BEACHY LEGS

Break down cellulite: does this phrase really mean anything?

Break down cellulite: does this phrase really mean anything?

It is a common question from clients: “Does XYZ treatment “break down” cellulite?” Of course “breaking down the cellulite” doesn’t mean anything at all. Cellulite is a multifaceted aesthetic condition, comprising four physical manifestations in different proportions: water retention/poor circulation, fat accumulation, fibrosis, skin looseness….

Cryolipolysis vs radio frequency vs cavitation: what is best?

Cryolipolysis vs radio frequency vs cavitation: what is best?

This is a common question at the clinic: “What is best, coolsculpting/cryolipolysis/fat freezing or radiofrequency?” However, as this question is very generic, it invites another question: “What is best for which outcome? For fat reduction, cellulite removal or skin tightening?”

Ozempic face | How to tighten your skin after losing weight with ozempic, wegovy or mounjaro

Ozempic face | How to tighten your skin after losing weight with ozempic, wegovy or mounjaro

As both drugs can lead to quick weight loss, the face does not have enough time to contract back to its previous tone. In fact, in most cases after weight loss, facial skin - or even body skin - never regains its previous tone and elasticity. There is just too much excess skin left over after significant weight loss, sudden or slow, with Ozempic/Wegovy or without…

Does fasting help with cellulite?

Does fasting help with cellulite?

Fat is the most important aspect of cellulite. On the other hand, fasting is a proven method to reduce or maintain weight and also to fight ageing and improve a myriad health conditions, if practised within reason. So it makes sense to use fasting, in its different various forms to reduce cellulite quickly or to prevent cellulite. Fasting can be continuous for a few days or intermittent…

Binge eating (overeating at a single sitting) and cellulite

Binge eating (overeating at a single sitting) and cellulite

One of the major causes of cellulite, repeated over months and years, is binge-eating and binge-drinking, regardless of dieting/fasting later. Why would that be? One would think that if the total balance of calories during the day or during the week is neutral, then weight should stay the same, right? Right. Absolutely correct. The overall weight should roughly remain the same. However, the…

RF and ultrasound treatment: does total joule count mean anything?

RF and ultrasound treatment: does total joule count mean anything?

Back in the early 2000, when RF treatments were static (using the “stamp” or “pulse” method), counting the total amount of energy applied on the skin (as measured in Joules, kiloJoules to be precise), meant something: it signified how strong the treatment was on that particular area. Today this stamp/pulse method is only being used for one ultrasound treatment, one RF treatment and for RF microneedling and HIFU…

Radio frequency treatment for cellulite and skin tightening: what is it and how does it work?

Radio frequency treatment for cellulite and skin tightening: what is it and how does it work?

Radiofrequency is now widely established as the best skin tightening and anti-cellulite technology known today. However, there is huge ignorance and misinformation about radio frequency treatments: what it is, what it does and how it works…

When to have a course of cellulite / skin tightening treatments for maximum results before holidays

When to have a course of cellulite / skin tightening treatments for maximum results before holidays

If your cellulite treatment is a clay body wrap, lymphatic massage, mechanical massage with vacuum suction or anything similarly short-lasting, yes. Have the last session just 1-2 days before your holidays and hopefully that will last you up to one week into your holidays. However, if you are having a real cellulite / skin tightening treatment that aims for long-term results, such as deep-acting, high-power radiofrequency or high-power ultrasound cavitation, the best thing to do is finish your sessions about a month before your holidays or thereabouts…

Cellulite creams vs cellulite treatments

Cellulite creams vs cellulite treatments

This is a common question we hear at the clinic. Cellulite creams are much more economical than treatments, so if they do work they make more sense, at least economically. On the other hand, many people do not believe that creams are even absorbed or they believe that their benefits are due to massaging the cream on the legs, two myths that we addressed in detail in previous articles. Of course a good cellulite cream is absorbed; and the effect of massaging the cream into the skin is negligible. On this article we are looking at the pros and cons of cellulite treatments vs cellulite creams.

Are radiofrequency / ultrasound safe for dark / black skin?

Are radiofrequency / ultrasound safe for dark / black skin?

Unlike lasers, which work by heating melanin or other chromophores (light absorbing chemicals or structures inside the skin), radiofrequency works with electricity and ultrasound works mechanically, with sound.. The electrical properties of the skin are exactly the same in light skinned or dark skinned people, so skin colour plays no role in radiofrequency treatment (RF is basically high frequency electrical currents). In much the same way, the mechanical (acoustic) properties of the skin are exactly the same in light skinned…

Does radiofrequency treatment have anything to do with radiation or radioactivity?

