Save Your Thighs The Unstretched Truth About Cellulite Creams

Dimples in your cheeks? Not so cute if we're talking about your other ones. Blotchy self-tanners, expensive lipo, invasive lasers?women try all sorts of treatments and potions to smooth out their cellulite. The most accessible treatment, though, is cellulite cream. Many of these products promise to melt away inches from your thighs and hips, firm and contour your skin into a taut expanse, and refine and minimize your imperfections. There are high-end brands and drugstore brands; gels, lotions, and cr?mes; and botanical ingredients that range from white tea to black pepper. Which of these brews should you try? How do you know that a certain ingredient will work? How the heck does a cream get rid of cellulite?
Cellulite creams work on the surface of your skin. There is no miracle cream that you can put on your thighs to eat away the cellulite, but creams work by lifting and smoothing the surface of your skin to reduce the appearance of the wretched skin puckering. Cellulite is the accumulation of fat, fluid, and toxins trapped into a network of collagen and elastin fibers in the deeper levels of your skin. It forms because blood vessels under your skin get damaged, weakening the outer layers of your skin. Fat travels directly to these spots and settles in, creating a hill and valley effect. The dense fat also decreases circulation to the outermost layer of dermis, which gives you white, ripply, cold fish skin. Ew! Women are more prone to cellulite because they carry a higher percentage of body fat than men do, but even skinny women have cellulite. Actually, doctors say that 90% of women past puberty have it, so it doesn't matter if you're overweight, average, or even super thin. Your genes play more of a part in orange peel thighs than anything else, although a nutrition-deficient diet and high stress levels also factor in.
So bring on the fix! Doctors say that the two most important and effective ingredients in a cellulite cream are caffeine and retinol. These ingredients help the outer layer of your skin firm up to help relieve the bumps. The other ingredients in cellulite creams are there to improve the look of your skin. They smooth the surface, decrease any stretch marks, and give you that overall "baby's butt" softness. When searching through the various creams, you will find ingredients like Par Elastyl and collagen, which are firming agents, ginkgo, green tea, soy, horse chestnut tree extract, all which tone the skin, and various pepper extracts to give your skin that "get up and glow."
The formulation of your cellulite cream should be a personal decision. There are creams that contain ingredients that will make your skin tingle, like cinnamon, mint, cucumber, and other plant extracts. This tingle is supposed to help increase circulation to the area and give your cheeks a flush. You will find that most of these creams have a light, refreshing, and energizing scent meant to give you a pick-me-up.
Cellulite creams also come in different textures. The gels absorb quickly into the skin and often make your skin feel tighter very quickly. There are lightweight lotions that go on like regular body lotion and don't feel greasy. Then there are the rich emollient cr?mes that must be rubbed into skin very well to prevent oil slicks on your clothes. This formulation is best before bedtime. There are even creams that come with paraphernalia to help aid in absorption. Some bring a special mitt to rub the cream into your skin and there is even a brand that includes a special pair of neoprene shorts to put on over your cellulite cream.
Cellulite creams can be incredibly expensive, but there are brands that are sold in drugstores that are just as effective. How much you spend depends on what formulations, scents, accessories, and extra ingredients work best for you. Many doctors say that expensive brands do not necessarily work better because the creams contain the same ingredients, but if you like a particular scent or texture of a cream, go for it! No matter what type of cellulite cream you buy, use your cream according to the directions on the bottle or tube. Most treatments instruct you to rub on at least once everyday. As with most skin treatments, you won't notice a transformation immediately. It is the cumulative effect of the treatments that will create the most dramatic change, so do use the cream at least once a day, and be consistent! It's the massaging action that will make the difference between an effective cellulite fighter and a useless tube of body lotion.
Remember, cellulite cream is not a miracle cure. There are people that never see any more positive effect from their treatments than they would from rubbing cocoa butter on their skin. Creams cannot increase your metabolism or seep into the deepest layers of your skin to change your cellulite; but they can help your bottom appear tighter and banish the lumpy mattress look forever. Often, the texture of your skin will improve dramatically before your cellulite will--the lush ingredients in cellulite treatments are great for skin even if they don't work for your cellulite. And even though it is possible to see a big difference, rarely will cellulite 100% disappear. Your cream should give you the boost to improve your diet and exercise habits, a tingle that can be the kick in the pants that you need.

The Truth About Cellulite How To Treat It

Have you been cursed with those lumpy, cottage cheese like areas of fat on your thighs, hips, buttocks, and other parts of your body? There's a good chance; 85% of women are already afflicted with these same cellulite woes. The term "cellulite" is not a common term around the medical community - it was actually first created in European spas. Then, in the early 1970's a man by the name of Nicole Ronsard published the book Cellulite: Those Lumps, Bumps, and Bulges You Couldn't Lose Before. The term "cellulite" then spread throughout America.

