“Cellulite, characterised by hypodermal fat accumulation, water retention, skin looseness, and fibrosis, creates a dimpled skin appearance. Fat globules protrude due to fat pushing upwards and fibrotic collagen fibres pulling downwards, worsened by water retention increasing tissue volume and loose skin allowing easier fat protrusion. Effective cellulite creams should prioritise hypodermal fat reduction, as this addresses the primary cause, followed by skin firming, fibrosis reduction, and improved circulation. Most commercial creams, however, are too diluted to be effective, relying on marketing rather than potent ingredients. Skin firming, achievable through peptides, amino acids like hydroxyproline, and herbal extracts such as centella asiatica, requires 6-12 weeks of consistent use to enhance collagen and resist fat protrusion. Fibrosis reduction, using extracts like curcumin and EGCG, also takes weeks to soften contracted collagen fibres. Water retention can be temporarily alleviated with quick fixes like caffeine or clay wraps, but long-term circulation support, via ingredients like polyphenols, requires extended application. Hypodermal fat reduction, critical for lasting results, relies on lipolytic agents like caffeine and forskolin, requiring at least 12 weeks. Multi-functional ingredients, such as high-purity centella asiatica, tackle fat, firmness, fluid retention, and fibrosis simultaneously. For optimal results, concentrated creams should be paired with healthy eating, exercise, and, if possible, treatments like high-power radiofrequency or ultrasound cavitation, for 6-12 sessions.”
On which aspect of cellulite should a cellulite cream focus?
Water retention, cellulite fat reduction, fibrosis or skin firming? Where should a cellulite cream focus ideally?
So in which of those aspects should a good cellulite cream focus? Where can it contribute the most?
Should skin looseness be a priority in cellulite creams?
Should fibrosis be a priority in cellulite creams?
Should poor circulation / water retention be a priority in cellulite creams?
Should hypodermal fat reduction be a priority in cellulite creams?
So what should be the main priority in cellulite creams?
Multi-functional ingredients in cellulite creams
Cellulite creams: frequently asked questions (FAQs)
So cellulite creams work? Do firming creams work?
What is the best firming body lotion for cellulite? Do firming creams work for cellulite?
What is a good water retention cream?
What is a good anti-fibrosis cream?
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Water retention, cellulite fat reduction, fibrosis or skin firming? Where should a cellulite cream focus ideally?
The four main structural aspects of cellulite are hypodermal fat accumulation, water retention/puffiness, skin looseness and fibrosis.
Hypodermal fat accumulation combined with fibrosis is what makes fat globules protrude from the skin surface
Fat pushes up and fibrotic collagen fibres push down, resulting in the mattress effect
Water retention makes cellulite more visible by increasing volume in the hypodermis and dermis
Likewise, loose skin makes it easier for the fat globules to push up
So in which of those aspects should a good cellulite cream focus? Where can it contribute the most?
Firstly, let’s make it clear that most cellulite creams are simply too diluted (for profitability reasons) to make any real difference in anything. Hence the term “good cellulite creams” used above.
Why put a lot of expensive active ingredients in a cream, when you can drive sales with a marketing marketing campaign? Exactly. Cosmetic giants care about shareholder value, not about your thighs.
Now we have cleared that up, let’s focus on the treatment of four cellulite aspects by a cellulite cream.
Should skin looseness be a priority in cellulite creams?
Yes, to some extent. Skin tightening should resist some upward pressure and reduce the appearance of the cellulite bumps. How can you effect skin tightening?
Peptides, aminoacids (such as hydroxyproline, the most important aminoacid in collagen) and herbal extracts (such as centella asiatica, cocoa flavanols, pine bark extract and many others) can contribute towards skin firmness.
Skin firmness does not take minutes to work but weeks and months (any instant results you see with those “miracle” creams literally wash off with the next shower).
So a good skin firming / cellulite cream should be used for 6-12 weeks for best results. A break of one month can be taken thereafter and the cream can be used for another 6-12 weeks, for continued support with skin firming.
Should fibrosis be a priority in cellulite creams?
