Page 78 - How It Works - Book Of Amazing Answers To Curious Questions, Volume 05-15

What is cellulite?

Learn why 98 per cent of all cellulite occurrences are in women

lthough it has physically existed for a extensive and rapid weight loss, which can leave content grows, they have no option but to push
while, the term cellulite was largely the skin loose, as it contracts very slowly. upward, before pressing against the skin and
Aunheard of before the 1960s. Also known Men are just as capable of going through these forming cellulite.
as gynoid lipodystrophy by scientists, cellulite processes as women, which begs the question of There is also a hormonal difference between
has undergone extensive research, with the aim why cellulite formation in women is so much the sexes that contributes to this. Oestrogen

of finding out what causes these unsightly bumps more common. To find the answer, scientists had could be a factor in cellulite formation, as it

to form on our skin. to look more closely at how the formation of fat interacts with fat and skin. After puberty, this
Two types of cellulite have been identifi ed. tissue and skin structure differed between the hormone makes the female body store surplus fat
Primary cellulite has no causal factors and forms sexes. They found that men’s fat tissues are to help prepare it for pregnancy. Oestrogen also
naturally when enlarged fat cells push into the entangled in one singular mass, allowing them helps explain why cellulite levels differ between
outer skin layer, causing an uneven ‘dimpled’ to grow outward evenly. Meanwhile, women’s fat women and between the sexes, as some women
surface to form. Secondary cellulite forms either tissues are constructed in a side-by-side have more oestrogen than others, while men
when the skin is damaged by infections or by formation, which means that when the fat have very little oestrogen at all.

Under the skin
Cellulite treatments
See the differences between men and women’s fat cells
A number of possible treatments have been
trialled to help both men and women rid
themselves of cellulite. A procedure using lasers Crisscross collagen Collagen bands
has been performed with good results. This Within a male, the skin’s collagen holds fat cells Within a female, the skin’s collagen forms a
actually requires minor surgery, with a laser in place by forming a crisscross pattern. circular structure around the fat cells.

fitted to the end of a cannula (a very fi ne metal
tube) inserted under the skin. The laser can then
be used to divide the fibrous bands that hold the

fat cells together, helping to reduce the ‘orange
peel’ appearance and smooth out the skin. The
laser can also stimulate the production of
collagen, helping to keep the skin tight.
Laser treatments aim to be a more permanent
solution to cellulite, unlike some of the other
treatments available. These include ultrasound
therapy, which claims to melt away fat and even
out cellulite. Unfortunately, this treatment’s
results only lasts for a few months. Topical
caffeine treatments have been proposed, which
aim to decrease fat levels by speeding up
metabolism, but these methods have been met Irregular skin surface
with mixed reviews. No visible cellulite Cellulite has formed due to the enlarged fat
In spite of the enlarged fat cells, the male’s skin surface cells stretching the collagen chambers out
shows little or no sign of any cellulite. toward the surface.

Laser treatment of
cellulite has yielded Male cell enlargement Female cell enlargement © Fotoinfot/Dreamstime
promising results When males put on weight, the fat cell collagen chambers When females put on weight, the fat cells cause
stretch evenly due to their structure, resulting in no the collagen chambers to push up into the skin,
change to the skin’s surface. causing cellulite to form.

78 How It Works