Cellulite

What Is Cellulite?

Cellulite is fat beneath your skin that causes a lumpy, “cottage cheese” look on your thighs, rear end, hips, and belly. You might not like it, but it’s really common and harmless.

Cellulite Causes and Risk Factors

It's just normal fat. It looks lumpy because it pushes against connective tissue, causing the skin above it to pucker. It’s not clear why it happens.

You can have it whether you're heavy or thin. Muscle tone can affect it, and very fit people sometimes have it. Hormonal factors and genetics both play a role. It might also be related to the thickness of your skin. Women are more likely to get it than men. It tends to form more as you get older.

Lifestyle factors may play a role. For example, cellulite may be related to:

• Unhealthy diet
• Fad dieting
• Slow metabolism
• Lack of physical activity
• Dehydration
• Total body fat (But at least one study showed that losing weight doesn’t change cellulite.)

Cellulite Treatment

Cellulite shows up less on darker skin. So if you have light skin, a self-tanner may make the bumps and dimples harder to spot. You don’t have to do anything about cellulite, but there are ways to get rid of or reduce it. Some work better than others.

Cryolipolysis

This noninvasive procedure freezes and kills fat cells. Once they’re dead, your body naturally removes them. This treatment is usually used for body shaping, but fat removal can also improve your cellulite. It can take three treatments and 3 or 4 months for you to see results.

Laser treatments

Also called radiofrequency systems, they show promise for cellulite. Treatment usually mixes massage, liposuction, or light therapy. It can liquefy fat, cut connective tissue to loosen puckering, boost collagen growth and skin tightening, increase blood flow, and lessen fluid retention. Expect results to last at least 6 months.

One popular FDA-approved laser treatment is Cellulaze. The doctor injects a numbing solution into the area, then puts a laser under your skin. It shoots heat in three directions. You can expect about a 75% improvement in your cellulite for about a year.

Cellulite Treatments to Use With Caution or Avoid

Injectables

Some doctors inject chemicals into the fat layer below the skin to encourage breakdown and make cellulite less noticeable. This procedure is often called mesotherapy. The chemicals used include phosphatidylcholine, aminophylline, hormones, herbal extracts, vitamins, and minerals. There’s little proof these treatments help. Most doctors don’t recommend the procedure because there’s a risk of infection, swelling, rashes, and lumpy skin.

Liposuction

This fat removal procedure is often used on the thighs, buttocks, and abdomen. However, it can actually make the dimpled fat left behind look worse.

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