With summer in full swing, there’s one thing that most women can bond over—how to hide their cellulite while wearing a bathing suit or shorts.
(And, men, we’d like to hear what you think of cellulite, too! Read on to take our survey.)
Now, cellulite—unlike many topics that Daily Health News covers—certainly isn’t a serious, potentially fatal health concern, such as heart disease or diabetes. It’s a cosmetic problem. But even a cosmetic problem can sometimes be so bothersome that it can negatively impact our mental health, ruin confidence and increase symptoms of anxiety and depression.
Many women try lots of tricks to get rid of these crisscross fat pouches that usually are found on the thighs and buttocks—including tightening treatments (that involve massage, infrared light and/or radiofrequency energy), liposuction, topical creams, diet changes and toning exercises.
But most treatments are temporary, with the results lasting just days to months.
That’s why I looked into a treatment that was just cleared by the FDA this past January and is getting lots of buzz. It’s called Cellulaze. Instead of attacking cellulite from the outside of the skin, it targets it from underneath the skin. The research on it is still young, but so far, results suggest that one treatment can remove cellulite for at least one year—potentially even longer.
To learn more about cellulite and this new technology, I called Jennifer Peterson, MD, a dermatologist and cosmetic surgeon in Houston. She is not currently performing Cellulaze in her private practice, but she is familiar with the technology and with other cellulite treatments.
Almost 90% of women have some cellulite, but only a small percentage of men get it, said Dr. Peterson. Filed under “life is unfair” is a fact based in biology—cellulite targets women mainly because of hormonal differences and the way that bodily tissues are arranged, Dr. Peterson explained.
For example, skin in both men and women is held onto the muscles beneath it with fibrous bands of tissue called septae. In men, the septae are organized in a diagonal pattern. But in women, they are arranged in vertical bands that run perpendicularly from the skin to the muscle underneath. Because a woman’s skin becomes thin and loses elasticity as she ages, the fat underneath becomes visible, especially when the septae tighten, creating the dimpled pockets that we call cellulite.
What makes Cellulaze different from other cellulite treatments is that it changes the architectural structure beneath the skin. During the two-hour procedure, usually done in-office, the patient is given local anesthesia. A doctor creates tiny incisions, about one millimeter each, and inserts a threadlike laser fiber under the skin. The laser is used to “snip” the septae and then liquefy the fat. Then, the laser is pointed toward the underside of the skin. The heat of the laser promotes the growth of new collagen, which makes the skin thicker and more resilient (so it doesn’t become thin and sag)…and that should, in theory, protect against future dimpling. The liquefied fat is then pressed out of the body through the tiny incisions (this process is similar to liposuction, but not exactly the same). The procedure costs $5,000 to $7,500 for a bilateral area (such as the backs of both thighs).
I couldn’t help but think, Is it safe to snip the septae, built-in bodily structures that are there for a reason? Dr. Peterson told me that septae are routinely cut during other surgical procedures and that there haven’t been any negative effects seen in those patients, so that gives some reassurance.
After the Cellulaze procedure, patients wear compression garments for a week or two. Most can go back to work the day after the procedure and will need antibiotics to minimize the chance for infection. It takes at least two weeks—in some cases much longer—for results to be seen. The research backs up these visual changes, showing that skin becomes about 25% thicker and 29% more elastic. Plus, 93% of the women who have had the procedure said that they were satisfied one year later.
There have been no long-term studies, so it’s hard to say whether cellulite might reappear after one year. But Dr. Peterson suspects that even if the septae do grow back, they probably wouldn’t be as strong as before and they might not grow in vertically again, so any returning cellulite might not show as much.
Let’s keep this all in perspective. The Cellulaze process, as high-tech as it sounds, is still surgery and comes with risks that include bleeding, scarring, infection, bruising, swelling, tenderness and numbness. “Many of these side effects have not yet been studied in a clinical manner, so it’s too early to say how common or how severe they are,” said Dr. Peterson. “But the Cellulaze procedure is similar to liposuction, and I can tell you that after liposuction, bruising, swelling, tenderness and small amounts of bleeding and numbness are extremely common and occur in varying amounts, depending on the patient. Scarring is rare, as are infections, which usually are minor.”
In addition, studies on Cellulaze show that when people have severe cellulite, the procedure won’t improve the appearance, thickness and elasticity of the skin as much, compared with those who have moderate or mild cellulite.
If you’re interested in the procedure, Dr. Peterson said to start by using the “Find a Doctor” tool at Cellulaze.com to locate the 100 or so doctors in the US who have been trained to perform it. She added that you then need to find a surgeon who is very skilled and has performed an extensive number of liposuction and laser liposuction procedures, since that technique requires similar skills.
All things considered, I’m cautiously optimistic. Weigh the pros and the cons carefully with your doctor before signing up for it.
