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Cellulite question


Bensmom
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Ummm, so I have this friend who is noticing some less than smooth skin on her thighs. Her question is, do those skin firming creams work or are they a waste of money? If anyone has had a friend with experience with this, I would love to hear what helps. I mean, SHE would love to hear what may help ;)

TIA

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There is some research that shows that creams with caffeine might temporarily smooth the skin a little bit by drawing water to the area.  But that's about it. And keep in mind the words 'might' and 'temporarily' because they are key.

 

Cellulite is just fat showing through thin skin. It isn't different fat or weird fat 'trapped toxins' or anything like that. It's just that thanks to estrogen your skin is thin and the fat layer (that all women have) is showing through. 

 

Losing weight overall can help because there is less fat. But as we get older our skin gets thinner.

 

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/06/25/fashion/25skinintro.html?ref=style

 

"

CELLULITE is a telltale sign that life is a crapshoot. Most women get cellulite after puberty. But men usually don’t, not even if they’ve got the girth to qualify for “The Biggest Loser.â€

That’s because the connective tissue bands under men’s skin are crisscrossed like a net, keeping their fat more evenly restrained. By contrast, women’s tissue bands are organized in vertical columns, so fat may bulge irregularly.

“At a normal weight your fat cells fall nicely into valleys of connective tissue,†said Dr. Michael D. Jensen, a clinical professor of medicine at the Mayo Clinic, who has studied fat for 25 years. “When you get too many fat cells or too big of fat cells now they push up on the roof.†Or, your skin.

What’s more, women don’t have as thick a roof as men, all the better to show dimples. And thanks to estrogen, women have more fatty reserves.

It doesn’t stop there. As we age, the connective tissue strands between our skin and muscle, which used to stretch to accommodate weight fluctuations, become inflexible. “Some of the bands tighten down and you get pockmarks with bulges next to them,†said Dr. Brian M. Kinney, an assistant professor of plastic surgery at the Keck School of Medicine at University of Southern California. Voilà, cottage cheese.

Nor do all women start with the same give in their connective tissue. One explanation for a slender woman with cellulite is thin skin and unusually tight connective tissue. By contrast, the neighbor we love to hate can gain 15 pounds but is blessed with stretchable bands that accommodate a fat uptick. No orange-peel bottom for her. Grrr."

 

But the article ends with this:

"SO many women have cellulite that some doctors think of it as a secondary sex characteristic.

As sure as a woman will grow breasts after puberty, she will get dimples and lumps on her skin."

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My friend has noticed that it's getting more noticeable.....and weight has not gone up or down.  What the heck??   She has tried firming creams from box stores with no results - I think just the massaging would work as well as creams.  She has contemplated the wraps that are the latest pyramid scheme, but the $$ is crazy.  

 

 

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“At a normal weight your fat cells fall nicely into valleys of connective tissue,†said Dr. Michael D. Jensen, a clinical professor of medicine at the Mayo Clinic, who has studied fat for 25 years. “When you get too many fat cells or too big of fat cells now they push up on the roof.†Or, your skin.

 

Give me a break.

 

I've never been above average weight and I have cellulite. Women have cellulite. The older you get, the more wrinkles and cellulite you get. I don't care what the good doctor says. Every woman in my family has cellulite, skinny, medium, and fat. 'Cause we're women.

 

Also, I agree with Carrie.

 

The only spa treatment I'd indulge in would have to involve a hot tub, wine, and some serious massage. 

 

Men's balls have some wrinkles / creases. Because they're balls. I feel like if women had balls there would be ball-firming creams for sale at Costco.

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Give me a break.

 

I've never been above average weight and I have cellulite. Women have cellulite. The older you get, the more wrinkles and cellulite you get. I don't care what the good doctor says. Every woman in my family has cellulite, skinny, medium, and fat. 'Cause we're women.

 

Also, I agree with Carrie.

 

The only spa treatment I'd indulge in would have to involve a hot tub, wine, and some serious massage.

 

Men's balls have some wrinkles / creases. Because they're balls. I feel like if women had balls there would be ball-firming creams for sale at Costco.

I agree. My best friend in high school was tall and thin, sort of like a model body. She had quite a bit of cellulite on her butt and thighs. Part of it is genetic.

 

And ball-firming cream...ha ha ha! Love it!

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Give me a break.

 

I've never been above average weight and I have cellulite. Women have cellulite. The older you get, the more wrinkles and cellulite you get. I don't care what the good doctor says. Every woman in my family has cellulite, skinny, medium, and fat. 'Cause we're women.

