Cellulite What is it?

So you've sweated it out in the gym all winter, pumped out countless thigh-burning squats and climbed the stair-master to heaven, all in preparation for yet another bikini season. You're feeling great, those wobbly bits have perked up and you've lost a few kilos to boot. Well done, you've more than earned that new swimming costume.

However, there's still one thing whittling away at your beach-babe confidence. Despite your vege-laden diet and regular exercise, dimply potholes continue to plague your thighs.

These ugly potholes, often referred to as the orange peel effect or hail damage, is dreaded CELLULITE.

The dreaded "C" word affects an estimated 90 per cent of women worldwide and there are many influencing factors. Genetic predisposition, body structure, age, hormone balance, hydration, diet, digestive disorders, impaired circulation, exercise regime, stress levels, smoking, drugs, alcohol intake and medications all effect where and how fat is stored, where and how fluid is retained and the amount of collagen and elastin fibers in the connective tissue.

Women are more prone to having cellulite than men due to the orientation of the fibrotic bands (septa), the alignment of the skin fibers, the thickness of the skin and the way their muscles and fat are distributed.

Three factors combined create cellulite:

1. Fat cells (Adipocytes) increase in volume within the hypodermis (superficial fat layer) and push the skin upward.
2. The microcirculation of blood and lymph is restricted within the hypodermis, causing a restriction in oxygen and nutrient delivery.
3. Fibrotic bonds (septa) with the hypodermis become hardened and retract by drawing the dermis down.

When normal fatty tissue is stored, it is held in place by a network of collagen and elastin fibers and is supplied by a network of vascular and lymph vessels. When the system works well, the vascular system takes energy from the fat stores when required and toxins are flushed away via the lymph.

When the waste removal system starts to fail, toxins build up and the connective tissue becomes saturated with fluid, creating inflammation. Growing fat cells (adipocytes) destroy the network of collagen and elastin fibers, which then thicken (fibrose) around these cells forming hard pockets of fat, encroaching on vascular and lymphatic vessels.

When treating cellulite, the congested lymph and waste systems need to be cleared, the fibrosis around the hardened pockets of fat needs to be softened or broken down and the weak network of collagen & elastin fibers need to be strengthened and re-modeled. The more advanced the condition of cellulite, the greater effort it is to treat.

Although cellulite decreases nutrient delivery, oxygen delivery and detoxification, creating a vascular and lymphatic impairment, cellulite does not impose as a health risk. It is an aesthetic condition. Cellulite is not related to obesity and can affect woman of all age and sizes.

Cellulite was unbeatable until now... Enter Endermologie!