Four Targets of Cellulite Treatment
As a woman, I am very interested in exploring different options for cellulite reduction. As a physician in training, I see cellulite as both aesthetic issue and health problem. Lately, I became more convinced that a health aspect of cellulite is dominant as it indicates health risks, such as excessive weight, toxic burden, and chronic inflammation. In some people, cellulite causes pain. In general, cellulite treatment aims at four major targets: fat reduction, skin toning, connective tissue softening, and removal of toxins.
FAT REDUCTION OPTIONS
- calorie-restricting diets
- physical exercises for better metabolism
- non-surgical, local lipolysis stimulation for stubborn fat release
- non-surgical, local fat destruction
- surgical removal of fat (liposuction)
SKIN TONING
- skin tightening
CONNECTIVE TISSUE SOFTENING
TOXINS REMOVAL
Unintended Consequences of Weight Loss, Local Fat Destruction, and Liposuction
Treatment of cellulite is truly an anti-aging intervention as it is not only improving the appearance but also reducing the toxin burden. Although healthy lifestyle, including diets and physical activity, is crucial for healthy and youthful appearance, in this article, I want to focus on benefits and drawbacks of diet and technology-driven treatments of cellulite.
Extra, Loose Skin
Drastic dieting, localized fat destruction with the use of cold temperatures, and surgical fat removal are effective for noticeable fat reduction. However, these interventions can cause unintended consequences and even complications in some people. Significant fat loss, as a result of diet, is typically associated with “post-diet” face and body skin.“It’s frustrating to patients who have put all this hard work and commitment into their weight loss journey and new bodies to be left with extra skin that doesn’t reflect that effort,” says Jason B. Lichten, MD, a plastic surgeon in Columbus, OH. “Often, they feel that their extra skin hangs on them the same way their old clothes from before their weight loss would, only they can’t take it off.” The longer skin stays stretched out, the higher the risk of losing skin’s elasticity and ability to shrink back. Moreover, saggy, loose skin can cause rashes and yeast infection in skin folds. Cryotherapy (the cold temperatures) for local fat destruction do not address the skin toning either, thus some sagginess of the skin can also appear in post-treatment period. In addition, downtime after the fat destruction with the cold may take more than a month.
Post-Surgical Fibrotic Transformation
As a former surgeon, I always think about surgical treatments as life-saving procedures. Any surgery is always associated with high risks for health. That makes me quite conservative about aesthetic surgery when non-surgical alternatives exist. One complication of any surgery is a formation of adhesions and/or fibrosis as a result of the post-surgical inflammatory process. While adhesions abnormally bind separate organs and tissues, fibrosis occurs in the connecting tissue of organs. Both complications lead to the remodeling of the blood vessels’ architecture, which negatively affects organ functioning. For instance, post-liposuction fibrosis represents hard and often painful lumps distributed on the skin where liposuction has been done. This fibrosis is hard to break up, and it can require a surgical revision and/or extended physical therapy.
Two New Cost-Effective Technologies that Affect All Four Targets for Cellulite Treatment
Several research studies revealed two non-surgical treatments that effectively address all four targets for cellulite treatment: Venus LegacyTM and Endermologie® . Both technologies
- stimulate collagen production that decrease lax skin
- reduce fat volume by stimulating natural lipolysis
- soften connecting tissue by improving the local blood circulation and
In addition, Endermologie® decreases toxins and water retention by increasing the lymphatic flow. A combination of these two treatments produces effective, noticeable and long-lasting results. Both procedures are safe for most people. The downtime lasts for a few minutes in a form of the localized redness, as a result of the increased local blood circulation. Also, it is important to point out that a course of 10 sessions LPG Endermologie, for instance, is comparable with the cost of one Coolsculpting treatment.
