Whether the product label lists it as kola nut or green tea, caffeine has become one of the main ingredients in over-the-counter topical creams that claim to treat cellulite. Homemade remedies that instruct you to scrub your thighs and other cellulite-prone areas with brewed coffee grounds, a household source of caffeine, fill many pages on the internet. Despite its inclusion in products marketed for cellulite and the anecdotal evidence, there isn't much scientific research to support coffee and caffeine as a cellulite treatment.
Cellulite Formation
Coined by the French to describe the orange-peel textured skin found on eight out of 10 women, the term cellulite has come to describe the condition when a layer of fat cells just below the skin presses against weakened connective tissue. This pressure, says the Mayo Clinic, produces a bulging or dimpled appearance along thighs and other areas of the body. While physicians, dermatologists and skin care experts debate the cause of cellulite, holistic practitioner Robert S. Rister, in "Healing Without Medication," says cellulite "is the result of displaced fluid rather than accumulated fat."
Caffeine Research
After conducting a double-blind, placebo-controlled study of 46 women, a French research group in July 2001 reported a topical cellulite cream containing butcher's broom, caffeine and retinol effective at reducing the appearance of cellulite. The researcher group, an affiliate of Johnson & Johnson, said the cream improved circulation in the skin's fat cells. Frank Greenway and George Bray of the Pennington Biomedical Research Center at Louisiana State University in Baton Rouge found that aminophylline, an ingredient with similar effects as caffeine, decreased the size of women's thighs by causing fat cells to be used as energy.
Anecdotal Evidence
Online blogs and message boards offer mixed results on the topical application of coffee grounds and skin creams featuring caffeine. Some women claim that the treatment has reduced the appearance of cellulite. Advertisements from cellulite cream manufacturers claim that the topical application of products containing caffeine restore smooth skin on cellulite-prone areas, reducing fluid in the skin tissues and blocking an enzyme that the body uses to prevent the breakdown of fat.
Caffeine Critics
Critics doubt that caffeine can penetrate the skin deeply enough to get to the fat cells. While there's no risk to using coffee grounds or topical creams that contain caffeine as directed by the product label, the federal government hasn't lent any credence to caffeine as a treatment for cellulite. The only method that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration has endorsed is Endermologie, an advanced massage treatment that uses a hand-held machine to knead the skin between rollers. Even as this type of massage temporarily may reduce the appearance of cellulite, the Mayo Clinic says that the results typically don't last.
Cellulite and Exercise
Although thin women also develop cellulite, the Mayo Clinic recommends weight loss through diet and exercise as the best way to reduce cellulite. "Losing pounds and strengthening muscles in your legs, thighs and buttocks can improve the appearance of the dimpled skin," Mayo Clinic experts say. In "Healing Without Medication," Rister cites University of Maryland research that reported loss of fat beneath the skin in cellulite-prone areas after a six-month period during which study participants exercised and reduced their caloric intake by 250 to 300 calories daily.
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