“TL;DR: Cellulite becomes more common and pronounced in older women due to two main factors: chronic fat accumulation and weakening of connective tissue and circulation. Fat stored in the thighs and buttocks absorbs excess calories but releases little, gradually increasing fat deposits over time. Oestrogen also promotes more fat cells in these areas. Simultaneously, collagen levels decline with age, weakening both skin and blood vessels. This leads to reduced circulation, water retention, and thinner skin that fails to resist fat pushing upward and ligaments pulling downward, forming the characteristic dimpling. Effective reduction involves a healthy lifestyle, targeted professional treatments such as radiofrequency or ultrasound, and high-quality anti-cellulite creams with active ingredients.”
Ageing and cellulite: Why do older women have more cellulite?
Cellulite is more prevalent in older women and also its appearance gets worse with age - why?
Chronic fat accumulation
Connective tissue and circulation deterioration
What can I do to reduce cellulite in my 30s, 40s, 50s and 60s?
Have a skin tightening/cellulite treatment with London’s cellulite experts
Advanced, infrared / blue / red light therapy treatments in London at LipoTherapeia
The Cellulite School™: Get advanced training in cellulite reduction and skin tightening
Cellulite is more prevalent with age and also its appearance gets worse as we get older - why?
Although cellulite can start at quite a young age (from 13, i.e. almost as soon as the onset of puberty) it is more prevalent at older ages - and its appearance also worsens with age.
At our clinic we see more and more clients as age progresses, up to the age of about 65 (when interest in cellulite reduction declines for different reasons).
There are two main reasons why cellulite becomes more common / more severe with age:
Chronic fat accumulation in stubborn fat depots
Gradual weakening of connective tissue and blood circulation with age
Chronic fat accumulation
Adipose (fat) tissue on the thighs and buttocks is the most stubborn fat tissue in women (the equivalent in men is visceral fat on the stomach).
That adipose tissue is found both inside the skin (hypodermal adipose tissue = ‘cellulite’) and just under the skin (subcutaneous adipose tissue = plain ‘fat’)
Stubborn adipose tissue in those areas has two characteristics:
It absorbs as much fat as other adipose tissue from the circulation but releases less into the circulation. Every time there is an excess of calories in the bloodstream some fat accumulates in those adipose tissue depots and never gets released. With time that adipose depot becomes enlarged, meaning more cellulite and more local thigh/buttock volume/fat.
It contains more adipocytes (fat cells), courtesy of estrogen. More fat cells means more opportunity to accumulate fat in those areas.
With time - months, years and decades - cellulite and even topical fat becomes bigger and more pronounced.
Connective tissue and circulation deterioration
With time, collagen levels decline and this affects both skin firmness and blood vessel health and function.
This decline of collagen affects cellulite in two ways:
Weaker blood vessels means less circulation and consequent water retention, an important aspect of cellulite
Weaker and thinner skin (skin laxity) cannot resist the upward pressure from enlarged fat fat globules and the downward pressure from fibrotic skin ligaments, with the familiar cellulite bumps forming and becoming more prevalent as collagen declines decade after decade.
What can I do to reduce cellulite (and skin laxity) in my 30s, 40s, 50s and 60s?
The end result of these two factors - fat accumulation and connective tissue weakening - means more cellulite with each decade that passes.
The solution to cellulite reduction and skin tightening is trifold:
Healthy lifestyle (nutrition, exercise, avoiding smoking / hormonal contraception) for prevention, maintenance and slow reduction
Having a course of good anti-cellulite treatments for fast results: deep-acting, high-power radiofrequency and deep-acting, high-power ultrasound cavitation are the best SAFE ones currently
Applying a real cellulite cream, i.e. one with multiple, high-purity anti-cellulite actives in high concentrations, to augment the above two efforts
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.
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.
Advanced, infrared / blue / red light therapy treatments in London at LipoTherapeia
At LipoTherapeia we are passionate about phototherapy (also known as photobiomodulation/PBM, red light therapy, infrared light therapy, blue light therapy, LED light therapy etc) and we use the most powerful equipment available today (up to 200mW/cm2), for best results and treatment of large body areas.
We use specialised therapy protocols for skin rejuvenation / anti-ageing, pigmentation / post-inflammatory hyperpigmentation (PIH), moderate/severe acne, skin redness, sensitive/inflamed/irritated skin, wound healing, sports injuries / musculoskeletal pain and overall wellness / well-being.
Our LED phototherapy sessions are comfortable, deeply relaxing and super-safe and are great to enhance our radiofrequency/ultrasound treatments for skin tightening / cellulite reduction.
On our booking page you can book stand-alone phototherapy sessions or combine them with our other treatments, as an add-on.
Learn more or check prices and book an expert LED phototherapy treatment at our London clinic.
The Cellulite School™: Get advanced training in cellulite reduction and skin tightening
Do you want to deeply understand radiofrequency, ultrasound cavitation, LED phototherapy, cellulite and skin tightening?
Attend a half-day, 1-day, 2-day or 3-day 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.
Learn more or check prices and book training at our London clinic or via Zoom.