If you're like most women, you are probably wondering what causes cellulite and how you can get rid of it. Well, there are several factors that contribute to the cause of cellulite. Some of these factors are age, genetics, your body fat percentage, your level of hydration, and possibly whether or not you smoke or ingest caffeine.

One of the most prominent and widely accepted causes of cellulite has to due with how the skin is constructed and how the fat around it is situated. In the skin, there are tough strands of fibrous tissue that connect the skin to the rest of the body called the "septa". The septa anchors at certain points - similar to a net. This net of fibrous - the septa - tissue exists above the layer of fat in your body. However, sometimes fat makes its way through the holes in this net of fibrous tissue and therefore plumps the fat outward. This plumping of fat causes the "cottage cheese" resemblance of cellulite. Many times, even if a woman has a very low body fat percentage, if the skin around that area is pinched, then some cellulite can still remain visible; however, most women probably only care about cellulite when it is only visible without pinching.

Other reasons/theories exist as to the cause of cellulite, but the actual cause is probably a combination of more than one thing. Carole Walderman, aesthetician and president of Von Lee International School of Aesthetics, in Baltimore, states, "Cellulite is a combination of fat globules, waste matter, and water imprisoned in connective tissue." Another theory is that the makeup of the strands of fibrous tissue in men and women are different - for instance, a man's net of fibrous tissue forms a net that is perpendicular, where as a woman's net of fibrous tissue is formed by X's. Also, the fibrous tissue may be tighter in women, which would cause a much more pronounced plumping effect in women in comparison to men.

Treatments for Cellulite

Just Lose the Fat

Since an excessive body fat percentage is probably the most prominent reason for the cause of cellulite, the best, most permanent, and most effective course of action is to simply lose fat. Obviously, there are many options in this area due to the fact that there are hundreds of diet programs, pills, supplements, etc. A very effective program can be found by clicking this link about weight loss.

Mechanical Massage

Another popular, and somewhat pricey, treatment for cellulite is called endermology, or mechanical massage. In this treatment, layers of cellulite are rolled between rollers and sucked on with a vacuum with low pressures to "stretch" the septa. The appearance of cellulite is supposed to become smoother - similar to if you were to roll cottage cheese between two rollers. Obviously, the cottage cheese would no longer be as lumpy. There are many studies going on to determine the effectiveness of these treatments, but their effectiveness remains questioned.

Water

This is a simple treatment. Drink more water. Carole Walderman, mentioned above in this article, states, "I have found that a lot of people who have cellulite don't drink enough water." Even if water doesn't reduce your appearance of cellulite, it does too many other important things to be passed up anyway.

Topical Treatments

In the world of health and fitness, there are many marketers trying to take advantage of consumers who are ready to spend anything to treat their problems. Many times, products like these will make vague claims like "improve circulation", "reduce the appear of cellulite", or "stimulate the release of fat". These claims sound scientific to the unknowledgeable consumer; I mean, what is bad about improving circulation? 90% of the time these marketers will exaggerate claims from poorly designed studies, claim that a certain ingredient does something special, but rarely to what degree they accomplish it. Another common generalization of these products is to "stimulate the release of fat". There may be one or two studies that verify this, but even if these products accomplish this, the effect of them is extremely minimal compared to what intelligent dieting and exercise can do.

Then again, there is a possibility that some of the ingredients in topical creams may benefit in reducing cellulite. However, many times there are several ingredients mixed into one cream. This makes it extremely hard to find out which ingredient is actually producing results. If you decide to go this route (please incorporate diet and exercise too), then ask your dermatologist before purchasing anything.

Nicotine and Caffeine

Another theory that holds investigation is the use of caffeine and nicotine. You can help aid in your fight against cellulite by halting the use of these, since they constrict blood vessels. This theory may need more investigation.

All in all, cellulite is a tough foe. There are several treatments for it; many of them are a waste of money or have a very minimal effect. The most effective way to reduce cellulite is to treat it at the root of its cause - where fat makes it way through the net of fibrous tissue that makes up your skin to cause several small pits or domes. The best way to accomplish this is through intelligent dieting and exercise. You can find more information on how to diet and exercise intelligently by clicking this link about http://www.weight-loss-resources.com">weight loss.

Johnny Lavot is an avid weight-loss and fitness researcher. You can find tons more information on these topics by clicking this link about weight loss.

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