 

Also, I agree with Carrie.

 

The only spa treatment I'd indulge in would have to involve a hot tub, wine, and some serious massage. 

 

Men's balls have some wrinkles / creases. Because they're balls. I feel like if women had balls there would be ball-firming creams for sale at Costco.

 

 

My chubby babies had cellulite. Sweet dimply bottoms...

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Give me a break.

 

I've never been above average weight and I have cellulite. Women have cellulite. The older you get, the more wrinkles and cellulite you get. I don't care what the good doctor says. Every woman in my family has cellulite, skinny, medium, and fat. 'Cause we're women.

 

Also, I agree with Carrie.

 

The only spa treatment I'd indulge in would have to involve a hot tub, wine, and some serious massage. 

 

Men's balls have some wrinkles / creases. Because they're balls. I feel like if women had balls there would be ball-firming creams for sale at Costco.

 

what part do you want a break about? Do you think he is wrong about connective tissue in female skin? Or do you think...? What? I am not quite sure what you are questioning.

if you read the large quote to the end you will see the medical explanation for why thin and/or not overweight women also have it as well as older women. There is more information if you follow the link.

 

From my first post:

"It doesn’t stop there. As we age, the connective tissue strands between our skin and muscle, which used to stretch to accommodate weight fluctuations, become inflexible. “Some of the bands tighten down and you get pockmarks with bulges next to them,†said Dr. Brian M. Kinney, an assistant professor of plastic surgery at the Keck School of Medicine at University of Southern California. Voilà, cottage cheese.

Nor do all women start with the same give in their connective tissue. One explanation for a slender woman with cellulite is thin skin and unusually tight connective tissue. By contrast, the neighbor we love to hate can gain 15 pounds but is blessed with stretchable bands that accommodate a fat uptick. No orange-peel bottom for her. Grrr."

 

And I believe that if men had dimply skin on their thighs and legs and bum as a matter of course there would not be some cream for it in costco, but it would be celebrated and they would compete to see who has the most " virility dimples" on their bottoms. You know what they say about the relationship between the number dimples on a man's thighs and the size of his......

Science would determine that it is caused by testosterone so having it means that the guy is extra manly. Some women might have it as well and they are to be pitied with their man-like derrieres. 

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what part do you want a break about? Do you think he is wrong about connective tissue in female skin? Or do you think...? What? I am not quite sure what you are questioning.

if you read the large quote to the end you will see the medical explanation for why thin and/or not overweight women also have it as well as older women. There is more information if you follow the link.

 

From my first post:

"It doesn’t stop there. As we age, the connective tissue strands between our skin and muscle, which used to stretch to accommodate weight fluctuations, become inflexible. “Some of the bands tighten down and you get pockmarks with bulges next to them,†said Dr. Brian M. Kinney, an assistant professor of plastic surgery at the Keck School of Medicine at University of Southern California. Voilà, cottage cheese.

Nor do all women start with the same give in their connective tissue. One explanation for a slender woman with cellulite is thin skin and unusually tight connective tissue. By contrast, the neighbor we love to hate can gain 15 pounds but is blessed with stretchable bands that accommodate a fat uptick. No orange-peel bottom for her. Grrr."

 

And I believe that if men had dimply skin on their thighs and legs and bum as a matter of course there would not be some cream for it in costco, but it would be celebrated and they would compete to see who has the most " virility dimples" on their bottoms. You know what they say about the relationship between the number dimples on a man's thighs and the size of his......

Science would determine that it is caused by testosterone so having it means that the guy is extra manly. Some women might have it as well and they are to be pitied with their man-like derrieres.

Amen and amen!

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I think he is wrong to suggest it has to do with being overweight.

 

I think you have read my comment in the opposite spirit to what was was intended.

 

Well, my misreading a comment is absolutely possible, lol.

 

But he did address the issue that for many women it has nothing do to with being overweight and is just genetics interacting with fat and skin, all women have that no matter their weight. And to again reference the article, it did say that it is so common, due to how estrogen causes skin to grow, that it could be considered a secondary sex characteristic.

 

But, for a lot of women it does start to show up when they gain a little weight. I am not one of those women, I have had it since puberty. But for someone like my sister, yes. She never had it until she was in her 30s and had her second kid.

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This thread reminds me of those dreadful magazine covers at the grocery store checkout featuring pictures of celebrities at the beach. Certain body parts are circled, highlighted and zoomed in on.  Most of the time, the women are slender. But they still have cellulite. Heaven forbid that anyone make my picture at the beach! No need for a zoom lens to point out my flaws.

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