Fibrosis is what makes the collagen fibres of the septae/retinaculae to contract and pull the skin down as a result.
Herbal extracts (curcumin, EGCG, quercetin, centella asiatica, among others) are known to have an anti-fibrotic effect.
Again, fibrosis reduction takes weeks to work, so a cream containing such ingredients should be used for several weeks, in the manner described above.
Should poor circulation / water retention be a priority in cellulite creams?
Water retention is the quick fix of many gimmicky so-called cellulite creams, masks and wraps:
Temporary water retention can be effected quite quickly, especially with materials that draw water out of the skin, as in clay body wraps
Caffeine, used at excessive concentrations for a short period of time (not very sustainable) can also have such a quick water retention reduction effect
However, with such short-term measures, water retention comes back equally fast.
Support for long-term circulation, however, also takes several weeks occur, in line with fibrosis reduction, skin firming and hypodermal fat reduction.
Herbal extracts, such as liposomal caffeine, forskolin, curcumin, EGCG, centella asiatica, esculoside, cocoa flavanols, hesperidin, quercetin, rutin, escin, ruscogenin, pine bark extract and many more, can all offer valuable support for circulation, both in the short term and in the long term.
Should hypodermal fat reduction be a priority in cellulite creams?
Absolutely. The main cause of cellulite is hypodermal fat accumulation. Without it:
There would not be fat globule enlargement and consequent reactive fibrosis on the collagen fibres
Water retention, although important, would not cause the bumpy cellulite surface appearance. Skin would just feel and sometimes look puffy, but that would be it.
Likewise, skin laxity would be irrelevant, cellulite-wise. Skin would just feel and sometimes look loose, but that would be it.
Herbal extracts, such as liposomal caffeine, forskolin, and to a lesser extent curcumin, centella asiatica, EGCG, quercetin, pine bark extract and other herbal extracts, as well as a couple of peptides (most peptides don’t work for fat reduction), are known for their lipolytic action.
Again, as cellulite fat reduction takes weeks to work, a cream containing such ingredients should be used for 12 or more weeks, in the manner described above.
So what should be the main priority in cellulite creams?
Obviously, for any non-gimmicky cellulite cream (where the focus is always on quick water reduction or a temporary skin feel improvement with silicones*) priority should be placed on superficial fat accumulation, and then on all the other aspects of cellulite.
The focus on hypodermal fat reduction would offer the best value to the customer in the long run, provided that the customer is motivated to use a quality cellulite cream for 6-12 weeks - or even more.
For those who want a two-week quick fix, I would suggest to stir clear of cellulite creams and just have 2-3 clay body wraps, which would give a more pronounced water retention reduction effect.
Furthermore, for those who use a cellulite cream for 1-2 weeks, I would have to say that you should not expect any cream to reduce fat, fibrosis or skin laxity in such a short period of time.
(* Whatever firming results you see in two weeks, is mainly due to gimmicky, so-called “functional” ingredients (e.g. silicones, thick fats etc) that temporarily make skin feel firmer, without changing collagen and elastin levels. As soon as the silicone or high molecular weight fat is washed off in the shower, the results also wash off in a couple of days.)
Multi-functional ingredients in cellulite creams
As you may have noticed above, many active ingredients have multiple effects against cellulite.
Some of those ingredients may be unsuitable for cosmetic use due to their deep colour (e.g. quercetin) or to extreme cost, which make a cellulite cream impossible to sell to 99% of the population (and they may not be absolutely necessary either).
However, some other actives are both multi-functionally effective against cellulite, tackling at the same time fat, firmness, fluid retention and fibrosis: the four Fs of cellulite. The best example of such actives is centella asiatica extract with 95% content or higher of asiatic acid, asiaticoside, madecassic acid and/or madecassoside.
As long as actives in a cellulite cream are in a high-purity, concentrated form, such a cream will offer significant help against cellulite at a fraction of the cost of a course of treatments - always combined with healthy eating and exercise.
And for those who want faster results, concentrated cellulite creams can be combined with a course of strong cellulite treatments (as with creams, no cellulite treatment can offer results in 1-2 weeks or with 1-2 sessions).
