A lot of LED mask companies suggest that you use a (usually very expensive) serum before having a red/infrared light therapy session with their mask. However, skin has to be as clean as possible before LED treatment, especially with an LED mask, which by definition - and for safety purposes - is of low-power. This is because the skin surface has to display the smallest reflection possible, in order to…
What truly gets rid of cellulite?
This is a very common question that we hear at the clinic and also a very common question all over the internet. People believe the beauty industry marketing hype and all the extra extraordinary miracle claims, and then, when those claims do not materialise, they get disappointed. Well, after seeing literally thousands of clients over more than two decades, and after researching the subject continuously for the last 20+ years, let me put it as clearly, as honestly and as bluntly…
Is red light therapy real or fake?
Red light therapy, as well as infrared and blue light therapy, is becoming ever more popular. With this popularity hundreds of LED red light therapy devices have appeared on the market and with all the miracle claims, the internet, tiktok and instagram misinformation and the confusion, a lot of people understandably question whether red light therapy is legit or not. To put it very shortly, properly applied red light therapy - as well as blue and infrared light therapy - are real…
Flax seed oil, anti-aging and cellulite
In today’s Western world people consume not only too much saturated, hydrogenated or fried fats/oils, which are widely accepted as unhealthy. Such oils*, especially hydrogenated and fried fats/oils, are known to cause anything from heart disease to cancer to arthritis and of course overall aging, including skin aging and cellulite. Something which is generally unknown to most people is that we also consume too much omega-6 polyunsaturated oils, which are found literally everywhere: from processed foods, condiments, pastry and desserts to meat and chicken…
Are butt fillers better than BBL?
Is vaping better than smoking? Is saturated fat better than sugar? Are cocktails better than beer? Is death by heart disease better than death by stroke? As there is no good choice between the above options, there is also no good choice between non-surgical butt fillers (now pathetically known as “liquid BBL”) and surgical brazilian butt lift (“normal” BBL). Both choices have their risks and dangers, up to the point of death, with death from BBL being more common and death from liquid BBL also occurring…
Pterostilbene, the polyphenol in blueberries, inhibits fat accumulation and fights overweight and cellulite
Pterostilbene, a small molecular weight stilbenoid compound chemically related to resveratrol and found predominantly in black grapes, blueberries and other berries, has important anti-adipogenic, antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, anti-diabetic and anticancer properties. Resveratrol is already widely known for its anti-ageing and anti-obesity properties and pterostilbene (3',5'-dimethoxy-resveratrol), being a more stable and more absorbable form of resveratrol, shows much more promise in fighting both ageing and fat accumulation…
At what age does cellulite get worse?
At the clinic we have seen thousands of clients with cellulite over the years and these are our observations. Cellulite can start appearing at about 13-14 years of age for some young girls. During the mid teens (16-17) more and more teenagers develop cellulite these days, due to the use of contractive pill (for acne or contraception). The next age milestone for cellulite is at about 27-28, when most young women start to…
What is the biggest cause of cellulite?
Cellulite has multiple causes, both genetic, hormonal and lifestyle-related so for each person there can be a different cause. Also, in all health and aesthetic conditions, usually 3-4 factors coincide to bring them about. So for most people there are 3-4 causes coinciding. However, today in the Western world we can safely say that sugar, in all it guises is the number one cause of cellulite today: white sugar, brown sugar, high fructose corn syrup, sucrose, glucose/dextrose, maltose, honey…
Can I use retinol before/after an LED mask?
Depending on the type of retinol you are using, it may be quite harsh/sensitising on your skin, especially when combined with light. So applying retinol before LED treatment is not recommended. In fact, light skin absorption is maximum when it is cleansed with nothing applied on it. You can always apply actives after treatment…
What is the new cellulite treatment for 2024?
Unless you are a shallow blogger/journalist about to write a “Forget abc, xyz is the newest celebrity-endorsed cellulite treatment that took the world by storm in 2024” type of article, it doesn’t really matter what is the newest cellulite treatment. Every year a bunch of new, hyped-up beauty/aesthetic treatments appear and in a few years, when people realise that said treatments are not that miraculous after all, they gradually disappear…
Can treatments, creams or leggings melt body fat?
Can a treatment/special garment melt the fat which can then naturally removed through the kidneys into the urine. Absolutely not. Phrases like those are total garbage and would make any biologist laugh out loud. Yet they are churned out en masse on the internet by ignorant bloggers, influencers, “journalists”, beauty therapists and even medical aesthetic specialists, who do not even know the most basic biology…
Is 10 minutes of red light therapy enough?
Red and infrared LED light therapy is quite effective and very safe for both aesthetic applications and health applications (back pain, musculoskeletal injuries, seasonal affective disorder etc). With a high-power LED device 10 minutes might be enough but 20 minutes (and sometimes 30 minutes) would be better. Consider a high power device one that offers about 60-120mW/cm2…
Hypodermal fat accumulation and cellulite: the elephant in the room that most treatments ignore
When it comes to cellulite many so-called “cellulite experts” focus on everything else than the elephant in the room, the most important thing: hypodermal fat accumulation - i.e. fat accumulation in the deepest layer of the skin, the hypodermis. It is increased hypodermal fat accumulation that causes circulation constriction and consequent water retention…
Radiofrequency / cavitation: gel, cream, serum or oil? When to use each conductive medium.
“Radiofrequency” is an all encompassing term for treatment with different types of high frequency electrical currents. Different machines utilise different frequencies, from an extra low of 300kHz to an extra high of 5GHz. The types of physical phenomena at play on those different machines are quite different…
Will Ozempic and other GLP-1 drugs eliminate cellulite?
The rise of current GLP-1 receptor agonist drugs, such as Ozempic/Wegovy and Mounjaro, and the development of new ones with less side effects and possible oral administration (as opposed to current injection), is poised to reduce the incidence of overweight and obesity. However, can Ozempic/Wegovy, Mounjaro et al eliminate the cellulite appearance?
Cellulite: surgery or non-surgical treatments? What is best?
It is true that most non-surgical cellulite treatments do not really work. Most such treatments range from generally safe but ineffective (think palper-rouler massage, acoustic wave therapy (AWT), microneedling, bipolar/tripolar RF etc) to dangerous and generally ineffective (high intensity HIFU, high intensity RF microneedling etc). As a result many people think that cellulite surgery is a better, so-called “one-off” option...
Loose skin after BBL reversal: how to tighten up and lift your skin again
Apparently the BBL era is now over and the most dangerous cosmetic procedure is now on the wane. Big butts are gradually going out of fashion and a slimmer, or at least more balanced look, is now the new trend. The Kardashians are reported to have apparently reversed their BBLs - although they never admitted them in the first place and although millions of women around the world copied the non-admitted BBLs…
Can radiofrequency dissolve fillers or Botox?
Radiofrequency increases the metabolism of tissues where it is applied. Increased metabolism will result to increased breakdown of products such as fillers and botox. Furthermore, certain types of radiofrequency, such as high frequency RF, should not be used on fillers, as temperature may increase disproportionately inside the filler, potentially causing damage…
Protein, collagen and elastin vs skin looseness and cellulite
Does fat come back after radiofrequency or cavitation?
Let’s make it crystal clear: fat can “come back” after any treatment of any kind, even liposuction (and of course, as you know, fat can come back after dieting). This is because, if you overeat, drink too much alcohol, do not exercise or take specific medication (such as corticosteroids, estrogens or progestogens), your body can create new fat cells out of mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs), which are found in all body tissues; existing fat cells can increase more than 3,000 their original size…