Thereâs nothing more exciting than walking through your favorite store and finding a super cute piece of clothing thatâll show off your legs for when the weather gets warmer. However, you quickly find the dressing room and put on the shorts, dress or skirt, only to realize itâs not what youâd imagined. Instead of focusing on how well it fits, you only see dimpled thighs and force yourself to forget about the adorable bathing suit on the rack just outside.
Cellulite has long been and still is one of a womanâs worst enemies when it comes to body image, despite progress on social media and in clothing campaigns. Many women still have misconceptions about the prevalence and treatment of cellulite. The next time you think about putting something back on the clothing rack, remember these five facts about a skin issue that shouldnât be an issue at all.
1. Youâre not the only one who has it
Whether youâve realized it or not, cellulite rarely makes an appearance in the public spotlight. Magazines have long used editing software to smooth out blemishes, wrinkles, stretch marks and cellulite on their models and celebrities. Even though Ashley Graham embraced her âcellulite cityâ thighs and Lena Dunham thanked Glamour for not touching up her cellulite, many women still associate cellulite with weight gain. Itâs important to know that healthy women of all shapes and sizes can be affected by its presence.
Dr. Kenneth Mark, a skin cancer and cosmetic dermatology expert in New York, simply states that âanyone can have it.â Roughly 80 to 90 percent of women deal with cellulite in some shape or form. Whether itâs on your thighs, buttocks, stomach or arms, the very nature of womenâs skin makes it very likely to show up, especially as your skin loses its elasticity in the years coming. About 10 percent of men also have cellulite, so itâs also not a female-only problem.
2. You canât get rid of it completely
When you go to the doctor with a range of flu-like symptoms and find out you just have a bad cold, itâs both irritating and disheartening to hear you canât have antibiotics. You can try every cold symptom medicine that claims to alleviate a runny nose, cough, headache and fever all at once, but chances are, youâre not going to feel much better. The same goes for cellulite: thereâs no panacea that will magically make every dimple and divot disappear.
Katie Weykamp, a senior at Ohio University studying food and nutrition sciences and Instagram fitness guru, says, âTo women who do struggle with it, I think they need education about what cellulite actually is on an anatomical level. Once I learned this two years ago, something clicked in my head which made the thought of cellulite less bothersome… itâs as anatomically normal for a woman to have cellulite as it is to have breasts.â
To get more technical, the fat layer we can blame for cellulite has bands of connective tissue that run perpendicular from top to bottom in women and are crisscrossed in men. Between these fibers are the fat cells. According to Katie, the key fact to remember is the perpendicular connective tissue doesnât give the fat cells enough room for movement when pressure is applied (unlike in crisscrossed tissue), causing visible dimples on the skin’s surface.
Now that you know the science behind cellulite, you can worry less about why you have it and focus more embracing it or finding a way to better handle it.
3. A clean diet and regular exercise are key
You probably wouldnât be able to count the number of times youâve heard that a healthy diet and consistent exercise is important. Besides reducing the chance of chronic diseases like cancer and heart disease, living a healthy lifestyle just makes you feel and look better. If youâre like many college women and struggle with finding the time to head to the gym or resisting the urge to snack at night, you may have just accepted your cellulite (hopefully out of body positivity and not body shame). And while Dr. Mark says that proper diet and exercise âcanât get rid of cellulite completely,â going the extra mile to try Blogilates in your room or trade in cookies for fruit at midnight can pay off.
âThe only way to target cellulite in a problem area is to reduce the size of the fat cells. If youâre new to working out, aim for 30-minute workouts two to three times a week and progress in frequency/duration as you see fit,â Katie says. âTry incorporating various styles of workouts to see what you love and will stick to in the long runâthere are so many workout classes like HIIT, spinning, Zumba and kickboxing. If youâre new to weightlifting, I recommend checking out bodybuilding.com exercise database and read up on proper form and to get ideas!â
She adds, âIn terms of diet, try cutting out processed foods and added sugars. Drink more water throughout the day and make sure each meal is well balanced! When putting together a main meal, aim to include at least three to four of the five main food groups and that the foods are wholesome and minimally processed.â
You donât need to be a professional bodybuilder or stick to an impossible diet to lessen the severity of your cellulite. Do what you feel is appropriate and push yourself a little more each day to make healthy choices.
