We’ve all had that day. A bad one where we’ve caught sight of our body in the harsh, fluorescent lighting of a change room and wondered how on earth our once taught body could’ve gotten so dimply-looking. While it’s not exactly reassuring, at least you’re not alone. More than 80-percent of women over the age of 20, regardless of their weight or size, are affected by the scourge of cellulite and stubborn, resistant fat. Fortunately, there are lots of things you can do to improve it, but it first helps to understand why you have it.
The biology of bumps
Before puberty, most women don’t have cellulite. This unwanted ‘orange peel’ look is something that develops over time and has everything to do with how the structure of our dermis changes as we age. For starters, as we gain weight, our fat cells expand and push upwards towards the skin’s surface. At the same time, the fibrous cords that connect your skin to your muscle (with the fat sandwiched in between) act like netting that holds the fat down, creating a dimpled-looking surface. Annoyingly, men typically don’t get cellulite because they have a different dermis structure. Their skin is thicker, meaning you don’t see the fat cells as they push towards the surface. Also, the hormone oestrogen seems to play a role in aggravating cellulite and, as men have much less of it than we do, it’s just another reason as to why they get off lucky in the lump and bump department. Things that can worsen the look of cellulite? Poor circulation and lymphatic drainage, not enough exercise, a sedentary lifestyle and a diet too high in fatty and starchy foods without enough fibre.
Beware of hocus pocus
The fact that almost every woman with cellulite wants it gone means you’ll find a myriad of products all promising to banish it, but most are hocus pocus as are many of the homegrown methods to cure it. For example, drinking more water will ensure you’re hydrated, but will have no effect on the structure of your skin. You also can’t get rid of it via body brushing. While this can certainly help improve your circulation, and that’s always a good thing, it can’t break fibrous connective tissue, nor can it shrink your fat cells. Also, the majority of the topical cellulite creams would have you believe that caffeine is a cellulite-busting miracle worker, but it’s not. As caffeine works as a diuretic, it dehydrates the content of your fat cells and this makes the lumpiness a little less obvious, but the effect is incredibly subtle and temporary.
A real solution
If all this has sounded disheartening so far, don’t despair. While there’s no single magic bullet, there are most definitely are treatments that can go a long way to improving the look of cellulite. However, at Body Renewal, we’ve found that we get the best results by using a combination of them which is why we’ve developed an array of Fat, Cellulite & Tightening solutions. Each one makes use of several cellulite and skin tightening solutions and our Doctors will be able to help you choose the one that can suit the severity of your cellulite as well as your budget. For example, if your cellulite situation is a mild one, you’d get results from our Basic solution which includes a multipolar radiofrequency treatment like VelaShape that can shrink the size of your fat cells while boosting collagen to help tighten lax skin. Stubborn cellulite, however, will require something more intensive and nothing is more focused than our Ultimate solution. It includes circulation-boosting carboxytherapy and cryolipo fat freezing as well as I-Lipo Ultra laser to target resistant fat.
Hang loose
If cellulite isn’t your main concern and it’s loose skin that you’re concerned about - or you’re dealing with both conditions - we’ve got good news for you. Body Renewal has lots of cellulite-focused solutions, which will also improve your skin tone, and to help you tighten up. Again, because lax skin is a contributing factor to the creation of cellulite, it makes sense to treat both concerns. Collagen and elastin are the things that give our skin its youthful ‘bounce’. In our youth we have it in abundance, but as we get older our natural supplies diminish. Also, our elastin starts to lose its stretch in the same way a Lycra swimming costume eventually starts to lose its shape. All this causes our skin to sag and it can be made even worse if you gain or lose a lot of weight as our skin just isn’t able to snap back as much as it would in your younger years.
Tighten up!
Knowing that collagen is key is taught, youthful-looking skin, Body Renewal offers an array of treatments to help you increase your collagen supply while getting what exists to contract, creating an instantly ‘tighter’ look. For example, skin needling and glycolic acid peels will encourage new collagen growth and have a cumulative effect that works over time. Laser and light treatments, however, things like Monopolar Radiofrequency and Laser Genesis Rejuvenation, will do the same but, as they deliver an energy that causes your collagen to shrink, they also create a taught effect that’s immediate. While all these treatments are effective on their own, you’ll get the best results from a mix of them which is why, much like our Fat, Cellulite & Tightening solutions, our Skin Tightening & Anti-aging solutions are packages that consist of several modalities, not just one. As an example, our most intensive loose skin-focused option, the Supreme Body Rejuvenation solution, includes a glycolic peel and skin needling as well as Laser Genesis. Thus, you can benefit from the promise of more collagen in the future as well as that instant ‘lift’ you’re going to love.
To find out more about the solutions available to help improve the look of cellulite as well as tighten up, visit Body Renewal on www.bodyrenewal.co.za. Together, we can help you create a smoother, firmer-looking silhouette.