Stop wasting your time on methods that don’t work. (Photo: Mariano Pozo/Getty Images)
Ah, cellulite. Almost every woman has dimpled skin somewhere on her body, and it’s probably safe to say almost every woman bemoans it.
“Cellulite is a very common problem,” says dermatologist Karyn Grossman, founder of Grossman Dermatology in Los Angeles and New York City. “And a lot of women feel bad about themselves because of cellulite.”
The blame for the lumps and bumps falls squarely on the bands of connective tissue that surround pockets of fat deep within your skin. As these fibrous bands pull down, like stitches on a down comforter, and the fat cells accumulate, this creates bulging fat pockets that show up on the skin’s surface. Having less than thick, firm skin also makes these bulges more noticeable.
Now that you know what causes cellulite, let’s clear up some misinformation about what makes this common problem worse and what actually works when it comes to minimizing dimples on your thighs and rear. We rounded up some common beliefs about cellulite and asked the experts what’s true and what’s not:
Cellulite rears its ugly head when you reach adulthood.
Verdict: Myth. Well, here’s something we didn’t know: “You develop cellulite when you hit puberty,” says Grossman. “Children have tight, smooth skin. Teens still often have that tight, smooth skin, but they may have those dimples. As you get older and lose elasticity in your skin, it gets worse.”
Only overweight people have cellulite.
Verdict: Myth. It’s true that the more fat you have under your skin, the greater the bulging pockets that create cellulite’s lumps and bumps. “But even very thin women can have cellulite,” says Grossman. There’s also a genetic component to it. “If you have family members who have cellulite, it means you’re probably going to be more prone to developing it,” she notes.
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Weight loss helps improve cellulite.
Verdict: Fact. With cellulite, “a lot of it is not something you have under your control,” says Grossman. “What you do have under control is your fat. If your BMI is on the high side, losing body fat will improve your cellulite.”
Research backs that up: A small study in the journal Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery found that overweight people with high BMIs and severe cellulite who lost weight and lowered their percentage of thigh fat showed the greatest improvement in terms of the appearance of cellulite. However, in thinner people who had significantly lower BMIs who lost a small amount of weight and saw no change in their percentage of thigh fat, the cellulite actually became more noticeable. Cellulite also looked worse for people whose skin became significantly looser after losing weight. As Grossman points out, “Many thin women can’t and shouldn’t lose weight [to improve cellulite].”
Yo-yo dieting makes cellulite worse.
Verdict: Fact. As the previously mentioned weight-loss study shows, skin elasticity plays an important role in minimizing the appearance of cellulite. “Up-and-down dieting stretches the skin and makes it less able to bounce back,” explains Grossman, which makes bumpy areas look more pronounced. So if you’re trying to shed excess pounds to gain smoother skin, find a weight-loss plan you can live with long-term rather than yo-yo dieting.
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