Take rear guard action on cellulite

POOR Mischa Barton. The Hollywood starlet was relaxing by an Australian pool with her mum before the MTV Music Awards, stripped to her bikini for a spot of sunbathing.

But even the über luxurious Qualia Resort on Hamilton Island didn’t stop her being snapped by the paparazzi, sporting dimpled thighs and an orange-peel rear.

And there’s not a woman who didn’t feel a pang of empathy – and a sigh of relief – when the pictures appeared in the red-tops earlier this week.

That dimply phenomenon occurs in an estimated 90 per cent of UK women. Yet, with summer and beach holidays round the corner, that word – cellulite – strikes fear into many hearts. No-one wants to be spotted with cottage cheese thighs and derriere – least of all a Hollywood actress.

It is a modern phenomenon that affects even young, lithe ingenues. It blights people of all ages, shapes and sizes.

“Anyone can get it, and you can, in theory, get it anywhere in the body,” says Edinburgh cosmetic doctor Simon Connolly, of Mulberry House. “The easiest way to describe it is the orange-peel appearance, caused by irregularity in the fibrous tissue immediately under the skin. It’s more common in women due to hormones and genetics, and it’s more common in those who are overweight. But you can have it when you’re thin too. It doesn’t discriminate.”

Consultant plastic surgeon Mark Butterworth agrees, and adds: “Cellulite is caused by fibre bands between the skin and deep tissues becoming shorter, causing the dimpling effect. Excess fat does do this, but many women just have congenitally shorter bands which don’t stretch as much.”

“Orange dimples are incredibly difficult to shift, but not because they’re some mysterious skin condition,” add beauty gurus Cherry Maslen and Linda Bird, authors of Cellulite Solutions: 52 Brilliant Ideas for Super-smooth Skin. “Experts around the globe are pretty unanimous about one thing: cellulite is fat.”

But don’t sob into your green detoxifying tea. It can be beaten. And it can be greatly reduced in as little as six weeks.

Simon, who regularly and successfully treats women in the Capital for various stages of cellulite, says: “Weight loss and a good diet go a long way, and when you lose weight you lose fat – but stubborn pockets can remain. This is when other approaches are necessary.”

Diets and detoxes can help relatively quickly by upping the health level, he says, and endermologie treatments, which have been approved in the US, stimulate lymphatic drainage.

Injection Lipolysis breaks down the cell wall, via an injectable chemical, destroying unsightly lumps and bumps. And high-frequency ultrasound reduces the fibrous nature of the strands in affected tissue. “This can greatly improve the appearance, quickly,” adds Simon.

Fitness expert Will Sturgeon, of Willpower, also believes cellulite can improve – with hard work.

He says: “There is no way to spot-reduce cellulite – the only thing you can do is minimise, help and prevent. Cellulite is partly genetic and partly lifestyle. Building muscle in the cellulite area will make you firmer and you’ll see definition as opposed to cellulite.

“If you do a minimum of two one-hour aerobic sessions a week plus two 40-minute weights sessions incorporating side kicks, lunges and resistance weights, visible cellulite reduction can be achieved in a month,” he says.

And what is a waste of time? “Vigorous massage is of no use,” says Simon. “What’s important is to look at lifestyle – the worse your lifestyle, the worse your cellulite. If you’re looking to do something in the next six to eight weeks, consider some injections of Lypolysis. And endermologie-type treatments. You can make a difference.”

So the future is bright ... and it doesn’t have to be orange.

HEALTH AND FITNESS
Regular aerobic exercise helps to reduce unsightly bumps by burning fat. Building muscle creates support under the skin which lifts and shortens skin fibres, minimising the dimpling affect.

Will Sturgeon says: “You need to be doing high aerobic exercise such as running or biking, as it increases circulation.”

Nutrition is equally important.
“You can combat cellulite by getting more of the nutrients needed to hydrate, repair and strengthen your skin,” says Emma Conroy of Edinburgh Nutrition. “Raw seeds, nuts, cold-pressed flax and olive oils and oily fish are good sources of essential fats, plus the vitamin E that protects them. “Brightly-coloured fruit and vegetables provide vitamin C, essential for collagen, and other antioxidants.”

She adds: “Avoid excess salt and processed fats, especially those found in cakes, biscuits, pastries, pies and margarine.

“If you have excess weight to shift, do it gradually, with exercise. Losing weight quickly can make cellulite much more obvious.”

TREATMENTS
Mesotherapy is hailed as the non-invasive alternative to liposuction, involving painless micro-injections of natural slimming substances into targeted areas, turning excess fat into “energy” and reducing fluid retention.

This treatment is available at The BodyLab at Medicalternative on Hawthornbank Lane, for £595 per course. For more information visit www.thebodylab.co.uk.

Endermologie is effectively a deep tissue massage, and the Lumicell Touch treatment at Mulberry House offers it and intense pulse light technology.

A one-hour treatment costs £60, with discounts for block booking.

For Lypolysis, expect to pay £300 per session injection, with a recommended two to four sessions. This is available at Mulberry House, Manor Place.

LOTIONS AND POTIONS
If you’re hoping for a miracle in a bottle, it’s time to face facts: there are no miracles in a jar that will transform fleshy saggy buttocks into a nectarine-firm bottom. They will, however, improve the appearance of the skin.

The best instant camouflage is a self-tan. The professionals at Celeste Health and Beauty (Leven Street), Pure Spa (Ocean Terminal) or Serenity in the City (Castle Street) will even out skin tone and put on an extra subtle layer on the lower half to diminish the dimply appearance. Prices start at £20.

Or DIY in the bathroom. Rodial’s Brazilian tan (£39, Harvey Nichols) provides a deep natural glow, is streakless on application and has no chemical colours.

Then there are cellulite creams. Soap and Glory’s Slimwear body balm (£9, Boots) boasts of peptides to cut down on visible pocketing of thighs, as well as smoothing and firming the skin.

Nivea’s Goodbye Cellulite (£9.99, Superdrug), a gel-cream which the company claims deeply moisturisers and reduces bumpy appearances within two weeks. At least you’ll have baby soft skin...