Is there a way to erase cellulite?

Q: Are there effective treatments for cellulite? I’m not talking about the creams that were aimed at women in the 90s — I realize they don’t work — but rather the laser treatment or something similar that may have been developed in recent years. I am a proud Gen-Xer who turned 50 last year. I’m active, I lift heavy weights, I run a half marathon and if I don’t get injured, a marathon once a year. I eat well and am generally in fantastic shape. But my thighs! I just can’t get over the dimples I see on the front of my quads. It’s the first thing I notice when I look at a picture of myself or when I see my reflection in a mirror when I’m wearing shorts. I realize this clearly falls into the category of primordial problems, and I otherwise have a ton of confidence. I just don’t want to feel bad about my legs.

ONE: Cellulite! I have such mixed feelings about this. You probably already know that it’s a common condition, affecting, by some accounts, around 90 percent of women. (That 10 percent? They must like their privacy; I’ve never met.) Unfortunately, a Harris Poll revealed that about 60 percent of women believed that cellulite was their fault (their cellulite, not yours). I want to remind you, before we get to your options, that once upon a time, in the mid-1900s, when I was a girl, cellulite did not exist. Not because women were in racing shape, but because it hadn’t been invented yet. If our thighs were big, they were called heavy, but it didn’t make them a full medical disorder (as defined by Howard Murad, MD, in his book The solution for cellulite). Once upon a time, full hips signified a woman’s strength, her powerful, impressive ability to reproduce. The soft slice of thigh exposed between a panty and the dark stocking of a stocking held firmly by a garter was delightful, not sickening. the physical lining of a woman’s thighs was considered velvety, luxurious, suggesting a velvety capacity completely feminine.

But in our wild quest for physical perfection, often so fetishized as to be inhumane, women have learned to revile this padding, which now seems to represent our bodies’ eagerness to submit to our will, a heavy reminder that we are not will we ever achieve the natural ideal.

That being said, I can understand why dimples in your quads bother you. You touch almost perfect? why not do it Look almost perfect; While I personally don’t agree with that kind of thinking—some of the tastiest stews I’ve eaten have appeared on my plate looking like the dog had already enjoyed them—I understand you’d like to see a bigger reward for training. So I asked HNTFUYF DermDiva Heidi Waldorf for her best advice.

“The first thing to understand about cellulite is that all cellulite is not the same,” he said. There are dimples caused by the pulling of vertical fiber strips (like the indentations in a traditional mattress) and the undulating waves from the sagging of the leather (more like your comforter). They require different treatments.

Improving dents requires freeing the underlying strips (called septa) by dissolving, cutting, or softening them. And how can this be achieved? By undercut, Waldorf said, meaning to sweep under each dimple with a sharp instrument. You can use a device (Cellfina) designed to stabilize the depth and angle of the undercut instrument. or one guided by light visualization (Aveli). or one that disrupts bands with acoustic pulses (Resonic). or inject an enzyme to dissolve collagen fibrils (Qwo, which is no longer available due to persistent hyperpigmentation after injection).

Skin laxity, on the other hand (or thigh), can be improved with procedures that improve skin density through collagen regeneration, Waldorf said. These treatments include injectable biostimulators (such as Radiesse or Sculptra fillers). tightening devices (such as radiofrequency with Thermage or Emtone); radiofrequency plus microneedling (as with Morpheus 8 or Fractora). focused ultrasound (as with Ultherapy or Sofwave); or potentially some lasers (such as Nd:YAG). Improving support by helping to build muscle under loose skin can also improve appearance (with devices such as Emsculpt, TruSculpt Flex or Cooltone), depending on the degree of laxity.

That’s a lotta devices, which means a lot of options – not surprising, as there’s a lot of money to be made from this physical condition seen in many women. According a research companythe US cellulite treatment market size value in 2022 is estimated at $1.4 billion.

So you think you have cellulite? How can you tell which type you have been blessed with? If, when you stretch your skin, a dimple doesn’t diminish but gets deeper, it’s probably a dimple (a common sign of cellulite), Waldorf said. If it decreases, it is likely laxity. It’s important to get a thorough evaluation by a doctor to find out if you have one, the other, or – you’re in luck! – both. Obviously, for a satisfactory result, you need the right tool for the job. tightening procedures won’t have much of an effect on dimples, and going with the tapes won’t help reduce the effect of sagging, Waldorf said.

Some treatments, such as subcision, may only require one or two sessions if the fibrous films are successfully destroyed. Most current treatments for sagging require multiple treatments and often a combination of treatments such as an injectable biostimulator (filler) and a tightening device to get a noticeable result.

Are you still resigned to finding a solution to your cellulite? The key before throwing your money at it is to talk to your doctor about realistic expectations, Waldorf said. A young person with thick skin, tight underlying muscle and some dimples will likely be happier with a result than an older person with laxity and little underlying support. Which brings me back to the line I seem to keep repeating week after week: The less a device (or skin care product) has to do, the better it works.

Valerie Monroe was beauty director at O, The Oprah Magazine, where he wrote the monthly “Ask Val” column for nearly 16 years. He now writes the weekly newsletter How not to argue your face. Her goal continues to be to shift our thinking in the area of ​​beauty from self-criticism to self-compassion and to learn how to be loving witnesses to ourselves and others as we grow older.