Changing room lighting and cellulite: why does cellulite look worse in different lighting and at different times?

Dressing room lighting and cellulite

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• Downlights, elevator lighting, aged skin appearance and cellulite

• Dressing room lighting and fake “before and after” cellulite photos

• How cellulite looks different under different light, different positions and at different times

• Cellulite appearance according to body positioning and gravity

• Cellulite appearance according to lighting direction

• Cellulite appearance according to muscle contraction

• Cellulite appearance depending on time of the month, lifestyle and seasonality

• All in all, there are two things that determine cellulite appearance

• Check our professional consultancy in cellulite, skin tightening, ultrasound and radiofrequency

Downlights, elevator lighting, aged skin appearance and cellulite

It is quite common to hear at the clinic stating that “I saw my legs in the changing room and I got shocked by the amount of cellulite”.

Quite often we are not aware of aesthetic issues unless we see them, literally and metaphorically, under a different light. The same also applies to health conditions, where we postpone taking care of them until the last minute.

• With facial ageing, we have the elevator lighting, which is most cases is directional from top and quite often fluorescent, which is the most unflattering lighting possible. Directional top lighting can be very unflattering, as it creates long shadows that accentuate wrinkles, blemishes, loose skin and other unflattering facial features.

• With cellulite it is, again, directional lighting from above, due to the spotlights installed in almost all changing rooms. Yes, such lighting makes most rooms look stylish and “atmospheric” but they are also the most unflattering lights for the body, accentuating with their long shadows all the cellulite dimples and loose skin.

Dressing room lighting and fake “before and after” cellulite photos

This ability of directional lighting, from the top, from the side or from the top-side, is used by salons, clinics, aesthetic machine manufacturers, glossy magazines and tabloid newspapers to show horrible “before photos” with the use of such lighting and amazing “after photos” with the use of soft, full frontal lighting.

It is as if the “before” pictures are taken in a department store dressing room or an elevator and the “after” ones in front of a large north-facing window, with nice, soft, even lighting.

In fact, 95% of before and after cellulite photos are taken with similar lighting manipulation and/or are photoshopped.

How do you discover the use of such practices? Simple, look at the shadows. If the shadows in the “before” pictures are not of the same hardness/softness and of the same direction and length as those in the “after” pictures, then what you see it’s fake. Check a few websites and literally “see the truth”.

How cellulite looks different under different light, different positions and at different times

Cellulite appearance changes according to lighting direction, body positioning and gravity; and also depending on time of the month, lifestyle and seasonality.

Cellulite appearance according to body positioning and gravity

Lying down always makes cellulite look better. This is because gravity has a much lesser effect on its appearance than when we stand.

When we stand, gravity literally pulls down the adipose and connective tissues from top to bottom, exaggerating the cellulite appearance. When we lie down, gravity pulls down those tissues to the side, making cellulite much less pronounced or to also disappear.

Lying down can easily make a Stage 1 or Stage 2 cellulite look like Stage 0 cellulite. However, lying down cannot make cellulite stage 3 disappear, as this is the exact definition of Stage 3 cellulite: one that is visible while lying down.

Cellulite appearance according to lighting direction

As with the changing room lighting effect, standing on the beach with direct sunlight from above will make cellulite look quite bad, as this lighting is almost as bad as dressing room lighting.

On the other hand, lying on the beach with direct sunlight from above will make cellulite look a little bit better.

Lying on the beach with overcast (cloud) lighting is the most flattering for cellulite.

Cellulite appearance according to muscle contraction

Furthermore, cellulite also looks worse when we contract our buttock muscles or when we flex our knees fully, as the muscle contractions pull on the underlying fascia, where the cellulite collagen bands are attached.

Of course, we can’t live our life lying horizontally or under certain light only or never contracting our butt muscles to avoid cellulite becoming prominent.

So we can either ignore it (cellulite doesn’t kill) or do something about it: exercise, nutrition, healthy lifestyle, treatments or creams.

Cellulite appearance depending on time of the month, lifestyle and seasonality

As we all know, the time before/during the monthly period makes cellulite worse, due to water retention. After the period cellulite looks as usual again, as water retention reduces.

Furthermore, drinking a lot of alcohol, consuming a lot of carbohydrates, as well as different health conditions and medication, can also affect water retention and consequently make cellulite worse. If and when these issues recede, cellulite appearance improves too.

Finally, cellulite may look worse in the summer, as heat increases water retention. Come autumn, cellulite looks as usual again.

All in all, there are two things that determine cellulite appearance:

• The severity of cellulite itself

• And factors such as lighting, positioning, time of the month, lifestyle, season of the year etc

Almost all types of cellulite can be improved, even partially, with physical activity, healthy nutrition, a wholesome lifestyle and, for those who want an extra push or faster results, with a strong cellulite treatments and a concentrated cellulite cream.

Check our professional consultancy in radiofrequency, ultrasound cavitation, cellulite and skin tightening

Do you want to deeply understand radiofrequency, ultrasound cavitation, cellulite and skin tightening? Attend an 1-hour, half-day, 1-day or 2-day professional consultancy / one-to-one masterclass and confidently offer your clients the safest, strongest and most effective treatment possible. Service available via Zoom or at our central London practice.