Related: 5 Common Skin Problems & How to Treat ThemÂ
4. Topical creams can provide temporary relief at best
When it comes to most skin problems, topical creams and ointments are usually the first lines of defense. Many are cheap and can be found over-the-counter at any drugstore. For more expensive prescription creams, you can visit your dermatologist for recommendations. While obtaining these creams isnât difficult, making them work long-term can prove to be a tough feat. Dr. Mark recommends âprescription strength retinoids or over-the-counter alpha hydroxy acids like AmLactin,â but you must remember that these lotions can only camouflage dimples and bumps temporarily.
Nicole*, a junior at Stanford University, cringes at the amount of money she spent on cellulite creams back in high school. âI hated the way my thighs looked like cottage cheese, all dimply and covered in moon-like crevices. I used every last dollar on fancy scrubs and lotions that people claimed to be miracle products,â she says. âIt wasnât until I was broke and discouraged that the only way to change the appearance of my cellulite was to embrace it and work on gaining muscle.â
Sometimes the most convenient solution to a problem isnât a solution at all, but another challenge in your path to finding the best solution. Keep in mind that topical creams wonât change the physical cellulite: they’ll only change its appearance for a little while.
5. The majority of effective treatments are expensive
Even though cellulite canât be cured, there are a plethora of surgical and noninvasive procedures that visibly reduce the look of it. From skin fillers to lasers, the treatments shown to most effectively get rid of cellulite come with a hefty price tag because theyâre done by knowledgeable skincare professionals and experts. Dr. Mark describes one of the more invasive treatments as â[introducing] a needle to break up the fibrous anchoring bands and allowing the patient to form their own collagen,â which is âsimilar to âsubcisionâ for atrophic scars.â Another FDA-approved treatment called Cellulaze has been shown to reduce cellulite by 70 to 80 percent within a year, but the investment ranges from $5,000 to $7,000.
Angela*, a senior at Penn State University, has been saving up the last three years for this laser treatment. âMost people donât know Iâve been saving up for Cellulaze because I feel like Iâd be judged for spending so much on a cellulite treatment,â she says. âMy aunt got it done right before I graduated high school, and she looks absolutely fantastic four years later. Iâve tried everything and currently do work out five days a week, but nothing has worked.â
If you feel that a more permanent surgery done by a professional you trust is the best route, thereâs no harm in researching the options. Just know that you might end up draining your bank account without monetary preparation.
6. Your partner doesnât care about your cellulite
Itâs not unusual for our self-confidence to take a dip when we see photos of women with perfect bodies and flawless skin, even though we know Photoshop is most likely the culprit. Sometimes we look at our own bodies and wonder how in the world someone could find us physically beautiful. We donât often realize that the people who love us most donât see what we perceive to be flaws. Derek*, a junior at the University of Michigan, constantly assures his girlfriend that her cellulite isnât unattractive.
âThe first time my girlfriend and I got intimate, she was really self-conscious about the cellulite on her thighs. I didnât even know the name for it,â he says. âI told her no matter what her body looked like, Iâd find her attractive simply because of her personality. I think women in general are too hard on themselves for the way they look, and if a guy makes a big deal out of something like cellulite, heâs a complete a**hole.â
Every time you look in the mirror and see yourself as unattractive, know thatâs not how other people see you.
Cellulite is a struggle most women have faced or currently deal with, and as Katie puts it, they âdevelop an identity around it for themselves thatâs not actually true.â Itâs high time we educate ourselves about the reality of cellulite and embrace the journey that comes with taking care of not just our skin, but our whole bodies, one day at a time.
*Name has been changed