Exercise, moisturizers, tanners, creams, massages, laser massages and liposuction are amongst the options for cellulite treatment which combined represent a $47 million market in the US. Photo Credit: AFP/FileJune 26, 2009, (Sawf News) - Exercise, moisturizers, tanners, creams, massages, laser massages and liposuction are amongst the options for cellulite treatment which combined represent a $47 million market in the US.
The market is expected to grow to $62 million by 2013, according to a spokeswoman for the Millennium Research Group.
Whether or not cellulite treatments work largely depends on your expectation.
“Most studies show a 25 to 50 percent improvement after multiple treatments,” Dr. Wanner, an instructor in dermatology at Harvard Medical School and an author of an evidence-based review of existing treatments in 2008, tells New York Times.
“Some patients have even less improvement, and the effects may go away over time so patients may require additional treatments,” he adds.
Cellulite, the embarrassing puckered skin that you think your neighbor doesn’t have, just as she think you don't have, mars the abdomen, backside and thighs of women all over the world after puberty.
Men usually don't have it, even when they have girths large enough to endow them with moobs!
What causes cellulite?
The cottage cheese appearance associated with cellulite is caused by the lumping of the cellulite fat immediately below the skin in what is called the subcutaneous layer. The layer contains connective tissues which create compartments for storing fat.
In the case of men, the connective tissue bands are crisscrossed like a net, keeping their fat more evenly restrained. In women they are organized in vertical columns, allowing fat to bulge irregularly.
In addition, because of estrogen, women have more fatty reserves, making them even more susceptible.
Usually, because of where it occurs, cellulite is not a big problem.
Any inhibitions that you may have while shedding your clothes in the bedroom at night are easily taken care of by dimming the lights, or better still lighting a scented candle.
Cellulite does become a problem when you are inclined to hit the beach or the pool to flaunt your well toned body that you have worked so hard in the gym to acquire.
Treatments:
While diet and exercise can help, a lot depends on where you have the cellulite.
“Not all areas of the body respond to diet and exercise, and it’s not entirely reproducible which ones do,” Dr. Kinney said.
Buying a moisturizer that has a sunless tanner mixed in, can be a good temporary solution. The moisturizer will hydrate you skin and reduce the severity of the rippling. The sunless tanner will darken you skin making your cellulite less visible.
Cellulite reduction creams available in the market can help, but only in masking the cellulite by causing swelling in the region. You will need to apply them every time you drop your clothes to get into a bikini.
Massages and laser massages similarly help by causing temporary swelling that masks the dimpled appearance of the skin.
Liposuction is a more permanent but incomplete solution, since it removes the fat but does not address the inflexible connective tissue problem.
“Realistically there is no cure for cellulite,” Dr. Michael F. McGuire, a clinical associate professor at the David Geffen School of Medicine at the University of California, Los Angeles, tells New York Times.
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