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Cellulite (and why you will be better off mixing your own lotion for it).

If you think that cellulite is a medical term, you are wrong. So, what is it?  It is what you want it to be. Or, rather, what skin care companies and plastic surgeons want it to be.

We all know what cellulite looks like, but let me assure you that it is NOT a disease. Still, I managed to find a review on cellulite published in a relatively obscure medical journal (European journal of dermatology and venereology, 2000, 14: 251-262).  Despite the lack of recognition of cellulite in the medical field, this “condition”  managed to gather a few medical-sounding names, like gynoid lipodystrophy, nodular liposclerosis, oedemato-fibrosclerotic panniculopathy and panniculosis. It has also been called “mattress skin” and orange peel to describe the superficial undulations of the skin.

Cellulite will happen to most women, so it is not an abnormal condition. As we age, our skin is no longer able to stretch smoothly over subcutaneous fat deposits, and that is NOT a disease.   But just as we don’t like wrinkles, we don’t like cellulite. Is there anything that can be done? Cosmetic surgery can alleviate the problem by either injecting fat in the “valleys” or doing liposuction in the “hills”. Surgery may help, or not, but any effect is likely to be temporary.

There is something else that can be done without the risk and expense of cosmetic surgery. You can try to get that dormant, subcutaneous fat back into your body metabolism. You can also increase the elasticity of your skin so that it will be able to cope with the increased fat volume. SAS cellulite control cream targets both structural problems.

Now, let me tell you what actually happens to your skin when you reach your 20s. You are still as beautiful as you were when you were 13 (but couldn’t appreaciate your beauty). But your skin will start losing elasticity, and you accumulate some fat the way women’s bodies were designed to do so that they could feed a baby. The combination of these two may lead to skin “bumps”.

Can you help your skin? Yes. But not by buying (and using) most cellulite creams on the market.  Here is one example.

Clarins Body Fit Anti-Cellulite Contouring Expert
Water, Alcohol, Glycerin, Butylene Glycol, Dimethicone, Corylus Avellana (Hazelnut) Seed Oil, Dicaprylyl Carbonate, Caffeine, Hydroxyethyl Acrylate/Sodium Acryloyldimethyl Tauratecopolymer, Fragrance, Menthol, Polysilicone-11, Ppg-5-Ceteth-20, Escin, Sodium Acrylates Copolymer, Hydrogenated Polyisobutene, Cydonia Oblonga Leaf Extract, Disodium Edta, Hdi/Trimethylolhexyllactone Crosspolymer, Phospholipids, Tocopherol, Celosiacristata Flower Extract, Polyglyceryl-10 Stearate, Helianthus Annuus (Sunflower) Seed Oil, Scabiosa Arvensis Extract, Ethylene Brassylate, Baccharis Genistelloides Extract, Caprylyl Glycol, Decylglucoside, Mentha Aquatica Leaf Extract, Potassium Sorbate, Silica, Ci 14700/Red 4.

In short, Clarin’s cellulite product contains some stuff that is bad for you (alcohol, fragrance; the menthol is to make you think that something is happening,   Among the label value ingredients, there is some value: escin, which can help with capillaries, and glycerin.  The rest, Latin names to make you think you are buying something of value.

We don’t have a cellulite cream at Skin Actives but our capillary health cream is great (no false modesty here) and contains  Rosa Canina (Rosehip) Seed Oil, Seakelp (Lactobacillus/Kelp Ferment Filtrate) Bioferment, Aesculus Hippocastanum (Horse Chestnut) Seed Extract, Ruscus Aculeatus (Butcher’s Broom) Root Extract, Rutin, Hesperidin, Vitis Vinifera (Grape) Seed Extract, Centella Asiatica (Gotu Kola) Extract, Soy Isoflavones, Dipotassium Glycyrrhizate (Licorice Extract), Sodium Hyaluronate (Hyaluronic Acid).

You can make yourself an effective “cellulite cream”. Use Skin Actives capillary cream as is, or mix it into a lotion you like (or our Body cream) and massage it on your thighs. Vitamin A cream will also be helpful.  Then, relax and have a coffee or tea.

Other possible additions:

Sea kelp bioferment: full of minerals and nutrients to help rekindle skin elasticity
Caffeine: get rid of some water and wake up sleepy cells, acts directly on fat cells by interacting with receptors and breaking down fats for local respiration or to be exported for use by the muscles.
Retinyl acetate (vitamin A): accelerate skin renewal.
Acetyl carnitine: mobilize the fat by increasing its use by mitochondria.