Using Anti-Cellulite Creams: Is There Any Point?
Spring is here! Jackets can stay in the cupboard, boots are swapped for shoes, and dresses can, once again, be worn without leggings or tights. Although, after a short inspection, I decided that my legs were not completely ready for summer…I suspect that many women had the same thoughts this morning, and just like me, stuck to the safe option of jeans. For white legs, unsightly veins and cellulite can pretty much ruin your enjoyment of summer! There is something that can be done about the first two, but what about cellulite? Just googling on the internet for solutions to cellulite delivers thousands of hits for remedies, equipment and ingredients with the most amazing results. It still amazes me all the promises being made. However much I would like it to work: there is a big difference between the scientific results and the promises made….
What is cellulite?
Cellulite is more common than you think. At least 80 to 90% of women suffer from it. That means that you can regard cellulite as a normal occurrence rather than a disorder. Small consolation, for disorder or not, cellulite remains wretched! Although there are many different theories, the causes of cellulite are:
- A thinner deeper skin layer
- Weaker and irregular connective tissue in the deeper skin (connective tissue gives the skin support)
- More localised fat under the skin
The lumps in the skin, also known as orange peel, become visible because the localised fat is pushing against the skin. These fatty lumps are pushed from the deeper dermis through the weakened and thinner connective tissue layer. A good example is the netted bags you get your oranges in! In people with cellulite the fatty lumps are bigger and the transverse connective tissues (the strings from the orange netting) lie less regularly and also vertically to the skin. They also look like they are fixed there.
A cellulite cream. Is it worthwhile?
There are such ingredients in existence which can “in a test tube’, burn fat and strengthen connective tissue. An example is caffeine , aminophylline or vitamin A acid. But before you go eagerly stocking up on these products, a few things to note.
- The problem of cellulite in the skin is so deep which makes it difficult for ingredients to reach it.
- The concentrations in creams are often not comparable to the concentrations which are used in scientific research.
- The research is carried out in a laboratory and the results are viewed under a microscope. But what can be observed in a tissue culture dish or under a microscope is often not visible to the naked eye.
And also worth realising; much research is carried out by the industry itself….
Placebo effect
Still there are also more and more independent studies being carried out into the use of cellulite creams. One half of a research group were given a fake cream to use (without knowing this), and the other half a cream with much promised ingredients. Anti-cellulite creams were indeed able to improve cellulite. But…. the results from the creams without active ingredients were found to provide a similar improvement! The placebo effect in such products is immense! So for now it seems best to accept that cellulite simply goes with being a woman. It still remains unfair that men don’t suffer with this…
Regards Jetske.
(Dr. Jetske Ultee-Research Physician Cosmetic Dermatology)
You can also read the blogs: ‘Laser Treatment and Creams’,
‘An Alternative for a Facelift (or Not…)‘,
‘Enlarged Pores Remain Enlarged Pores‘,
‘Research Has Revealed That’,
‘The Effects of Stress on the Skin’.