Cellulite – what is it and how can you get rid of it?

In contrast to natural beauty, cellulite is ugly and it tends to accumulate on thighs, around the knees, on hips and buttocks. Cellulite is the result of abuse more than age, the very opposite of natural beauty which is accomplished by self-awareness and self-care. Cellulite can affect women of normal weight, indeed even thin women are often troubled by cellulite. Cellulite takes time to appear and a long time to repair.

The French, who implied it was a special sort of fat that you must treat in a special way, invented the word cellulite. But cellulite is ordinary fat that is waterlogged. The best way to get rid of it is to promote your natural beauty through diet accompanied by exercise, and by controlling fluid retention.

Cellulite is caused by many things that hinder natural beauty, bad circulation and retention of fluid, the latter being the reason why the skin looks puffy, dimpled and soggy. Cellulite is also a sign of lack of exercise and a diet too full of the sugar and starch carbohydrates. Fighting cellulite is a two-pronged attack because the very things that reduce cellulite enhance natural beauty.

Some doctors believe an excessive secretion of oestradiol (female hormone) causes cellulite and it would seem logical that there could be a counter-balancing treatment. But at present cellulite is helped only by physical means – self-care, natural beauty procedures and salon treatment. Try the following with daily regularity – the only way to get good results, increase your natural beauty and rid yourself of cellulite:

Diet: Cut back on fats, sugars and starches: concentrate on high protein meats, green leafy vegetables, salads and fruit. Eat plenty of cucumber, first and foremost a diuretic food which helps to firm tissues. Every day eat cucumber salad – finely sliced complete with skin and mixed with a little olive oil, garlic, lemon juice and parsley (to counteract the smell of garlic).

Exercise: Walking and swimming are ideal for fighting cellulite, so is bicycling whether the real thing or simulating the movements by lying on your back supporting hips with hands and cycling in the air. Walk around the house doing the goose-step – you’ll feel the inner thigh muscle working hard to keep your leg in a straight line.

Applications: Try massaging anti-cellulite creams into your skin (see below for method) but it is usually the movement more than the cream that aids the area. Ivy is an ingredient in many creams and when used on its own it has a noticeable effect on cellulite. Ground ivy works when crushed and rubbed into the skin or applied as a poultice. You can make a solution by steeping ivy in cold water for twenty-four hours and using it as a wash to bathe the dimpled areas repeatedly.

Friction: The idea is to improve circulation, stepping up the metabolism of the fat cells to break down the cellulite. Pinch your skin through a towel; slap area alternatively with hot and cold sponges or cloths; rub with a loofah or a friction glove made of string, nylon, or rubber nodules; put rough kitchen salt on the glove and vibrate the skin where cellulite collects.

Massage: You must be careful not to over-massage and be too rough with your skin; use an oil, emollient or cellulite cream, and always be sure movements go up in the direction of the heart, never down. Don’t just rub; using both hands wring and twist the flab as though you were squeezing out water; then with fists, iron the skin upwards. For legs, grasp on ankle with both hands, wring and twist up to the knee. For inner thighs, knead, and then iron out. For buttocks, stand sideways about four inches away from a wall; turning slightly hit first one side then the other.

Water: Any force of water against the skin is good – a jet in a swimming pool, a strong shower faucet or a jacuzzi or whirlpool bath; contrasts of hot and cold water help – take a cold shower followed by a hot bath, or force alternate hot and cold blasts from the hand held shower on special areas; nightly warm baths with Epsom salts are recommended.

Treatments: Beauty specialists offer individual methods to get rid of cellulite – wax, mud, steam, water, electrical and enzyme treatments, usually followed by a massage. Aromatherapy also claims to have results with cellulite.

By: Elaine Woosey