these layers is stored in compartments; these are similar in structure to eggs in egg boxes, each compartment is separated by fibrous bands of tissue known as trabeculae, which run vertically under the dermis.
Over time, these bands of collagen and connective tissue contract and harden, making the skin inflexible and weak, these bands break down, releasing globules of fat, which are the cause of the appearance of cellulite.
Often, these fat cells expand to such an extent that it causes the collagen fibres around them to bend – which makes sense when you think of the wavy, dimpled, structure of cellulite; it is why the surface of the skin dimples and puckers, creating the orange peel effect that we associate with cellulite.
Conclusion
Cellulite is indeed complex and there is a lot of misinformation around about the causes of cellulite.
As you can see, it has nothing to do with poor circulation, water retention, or a build-up of toxins in the system, and everything to do with the menstrual cycle.
It seems like us ladies get a bad deal, and sadly that even extends to cellulite.
Thank you for the helpful information. I have a condition called Lipedema or Lipoedema (not to be confused with Lymphedema). Most of my life I thought it was cellulite, because it looks like an extreme form, but when I reached my late 30s my legs began to hurt. Lipedema is progressive and painful and unfortunately, many women have it and are unaware. Doctors are only now starting to recognize this condition, because they’ve mostly thought of it as obesity. But if you actually examine a woman with it, you’ll see their limbs (upper arms and legs) are disproportionately larger than the rest of her body. In addition to that, you can feel little hard ball in the fat (like a beanie baby). If you have any insight on this condition, please share. Maybe my comment will help other women who struggle with what they think is painful cellulite.
Hi Gina. Thankyou we are glad the post helped you and for also sharing this information it will be very helpful I am sure. This is not in our range of topicals to treat this as this long term (chronic) condition of fat and connective tissue which builds up in your legs, hips, bottom and sometimes arms is a medical condition. In saying that do now over look body brushing its extremely helpful to get the lymph moving check out our blog and also our article on the lymphatic system.
Have you heard of the Fasciablaster by Ashley Black? I own 3 devices and I must say, after a few months, I’m starting to see results on the front of my legs. The backs ate in what is called the “worse before better” stage. The fasciablasters are patented medical devices. She provides a wealth of information on her private (women only) Facebook page. There are a lot of other health benefits (pain, etc) from using the blasters. check it out. So far, I’m a very happy customer. I can’t wait until the back of my legs break through their toughest stage!
Hi Kristine
No i have not heard about this device but it sounds interesting. I rarely endorse products unless i have truly tried and tested them, but thanks for this comment it maybe useful for some of my readers. Iam going to do a little research on it also.. Samantha
This article just hits the nail on the head after so many years of trying to find a solution for my stubborn cellulite but to no avail.
What about comfrey oil does that help?
Hi unfortunately I am not a herbalist so I wouldn’t be able to answer that, apologies
hi there i am 37 years old from greece.i tried to solve the cellulite situation with some products with no luck ,until i’ve tried birch oil.third week now and i see a difference.
thank you for your information samantha
Hello and Efharisto’ poli, I used to leave in Greece.
I have no experience with birch oil but really appreciate this feedback as in the future I want to put together a collective article on my readers success with cellulite, so this is valuable information thank you.
Does birch oil and/ or ivy oil help dispose of cellulite?
Hello I am not a herbalist and have no experience with these oils, but if anyone else out there knows I would love to hear from you.
Samantha wld love to know more if you researched the exercise plan
Exercise does work. When I was 55 years old, I noticed that I could not wear a short skirt because of cellulite. I started to research to see if there was a cure. I found information that exercise that included lunges would be a way to eliminate this. I worked on a general exercise plan that included 16 lunges on each leg — lunge and then bring up the knee to the chest, and then lunge again… and this definitely reduced my cellulite by about 70%. I am 58 now and enjoy wearing short skirts that do not show the cellulite. In the process I also got rid of 70% of stretch marks.
Bottom line… exercise works but you have to work on it. Would recommend at least one hour of exercise a day.
Hi Dolores
Thankyou so much for your comment I am very open in my information and appreciate your input here.
I guess my article is really referring to metabolically what happens, I also want to educate people to not spend their money on useless treatments and topical products that really show no results. Great to know that exercise works for you and in due course I may update my article and add your comments and little exercise plan if that is ok? Kind regards samantha
Do you sell products? Ive read a few articles and you seem very knowledgeable about products for dry skin, but I cant seem to find any products on your website even though there is a button for shopping cart at the top of the page. Am I missing something?
Hi Lisa
I apologise for overlooking your message, and yes I do, I customise one on one for my clients currently and my products will soon be for sale in the next couple of months, if you are interested please do contact me, so I can create your own custom product. Samantha
I have spent lots of money on products and treatments but to no avail. …so I know first-hand how these heavily marketed treatments don’t work so thankyou for your honesty Samantha
Angela I appreciate you getting in touch, my mission is just to be transparent to my readers and customers so they can make their own informed choices, great to hear your experience of products and treatments. Samantha
I am 50 and have had severe cellulite for more than 25 years. I found excercises online that reduced the cellulite by about 70 percent in a couple of months. The exercises tone the hamstrings and include a very specific and non-traditional way of doing lunges. I only spend 10 minutes a week doing the routine and was astonished at the results.
Hi Marlene thanks for that information, I have to say I have been in the beauty industry for a long time and I have never heard of such exercises, but it’s great that you had such results. Marlene are you able to share the link so that my readers may benefit also? i would really appreciate it.
Hi, sorry but can’t give link to the exercises. I found it months ago and copied it by hand in my diary. I was very sceptical but decided to give it a try. The first session I could only manage 3 reps of the lunges before collapsing and was too stiff the next day to use my legs. I’ ve been exercising daily for 30 years and have never been so stiff or seen such good results. I can now manage 15 reps on each leg after many months. I’m passing on my info to my female friends, so hope I can motivate a few .
Hi Marlene
That is a shame but it sounds like it is some sort of lunge exercise is that right? thankyou for the feedback i certainly appreciate it. Kind regards Samantha
Hi Marlene I am glad you found something that really helped you. I wondered if you could share the link with me so that I can try it. I’m sure most readers would really be interested as well. It would greatly be appreciated if you are able to share the link. Take care & Thank you.
I’d love to know what those exercises are! Is there a website that depicts them? Thank you!
Hi Kristine so would I and I am sure many of my readers and clients! Kristine i hope Marlene won;t mind giving you her email. I will send it on through the email I have sent you and if you do get more results we would love to hear. samantha
Such an interesting article and explains why I have had no luck treating my cellulite thankyou so informative