February 5, 2006
Fighting Cellulite - Mesotherapy comes to the Bay Area
The quest for fixing those cottage cheese thighs, stomachs and arms just got a little easier. As one client stated, even with all the exercise and dieting we do, the curse of cellulite still clings to us after the weight has been dropped and the muscles are toned.
After spending an enlightening few hours at a local medical spa and seeing the results on my friend who volunteered to be the guinea pig, I was amazed! She had agreed to try one 30 minute treatment on her face and neck. The esthetician used a machine (will find out the name of it and post it here later), applied a gel pack to my friend's back, then proceeded to mix a blend of vitamins, minerals, amino acids and medications into a bowl that she transferred to an applicator which was connected to the same machine. She then adjusted the frequency of the machine to a level comfortable to her guinea pig (my friend) and used the device to massage the gel into the face and neck area.
After the treatment, the skin was visibly more taut and toned. Like exercise, a series of treatments followed by a few follow up treatments are recommended. If you research the term "mesotherapy" there a number of remarkable before and after pictures. The spa we visited did not use needles and incorporated a non-invasive procedure .
Going forward I will recommend my clients who are following the low-glycemic weightloss program to try mesotherapy to help see further improvements in skin tone and texture.
Here's the info on the medi-spa we visited -
About Beauty Medi-Skin Spa
2910 Stevens Creek Blvd, Ste. 205
San Jose, CA 95128
408.557.8188
Tell Emma, Jeanette sent you for a referral discount. (I don't receive any compensation other than the happiness of seeing people become happier with their bodies and health.)
Cellulite, unlike the deep reserve fat layer which responds to diet and exercise, is located in the hypodermis (it is therefore a skin condition) and does NOT respond to diet or exercise. It cannot be removed by liposuction either.However, proper nutrition and physical activity can help slow down or sometimes stop the formation of new cellulite. Also, weight gain is one factor in the complex formation of cellulite, so a healthy lifestyle is necessary.
Sports helps tone the skin and muscles and therefore helps improving the appearance of the skin.
Choose high cardio, low-impact activities and avoid getting over-muscular, as cellulite otherwise gets trapped in the muscles. Very muscular athletes with "iron legs" are the ones who have the hardest time losing cellulite.
Cellulite is more visible in very slim people, and because hormones are the main cause, is only found in women (and some men suffering from hormonal imbalance). Most overweight or even obese men will never have cellulite whereas most skinny women do.
Water retention is another cause of cellulite, so avoid salt and processed foods as they contain too much salt. To avoid water retention, drink A LOT of water.
Slimming and weight loss are two different things. Slimming = losing inches / weight loss = losing pounds. Cellulite hardly weighs anything.
Once cellulite is there, it's trapped, despite people's best efforts. The only effective treatments against cellulite are:
- massages (whether by hand -palpate roll massages, lymphatic drainage - or mechanical -endermologie-)
- low-frequency ultra-sounds (no place provides them in MA yet)
- mesotherapy, if associated with massage.What about creams? Well, only people with very slight and recent cellulite may notice an improvement using creams. However, the most active ingredient in these creams is... your hand!! Once again, it's the massaging that works, not the cream. It's also the hydrants contained in the cream which improve the texture of the skin by plumping up the skin with water thus making it smoother. So if you are on a budget, just use a regular moisturizing cream. Remember that creams never penetrate deeper than through the superficial layer of the epidermis, so no matter how efficient an ingredient may be in a test tube, in real life it won't reach the subcutaneous fat layer and attack cellulite.
There is indeed no quick fix for anything, whether it is cellulite reduction or weight loss. Cellulite is complex by nature and treatments are complex and must address working on the connective tissue, restoring impaired micro-circulation and especially working on the lymphatic system.
