Many women would love to show off their smooth, healthy skin, but instead find themselves hiding beneath slacks and skirts due to cellulite, an inherited condition where the connective tissue fibers under the skin are disorganized and irregular, and fat cells bulge out between the fibers, creating the rippled, dimpled look. The condition is made worse by poor diet, excessive exercise or lack of exercise, exposure to sun and cold, and weight gain.
Step 1
Massage your legs and buttocks with massage oil or lotion. Press your fingers in and then slide your fingers along, stretching the layer beneath the skin where the connective tissue fibers are located. Pinch up your skin between your fingers and thumbs, and stretch it away from the layers underneath. This helps to reorganize the connective tissue fibers so that the skin is smoother.
Step 2
Walk. You need a combination of cardiovascular exercise, strength training, endurance training, flexibility and balance exercises. Walking gives you most of these benefits, and stretching gives you the rest. Walk fast enough to breathe more deeply and start to sweat. Try to walk farther every day on varied terrain. Take time to stretch thoroughly a couple of times a week.
Step 3
Manage your weight. Repeatedly gaining and losing weight makes cellulite worse, since it damages the connective tissue under the skin. Excessive weight gain makes fat cells larger so that they bulge out between connective tissue fibers even more.
Step 4
Eat a lot of vegetables and fruits. Fruits and vegetables provide the vitamins and minerals you need for healthy tissue, and the antioxidants you need to prevent aging skin.
Step 5
Drink water. All of your cells need adequate water to stay healthy, absorb nutrients and get rid of toxins. Dehydration can make your skin dry and unhealthy.
Step 6
Protect your skin. Use a mild scrub to exfoliate dead cells on your legs and buttocks. Use moisturizers to reduce evaporation of fluids from your skin, and use sunscreen to prevent sun damage. Wear appropriate clothing to protect your skin from excessive exposure to sunlight, heat, cold and wind.
Tips and Warnings
- Deep tissue massage focuses on the connective tissue of the body. If you have cellulite, getting a professional deep tissue massage on your buttocks and legs will help improve the look of your skin. Cellulite creams with ivy extract are said to help reduce cellulite, although there is no scientific evidence to support this claim.
Things You'll Need
- Massage oil or lotion
- Sunscreen
References
- "Cellulite: Pathophysiology and Treatment"; Mitchel P. Goldman, M.D. and Doris Hexsel; 2010
- "Plastic Reconstructive Surgery"; An exploratory investigation of the morphology and biochemistry of cellulite; Rosenbaum, M., et al.; June 1998
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