To understand cellulite, you need to understand your skin has three layers. The outermost is the epidermis, which is the part we usually think of when we think of skin. It’s the thinnest and the most disposable layer of skin. In fact, it is continually being sloughed off and renewed. Directly under the epidermis is the dermis, the workhorse of the system. It houses the capillaries, sweat glands, hair follicles, nerve endings, lymph vessels, sebaceous glands, and connective tissue. The fibers of its connective tissue are what keep the three layers of your skin together.
The deepest layer of the skin is the subcutaneous tissue, and that’s where you store most of your fat cells. According to one theory of cellulite, when you increase the quantity of fat, the outer layers of the skin expand to accommodate the increase. But where the connective fibers of the dermis anchor the epidermis, it can create dimples (a little like the depressions around upholstery buttons on a sofa) in the expanding skin. These dimples are called cellulite.
The Diversity of Cellulite Treatments
A recent Google search for “cellulite treatment” turned up over 47 million hits. According to Wikipedia, “Aside from ‘topical’ products (creams, ointments, etc) and injectables (eg collagenase), treatments for cellulite include non-invasive therapy such as mechanical suction or mechanical massage. Energy-based devices include radio frequency with deep penetration of the skin, ultrasound, laser and pulsed-light devices.”
Since the problem is not on the surface of the skin but in the deepest layer of fat below the surface, it is difficult to fathom how creams and ointments might help. I can see that collagen injections might help to smooth the skin, at the expense of a bulkier appearance. The mechanical- and energy-based treatments sound somewhat promising. After all, we have witnessed weight loss from photobiomodulation. But it seems to me that if the noninvasive treatments for cellulite worked well, we would see it in the news. Instead, the only place we see claims for these treatments is in advertising. In the words of the Mayo Clinic, “Most of these treatments don’t live up to their claims.”
Fat Removal: The Most Effective Treatment
The good news is that cellulite may be one of the least dangerous of medical conditions. It is harmless. The bad news is that most people consider it ugly. If you just can’t stand having noticeable cellulite, your only real treatment option might be plastic surgery for the removal of fat. Better yet, forget treatments. Lose weight through diet and exercise. If you begin burning more calories than you ingest, your body will supply the extra energy you need by burning your fat.
If you want to optimize your weight loss program, let me suggest you supplement diet and exercise with whole-body cryotherapy (WBC). WBC is not a weight loss technique in and of itself. But because it activates your brown fat, it can boost your metabolism and increase the efficiency of your calorie burn.
WBC Can Intensify a Workout
If you want to try the WBC technique for weight loss and cellulite control, try to schedule some of your workouts so you will begin them within an hour of leaving the cryotherapy cabinet. The reason I suggest this is that most people report a temporary sense of euphoria after a cryotherapy session, and this feeling is likely to encourage you to attack your workout with more intensity, further increasing calorie burn.
Book a few whole-body cryotherapy sessions today and try it.
