A friend recently asked me to recommend a body cream for her that “would go to the gym for her.” I realized at that point how confusing that category of creams really is— especially with the advent of so many new cellulite and skin moisturizing creams.
Cellulite are fat cells that have pushed through to the skin’s middle layer in between the connective tissue creating an uneven dimpled appearance on the skin. This is a condition that affects woman of all sizes—even models who eat one cracker and call it a meal can get cellulite, they just have the advantage of professional airbrushing.
So how can you get rid of it? Well, the bad news is you really need a multi-pronged approach in order to improve the elasticity of the skin and strengthen the connective tissue in your body. First, diet is a key factor, not in how much you eat, but rather what you eat. Avoiding sugar, junk food, saturated fats, alcohol and cigarettes are key. Drinking water helps flush out toxins, and eating natural, non-processed foods is important.
Second, massaging the area with a loofah or skin brush will help stimulate circulation and improve the tone of the skin. Third, the latest research shows that cellulite reduction has been linked to products that contain ingredients such as algae extracts, caffeine, copper, arginine, grapefruit oil and Brazilian cocoa. What these ingredients have in common is that to some degree they all help increase circulation, because ultimately it is your own body’s circulation that will break down the fat cells. As with any body cream, you also want to have it not transfer onto clothing and to have a pleasant scent that you personally enjoy. This is why I don’t tend to favor some of the oil products on the market as they are messy and often have a short shelf life.
So where is the good news? I actually didn’t mention the gym once.