Does radiofrequency treatment have anything to do with radiation or radioactivity?

The electrical currents used for aesthetic and physiotherapy radiofrequency treatments (300 kHz to 5 GHz) happen to fall within the so called "radio frequency spectrum", i.e. the frequencies used for radio communications (3 kHz to 300 GHz)…

Cellular senescence, due to high temperature cooking, causes skin aging and cellulite

Cellular senescence, due to high temperature cooking, causes skin aging and cellulite

Cigarette smoking and high temperature cooking of carbohydrates and fats leads to the creation of various chemicals detrimental to health, two of them being glyoxal and methylglyoxal (MGO). These chemicals eventually lead to the creation of Advanced Glycation End-products (AGEs), which cause whole body ageing, whole body and facial skin ageing and cellulite…

Deep cellulite vs superficial cellulite

Deep cellulite vs superficial cellulite

Cellulite refers to fat pockets within the skin that are attached to and/or surrounded by fibrotic (hardened) collagen strands. The fat pocket tries to bulge out of the surface of the skin, while the collagen strand pulls the adjacent skin down. The combination creates the cellulite peaks (fat pocket makes skin “pop out”) and troughs (collagen strands keep skin down).

Cellulite can appear at three depths inside the skin:

  • At the dermal level (superficial cellulite)

  • At the hypodermal level (medium cellulite; most common cellulite)

  • And at the subcutaneous fat level (deep cellulite; not true cellulite)

We will look at each of them in detail…

Avocados, avocado oil and cellulite

Avocados, avocado oil and cellulite

Avocados are fruits rich in fat and in fibre - they contain about 15% fat, with 10% being oleic acid, a monounsaturated, omega-9 fatty acid. Avocado oil, being a fatty extract of the avocados, contains 100% fat, of which about 70% is monounsaturated oleic acid. Monounsaturated fat is a neutral fat that, from a health point of view, can be consumed in high quantities without the negative aspects that too much omega-6 fat can have on…

Forskolin, lipolysis and cellulite creams

Forskolin, lipolysis and cellulite creams

The natural lipolytic chemical forskolin was found in this study to release fat from fat cells, via significant cAMP production in fat cells. This study confirms that forskolin is clearly THE strongest natural lipolytic natural active and it is an ideal anti-cellulite…

The ultimate anti-cellulite drink (I): turmeric, cocoa and collagen protein shake

The ultimate anti-cellulite drink (I): turmeric, cocoa and collagen protein shake

Cocoa, protein and turmeric for firm, healthy cellulite-free legs. There are hundreds of ideas for drinks, juices and shakes that may be good for diet, weight loss and overall health, so one might wonder why these three ingredients? The idea behind this shake is its simplicity, taste and impact it can have in the health of your legs. Indeed, this shake is one of our 10 top tips for fast cellulite reduction…

Can I exercise after RF treatment?

Can I exercise after RF treatment?

Absolutely. You can do any exercise you want before or after treatment. In fact, if you are having RF for cellulite reduction, vigorous exercise right before or right after treatment will increase the effectiveness of the treatment. This is because the noradrenaline produced during exercise will maximise the lipolysis (fat release) stimulated by the treatment…

Gotu kola / centella asiatica: how it works for cellulite and other skin conditions

Gotu kola / centella asiatica: how it works for cellulite and other skin conditions

Centella asiatica (gotu kola) is one of the most important herbs for skincare and skin diseases, due to its multifunctional action. This review summarises the main modes of action of gotu kola on multiple aesthetic and medical skin conditions: acne, acne scars, burns, atopic dermatitis, vitiligo, fibrosis, hair loss and cellulite…

Do cellulite creams work? Facts vs marketing hype.

Do cellulite creams work? Facts vs marketing hype.

In a previous article we have discussed the differences, merits and drawbacks of cellulite creams vs cellulite treatments. On this article we are focusing a bit more on why a good, concentrated, multi-ingredient cellulite cream can play an important role in cellulite reduction, more than what most women assume.

Fibrosis, cellulite and fibrous cellulite: what is the connection?

Fibrosis, cellulite and fibrous cellulite: what is the connection?

Fibrosis is one of the most important aspects of cellulite, together with fat accumulation, water retention, inflammation and skin laxity. Fibrosis in cellulite refers to excess accumulation and contraction of collagen in the skin ligaments (retinaculae, also known as septae) that connect skin with the fascia underneath. Fibrosis occurs at the deepest skin layer called the hypodermis…