Cellulite

Cellulite is skin on the thighs and buttocks that looks dimpled and drawn in. The medical literature also calls it edematous fibrosclerotic panniculopathy.

First, why this slot was made separately.

This site had been keeping the treatments used for cellulite in the 'body contour' slot. But cellulite is not a problem of volume.

• the methods that reduce fat — cryolipolysis, deoxycholic acid and microwave aim at how much fat there is
• the methods used for cellulite — collagenase, endermologie and acoustic wave therapy aim at the pulling bands and the surface of the skin

Which is why the dimpling can remain after weight is lost. Keeping both in one slot hides that. We separated it for the same reason as the bruising and leg veins slots.

The first thing to know here is how it is measured.

Cellulite is graded by a person's eye. And what that eye sees shifts with posture, lighting, muscle contraction and the ordinary daily swing in weight. A photograph taken standing differs from one taken lying down, and light from above makes the dimples look deeper.

So this is the slot where before-and-after photographs are easiest to produce. It is why this site is particularly strict about study design on this concern.

And there is evidence on this site that the worry is not idle.

The trial on the caffeine page improved on the placebo side too. Real cream on one thigh, placebo on the other, and the cellulite score fell on both. Had that trial looked only before and after, without a placebo, it would have ended at 'it works'.

What belongs in this slot.

• collagenase injection — one of the rare methods here with placebo-controlled phase 3 trials. Read the size of the change on that page itself
• endermologie — the one page on this site where the authors wrote that they do not believe it works
• acoustic wave therapy — there is a trial with a sham-treated control
• caffeine — the trial where the placebo moved too

We found no strong evidence that anything applied to the skin removes cellulite. That this slot holds a single ingredient is that fact.

Finally, that this is not a disease.

Most adult women have cellulite. It follows from the direction in which the connective bands run, and that direction cannot be changed. If the goal of treatment is 'to get rid of it', no method reaches that goal.

But if it appears suddenly on one side only, or hurts, or the skin hardens, or a lump can be felt along with the dimpling, that is not a cosmetic matter. See a clinician first.