Cocoa flavanols, microcirculation and cellulite

We are thrilled to share our experience and knowledge in cellulite and skin tightening, from our clinic in London with everyone in the world. Check all our articles here. And if you do live in or near London, feel free to book a treatment with us here.

• Cocoa flavanols: an essential skin firming / cellulite cream active

• Skin firming / cellulite creams with cocoa flavanols

• How about cocoa flavanol serums for cellulite, anti-ageing or skin tightening?

• Not all cocoa flavanol -containing creams are the same

• Flavanols from cocoa, chlorogenic acid from green coffee and EGCG from green tea

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

Cocoa flavanols: an essential skin firming / cellulite cream active

Cocoa flavanols are widely researched for their microcirculation enhancing, collagen protecting, antioxidant, elastin synthesis stimulating and adipose tissue anti-inflammatory action. Thereby, cocoa flavanols act directly on four aspects of cellulite.

Due to these qualities, cocoa flavanols (purified cocoa extract) are one of the most important skincare actives today for anti-aging, stretch marks, post-liposuction aftercare and anti-cellulite creams.

Skin firming / cellulite creams with cocoa flavanols

As part of an anti-cellulite formulation containing other similar actives (e.g. centella asiatica / gotu kola, caffeine, hydroxyproline etc), cocoa flavanols is an important, all natural active ingredient in the fight against cellulite.

Naturally, you should always combine your cellulite cream with a healthy diet and exercise. It makes no sense to apply a cellulite cream to reduce cellulite, if you create new cellulite every day by not exercising and/or eating unhealthily.

It is also important to ensure that you buy a cream containing a high concentration of high-purity cocoa flavanols and other actives (not a diluted one) and apply it every day for 6-12 weeks (not occasionally or for just a few days).

How about cocoa flavanol serums for cellulite, anti-ageing or skin tightening?

In contrast to shallow magazine/web articles, serums are too diluted and too little in quantity to have any effect on cellulite / body skin firmness.

High concentration and high quantity of product are equally necessary: you cannot possibly reduce cellulite or firm up body skin with 5-10 drops of some diluted watery serum.

Especially for body applications, you do need a lot of product. For example, we recommend the use of 10g of the Celluence® Body cream per day. In contrast, most serum bottles contain 15-30ml (i.e. ~15-30g) and they suggest you apply just a few drops, i.e. less than 0.5g a day. That may be just about enough for the face (not even that, really), but it is wholly inadequate for body use.

And no, serums do not absorb better than creams, they actually absorb less, simply because they are only water-soluble and cannot pass through the outer hydrophobic layer of the skin. On the other hand, creams are amphiphilic, i.e. both water- and fat-soluble, and can go through both the outer hydrophobic and inner lipophobic skin layers.

Not all cocoa flavanol -containing creams are the same

There is a small number of cocoa extracts available, some containing 1% actual cocoa flavanols and some containing up to 95%+ purified cocoa flavanols.

Obviously creams that contain a 95%+ purity cocoa extract will be vastly more beneficial than the ones containing a 1% purity cocoa extract.

Furthermore, if a skincare product contains 1-3% cocoa extract of 95% purity, it will be much more beneficial than one containing 0.1% cocoa extract of the same purity (95%).

Of course, there are skincare creams that only contain 0.1% of an 1% purity cocoa extract, just to fool the consumer with some “label decoration”. These are obviously pointless (the vast majority of products on the market).

So whether you buy a cocoa extract cream for anti-aging, skin firming or cellulite reduction, do your research first, as you would need 100x 0.1% creams to have the same effect as an 1% cream.

Flavanols from cocoa, chlorogenic acid from green coffee and EGCG from green tea

The three most popular drinks we consume, cocoa, coffee and tea can offer us vast cosmetic benefits when applied topically, or even taken orally, as supplements, in purified form. Together they have synergistic anti-cellulite, skin firming and anti-ageing benefits.

However, very few cellulite creams combine those ingredients and even fewer in meaningful concentrations.

Again, do your research and look for high concentrations of multiple high-purity actives, to ensure you apply on your skin a worthwhile product.

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.