Cellulite- What is it, and What’s the Best Way to Treat it?

Happy New Year everyone! At MCSC our new year’s resolution is to make 2018 the best year ever for beauty. What’s your new year’s resolution? If your plans for this year include looking and feeling your best, we are here to help! The shelves are stocked with our best roster of skin products ever, including the latest from Obaji, SkinMedica, Alumier, Clayton Chagal- and now the prestigious Universkin line!. It’s the perfect time to shake up your beauty regimen, so come in and see Suzanne our medical aesthetician to find out how to beat blah winter skin and get the Glow!

And what better way to look great this winter than with intense pulse light therapy, and dermal fillers.

Cellulite- What is it, and What’s the Best Way to Treat it?

1. What is the difference between cellulite and just plain fat?

 The term “Cellulite” refers to a dimpled, “ cottage cheese” or uneven appearance to skin overlying fatty areas, and is commonly seen over the buttocks and thighs. Some estimates suggest as many as 90% of women will at some point in their lives develop cellulite. Women are more prone to cellulite than men because of the difference anatomically between the architecture of fatty deposits between the sexes. Cellulite has a dimpled look because of fine septi that separate small pockets of fat from one another, and the presence of fibrous bands of connective tissue that pull fat and skin down, tethering it to underlying tissue. One doesn’t need to have a large pocket of fat to have cellulite- it’s development is not dependent on quantity of fat, but rather the presence of fibrous bands and lax overlying skin.

2. Can Exercise Get Rid of Cellulite?

 Exercise can be part of a healthy lifestyle, and helps tone muscles and promotes weight loss, but exercise is unlikely to reduce cellulite, because cellulite is about the skin, connective tissue and to some degree fat, not about toned muscles.

3. Can Weight Loss Reduce Cellulite?

 When we lose weight, the fat deposits in all the areas of our body become smaller to varying degrees. Sometimes, if deposits in the buttock or thigh shrink, there can be a modest reduction in the appearance of cellulite. However, because cellulite has more to do with connective tissue and skin looseness than it does to do with actual fat, weight reduction can often be associated with increasing laxity or looseness of skin, especially as we age, and this can actually worsen the appearance of cellulite.

4. Can Liposuction Reduce Cellulite?

 As with weight loss, sometimes liposuction can improve cellulite as it removes the fatty tissue with abnormal architecture. However, often liposuction will make cellulite worse. Though it can contour and reduce fatty deposits reliably, it can leave loose skin behind, and again, it is the loose skin and connective tissue bands that cause the dimpled appearance we don’t like.

5. Can Topical Skin Creams reduce Cellulite?

There are some scientific studies that suggest certain topical agents, such as Centella asiatica extract, some peptides, anti inflammatory compounds, or metalloproteinase enzymes may help reduce the appearance of cellulite. In our experience these effects are modest. Most over the counter creams that tout themselves as cellulite reducing are absolutely useless. If you do wish to try a topical agent, only those medical grade products available through a doctor run clinic will be likely to have any benefit whatsoever.

6. What Treatments are most Recommended for Cellulite ?

 Because the main cause of cellulite is fibrous bands that pull the tissues down and cause dimples, the most successful treatment involves cutting these bands. This is most successful in the region of the buttock. Celfina is a machine that has gotten a lot of press. It uses micro-blades which pierce the skin to cut these bands. However, the same benefit can be achieved by the use of manual subcision in which the plastic surgeon cuts these same bands with a sharp needle. This is a much more cost effective mode of treatment as well. These forms of treatment are generally more beneficial than laser treatments, such as Cellulase, or other energy devices you may read about. Not all forms of cellulite are treatable with subcision though. So for example, dimples should be visible at rest without muscle contraction for best response to treatment.

If you suffer from Cellulite, and have questions about treatment, or are interested in Subcision therapy, come speak to Dr. Weinberg. Book you appointment at (905) 273-3045 in Mississauga, (416) 207-9090 in Toronto.