The best two cellulite technologies available today are deep-acting, high-power radiofrequency and high-power ultrasound cavitation.
So by using multifunctional actives we can tackle all aspects of cellulite, making sure we focus a bit more on fat than any other aspect.
Cellulite creams: frequently asked questions (FAQs)
We hope everything is now regarding cellulite creams and how they work.
Below are some straight, quick answers to the most common questions related to this subject, to clarify finer points and add more detail.
So cellulite creams work? Do firming creams work?
As mentioned above, yes such creams work but only if they contain multiple, research-proven active ingredients in high concentrations. Most such creams on the market do not, so unfortunately most of them do not work.
What is the best firming body lotion for cellulite? Do firming creams work for cellulite?
A good firming cream would work for cellulite but only partially, as cellulite is also characterised by fibrosis, water retention and fat accumulation. Such a cream should contain the following active ingredients in high concentrations: peptides, pine bark extract, hydroxyproline, cocoa flavanols, among others.
However, most body skin firming creams on the market are not like that, so unfortunately most of them do not work, either for skin firmness or for cellulite.
What is a good water retention cream?
As described above, a good water retention cream is one packed with the following active ingredients in high concentrations: centella asiatica, curcumin, EGCG, liposomal caffeine, forskolin, pine bark extract, cocoa flavanols, quercetin, hesperidin, rutin, escin, esculoside, ruscogenin, among others.
Most such creams on the market are not like that, so unfortunately most of them do not work.
What is a good anti-fibrosis cream?
As mentioned above, a good anti-fibrotic cream is one containing active ingredients such as curcumin, EGCG, quercetin and centella asiatica, among others, in high concentrations.
However, most of such creams on the market do not, so unfortunately most of them do not work.
Have a skin tightening/cellulite treatment in London with the experts
At LipoTherapeia we have specialised 100% in skin tightening and cellulite reduction for more than two decades and 20,000+ sessions.
This is all we study and practise every day and have researched and tried hands-on all the important skin tightening equipment and their manufacturers.
As strong, deep acting radiofrequency and deep-acting, high-power ultrasound cavitation are the technologies of choice for skin tightening and cellulite reduction, we have invested in the best RF/ultrasound technologies in the world.
(Of course, we keep looking for new technologies every day and if/when a better technology materialises we will be the first to provide it. However, we will never follow the latest ineffective gimmick, just because it’s good marketing to offer the latest hyped up - yet ineffective and/or unsafe treatment.)
Furthermore, over the last two decades we have developed advanced RF and cavitation treatment protocols in order to make the most of our technologies, for maximum results, naturally and safely.
And for even better, faster results, we now combine our RF/ultrasound treatments with high-power red/infrared light LED treatment.
Our radiofrequency/ultrasound/LED treatments are comfortable, pain-free, downtime-free, injection-free, 99.5%+ safe and always non-invasive.
(No unsafe and ineffective RF microneedling or HIFU and no safe but ineffective acoustic wave therapy, superficial RF (bipolar/tripolar/multipolar etc), low power RF/cavitation, electrical muscle stimulation, lymphatic massage, cupping, dry brushing and no ridiculous bum bum creams.)
Our focus is on honest, realistic, science-based treatment, combined with caring, professional service, with a smile.
We will be pleased to see you, assess your cellulite, skin laxity or fibrosis, listen to your story, discuss your case and offer you the best possible treatment.
The Cellulite School™: Get advanced training in cellulite reduction and skin tightening
Why train with The Cellulite School™?
We all know that training in cellulite reduction and skin tightening is as basic as it gets. It is typically a 4-6 hour training, involving only basic instruction from the manufacturer on how operators can use the machine; lots of myths, erroneous information and misconceptions; and some basic health and safety on how to use the machine.
There is no proper, real training in the science or cellulite, skin tightening, radiofrequency, ultrasound and all related technologies is non-existent - worldwide.
Do you want to deeply understand radiofrequency, ultrasound cavitation, LED phototherapy, cellulite and skin tightening?
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