Cellulite 411: What Is Cellulite and Can It Be Treated?

January 1, 2010 at 6:10 pm · Filed under Cellulite, Cellulite Treatments, Far-Infrared Therapy, VelaShape, VelaSmooth and tagged: Cellulite Treatments, cellulite treatments miami, cellulite treatments miami beach, Far-Infrared Therapy, far-infrared therapy miami, velashape miami, velashape miami beach

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Cellulite plagues about eight-five percent of women. Cellulite fighting technologies are constantly being invented and introduced to the medical and spa industries. The truth is that most of them don’t work. Bay Harbour Med Spa has been in operation in Miami’s exclusive neighborhood Bay Harbour since 1986, and with all honesty only one treatment has yielded favorable results. We’ll get to that later, first it’s important to understand the physiological aspect of cellulite in simple terms.

Cellulite, for the most part, presents itself as dimples on the skin of the lower limbs, abdomen and pelvic region. Most men do not suffer from cellulite; for those men who rarely suffer from cellulite, cellulite will be visible above the abdomen’s belly button. In women cellulite typically is located at the buttocks, hips, inner part of the thighs, knees, under the belly button and the back of the arms.  

The pathology of cellulite includes:

• Hypertrophy of the adipose (fat) cells
• Dilation of the venules and lymphatic vessels
• Inflammation of the subcutaneous tissue

There are 5 known stages of cellulite:

1. Stage I: When the skin is pinched cellulite becomes visible
2. Stage II: Cellulite is visible when one stands and/or when the buttocks is contracted
3. Stage III: Edema ( inflammation)
4. Stage IV: Cellulite is visible even when one is laying down, the cellulite appears as small nodules
5. Stage V: Nodules are very visible and some people have reported pain when the skin is palpated

What causes cellulite?

The causes of cellulite are still being investigated till present day. Metabolism, hormonal level and gender are all factors. Furthermore, there is a significant genetic and ethnic predisposition to cellulite. If you have cellulite, take a moment to think about whether or not your mom has cellulite too. If you are predisposed to cellulite and you practice poor diet habits than you should be weary to the possibility of developing unsightly cellulite as well. The fat cells that cause cellulite are typically found under the dermis. When you ingest fatty foods they trigger the fat cells providing them with energy which causes them to get larger, and guess what? You now have visible cellulite.

Over the years Bay Harbour Med Spa has explored all the known treatments mass marketed to the medical and spa industry. Here is our take on what works and what absolutely does not work. In summary here are the treatment options that may or may not work:

Cellulite treatments that in Bay Harbour Med Spa’s experience DO NOT WORK:

• At home treatments, such as creams and topical gels
• Exfoliation: the deliberate sloughing off of skin cells will not reduce cellulite in any way shape or form. Typically, exfoliation is used to clean the skin of the dead skin cells in order to allow topical creams easier access to penetrate the skin transderamally
• Diet and exercise: Unfortunately, diet and exercise alone will not help eliminate cellulite. The combination of the two may help with prevention but not elimination. However, diet, exercise and mechanical manipulation of the skin will definitely help ( this will be discussed at the next paragraph)
• Liposuction: while liposuction will reduce weight, circumference and fat deposits it has minimal effect on cellulite
• Endermology: to be quite honest, endermology is nothing more than a deep tissue massage and we have not seen favorable results in the past

Cellulite treatments that in Bay Harbour Med Spa’s experience DO WORK: Our experience is that optimum results for significant (when we write significant we mean 40%-60% in stage III to V and 60%-70% in stage I) cellulite reduction the below treatments should be used in combination with each other:

• VelaShape approved by FDA: this treatment utilizes an infrared light based mechanical device coupled with rollers which break down the fat cells and transmits wavelength waves which in turn liquefy the fat which helps to eliminate the fat from the body and produce collagen fibers. Remember, collagen fibers are needed for the elasticity of the skin. The way VelaShape works is by transmitting radio-frequency energy which heats the dermis and subcutaneous tissue, which in turn, stimulate collagen growth and eliminate the fat cells usually through our urine. Progressive improvement can be seen from six weeks to a year depending on what stage of cellulite you have
• Far- Infrared Sauna Therapy: Originally, we started offering this service to our clients because of the therapeutic effects this had on people who are in pain or have arthritis. Far-Infrared therapy is extremely effective in eliminating toxins from the body ( please refer to above illustration).  But than we started to notice that our clients not only began feeling less pain, but that they started to lose some body fat ( now please do not take this as being some miracle treatment, it’s not, but it does help and we suggest you read our future blogs specific to infrared sauna therapy treatments to understand more about it) because of the combination of the heat which caused them to profusely sweat but moreover, we realized that both VelaShape and the Far-Infrared Sauna Therapy treatments had one word in common; infrared. We realized that infrared energy releases heat and energy which melt away fat ( again, we cannot stress enough that this happens progressively and in small doses, we do not claim that these treatments are miracle treatments or that they will 100% eliminate cellulite).
• Exercise, diet, VelaShape and Far-Infrared Sauna Therapy treatments yield very favorable results, especially if used in combination with each other!!!!!

What to look for in a spa that offers cellulite treatments?

For optimal results and effective anti-cellulite therapeutic treatments we suggest that your spa practitioner should include the following treatments in your treatments:

• A complementary consultation which should include an honest and frank discussion about your expectations. Often, Bay Harbour Med Spa turns away potential clients if their expectation exceed what we can deliver. Be careful, if it sounds too good to be true, it is too good to be true!
• A thorough discussion about your dietary habits, age, hormonal levels and hereditary history.
• A combination of the VelaShape and Far-Infrared Sauna Therapy treatments; some clients will also need to incorporate an exercise and dietary regimen in combination with these treatments. In 2009 Bay Harbour Med Spa introduced the combination of these two treatments together and the results have been greater when combined than when not; however, this is true for clients with Stage III-Stage V cellulite, clients with Stage I and II of cellulite experience favorable results from VelaShape alone.

If you live in the South Florida area please feel free to visit http://mesotherapymiami.com for complementary consultation. If you live in other cities we hope that this blog has helped to shed some light on cellulite and the treatments available. Please visit our blogs often as we will constantly update it.

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