Is There a Real Solution to Cellulite?
You work hard to maintain your shape, but no matter what you do, the dimples and lumps on your legs won’t go away, and may be getting worse! So what do you do about it? Well, there’s a lot of options available from supplements, to cosmetic products to surgical treatments. As you will read, most of them work only temporarily or don’t work at all. The only real promising long-term solution we’ve found is Cellulaze, an FDA approved laser procedure that attacks the actual cause of cellulite.
What is Cellulite?
There is so much talk about cellulite and the solutions to eliminate cellulite, but what is Cellulite? How do I eliminate cellulite? It’s best to understand what cellulite is in order to better understand how to get rid of it. Cellulite is the dimpled appearance of the skin that is caused by fat deposits and fibrous bands that push and distort the connective tissues beneath the skin. The appearance of cellulite is caused by heredity, skin thickness, hormones, the amount and distribution of body fat and age. Cellulite occurs in people of all races and all body types. Cellulite is not your fault. You don’t choose how much cellulite that you have, just as you don’t choose what colors eyes that you’re born with. It’s a normal variant.
There are so many “treatments” for cellulite on the market, it’s hard to know what to do about it. We know that it’s beneath the skin, we know that the thickness of the skin plays a role, as does hormones and heredity. So knowing that, let’s take a look at some of the treatments available.
- Dietary supplements: Ginkgo biloba, sweet clover, grape-seed biofavinoids, fish oil, soy lecithin, just to name a few. Dietary supplements claim to have a positive effect on the body, to boost metabolism, improve circulation, protect against cell damage, and break down fats. It’s difficult to objectively measure the concepts of metabolism, cell damage and circulation to determine if dietary supplements improve the appearance of cellulite. Because they’re sold as supplements and not drugs, the U.S. Food and Drug administration doesn’t have jurisdiction over dietary supplements of this nature. There is no way to effectively determine their safety and effectiveness. There aren’t clinical studies to support their claim. It’s difficult to determine if dietary supplements would be effective on cellulite elimination.
- Methylxanthines: Methylxanthines are a group of chemicals that include aminophylline, caffeine, and theophyilline. The chemicals are included in many of the crèmes that are marketed to break down fat. Remember, cellulite is beneath the skin. Reasonably it would be difficult to imagine enough concentration of the crème could be applied to effectively break down cellulite. Studies have shown a small reduction of the appearance of cellulite, but no significant loss of cellulite.
- Massage treatments: There are quite a few machines on the market using rolling cylinders to gather areas of skin and massage them inside a chamber. One example is Endermologie, which has been on the market since the mid 1990’s. These treatments usually last for about forty five minutes and can be quite expensive. Ten to twelve treatments are required for noticeable reduction in cellulite. The FDA has approved this procedure for temporary reduction in the appearance of cellulite. Regular maintenance treatments are required or the cellulite will return.
- Mesotherapy: Mesotherapy is a controversial treatment for cellulite that involves injecting drugs or other substances directly into affected tissue. These therapies usually consist of herbs and drugs that are considered to be “off label” by the FDA. This means the medication was approved by the FDA for other conditions. The cocktails could be considered risky and they are unproven for the treatment of cellulite elimination.
- Wraps: There are herb based wraps available in many salons. The wraps can temporarily decrease fluid retention and the appearance of the surface area of the skin. However, they do not have a long term effect on the appearance of cellulite and require multiple treatments for ongoing results.
So What do I do About Cellulite Elimination?
This is a question that I have been consistently asked by patients on a daily basis. I started to research the answer about a year ago and I finally have an answer. Cynosure’s TriActive cellulite cosmetic laser, Cellulaze, can attack cellulite at its source, under the skin. It’s the only FDA approved laser proven to eliminate cellulite and reduce the look of dimply skin caused by cellulite. The great news is that you only need one treatment, it’s a minimally evasive, awake procedure. Studies have shown that it produces results that have shown continued improvement even two years after the initial treatment. It’s safe and effective. We would love to meet patients interested in finally ridding themselves of the appearance of cellulite and discuss in detail if Cellulaze is the right choice. Call 910-239-5905 or contact us today for a complementary consultation. We look forward to hearing from you, Dr. Fazil Mohamed.