Help me remove this cottage cheese fat please! A top complaint for women when it comes to their bodies is the cottage cheese-looking fatty skin known as cellulite. Cellulite is caused by fat deposits that are just below the surface of the skin. It often appears after puberty surfacing on skin in the abdomen, lower limbs and pelvic region. According to a study by Neutrogena, 70 percent of women have cellulite. Because women have thinner skin, more women suffer with it than men. Excess weight and a lack of exercise can worsen the problem; however, even thin women can struggle with it. The beauty industry offers many creams that promise to reduce the dimples and bumps of cellulite. However, do those anti-cellulite creams really work?
Many anti-cellulite products often plug the ingredients of caffeine, retinol and the antioxidant DMAE as the elixirs that will help reduce the appearance of cellulite. According to medicalnewstoday.com, “Linda Wells, editor-in-chief of Allure magazine, says the new products claim to help with the appearance of cellulite, and do not say that they can banish it completely. ‘No cream will get rid of cellulite,’ Wells said. ‘And they don’t really say that they do. What they say is ‘help the appearance of cellulite.’”
Caffeine is a common ingredient in cellulite-reducing products that may show some benefits because it helps blood flow to the skin and works like a diuretic flushing water out of the body. Removing moisture from the skin may temporarily firm it. Retinol also allegedly works by penetrating and exfoliating the skin while increasing collagen production, which makes skin thicker and conceals the dimpling fat. Retinol has some drawbacks because too much can dry the skin and create redness and pealing. Some creams also tout using dimethylaminoethanol or DMAE, an antioxidant derived from fish that when blended with amino acids allegedly stimulate the muscles to constrict and become firmer.
Many doctors agree that there is no scientific proof that cellulite creams are effective in getting rid of cellulite or even reducing the appearance. According to medicalnewstoday.com,
‘Women who believe that they can eliminate cellulite through creams, or even weight loss, are likely to be disappointed,’ said Dr. Garry S. Brody, a professor of plastic surgery at the University of Southern California. Dr. Lisa M. Donofrio, an assistant professor of dermatology at Yale University School of Medicine, and Tulane University School of Medicine, agreed that there is no scientific proof that the creams work, and there is no concrete way to measure cellulite, either. She tells her patients that cellulite is normal, and is likely the product of genetics and hormones. ‘Cellulite is a storage pattern of superficial fat,’ Donofrio said. ‘Instead of fat being stored diffusely it is stored in little pockets separated by fibrous strands called septae.’ Contrary to what patients have heard or read, cellulite is not the result of toxins, poor circulation or clogged lymphatics, she said. In fact, one study that compared cellulite fat to other fat found no biochemical differences.
Another article in medicalnewstoday.com reported on a study that looked at weight loss and cellulite reduction. “‘There is no answer for completely eliminating cellulite, however, it appears the more weight one loses, the better its appearance,’ said Dr. Kitzmiller. ‘Although the appearance of cellulite diminished for the majority of patients, weight loss did not totally eradicate the condition. The dimples appear to be permanent features that lessen in depth as the pounds come off.’”
So the old fashioned, lose weight, exercise, maintain a healthy diet and learn to love yourself in every stage and condition holds true in the case of cellulite and life. Love your dimples, as well as your wrinkles, as those are the textures and contours that add interest to the composition of your body and character.
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