Option 5: Mesotherapy continued…

While a reported 5,000 U.S. doctors now offer mesotherapy for cellulite (since it uses pre-approved medicines; the treatment doesn’t require FDA approval), a recent report published in the journal Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery cautions physicians not to experiment with this treatment until more is known. The report also questions the safety of the drugs when used in the injected cocktails, and questions their power to dissolve cellulite. Also of concern is what happens to the fat that melts — and whether it may end up in the liver.

In an accompanying editorial, Rod J. Rohrich, MD, a plastic surgeon at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center at Dallas writes: “It is mind boggling to think that a physician would inject patients — or that patients would allow [it] — with unknown, unproven substances based on hearsay and unsubstantiated clinical findings.”

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3 experts take a look at the latest treatments (continued)

Option 3: Light Devices continued…

Katz, who tested the device, says: “It works by first cooling the skin so the laser can penetrate deep without harming the top layer, then a combination of suction and laser beams treat the cellulite.”

He says the device works because it increases circulation on a cellular level, removing fluids and putting pressure on fat cells, while the suction aspect loosens the septa bands to diminish the dimpling effect.

In a study presented by Kathryn Frew, MD, at the 2004 annual meeting of the European Academy of Dermatology, the TriActive laser removed cellulite in 83% of patients. So far, a three-month follow-up has shown that the results last. TriActive is a nonmedical device, and is available in both doctor’s offices and skin care centers.

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3 experts take a look at the latest treatments

Option 1: Creams and Lotions continued…

“Caffeine creams work great to pull fluids out of the spaces between cells and induce lipolysis — fat burning in the layer just below the skin’s surface,” says Newburger.

In a study published in the journal Dermatologic Surgery in 1999, researchers found that methylxanthine creams reduced fat cells in skin, with visible results in about eight weeks. The higher the concentration of methylxanthine, the better the cream worked.

Newburger says a good delivery system to drive the creams into the cells, like liposome technology, is also important.

Among the hottest-selling caffeine cellulite creams are Neutrogena’s Anti-Cellulite Treatment (about $18.49 for 5 ounces) and CelluSculpt Anti-Cellulite Slimming Treatment by Avon (about $16 for 6.7 ounces).
Option 2: The Cellulite Diet

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Perhaps nothing is cuter than a pair of dimples accentuating your smile. But it’s not so cute when dimples turn up on your thighs, buttocks, tummy, and upper arm.

The problem is cellulite, fatty deposits of dimpled skin that can appear on even the most fabulously thin body.

“That’s because cellulite is not a fat problem, it’s a skin problem. It has nothing to do with what you weigh, or how much weight you lose,” says Hollywood dermatologist Howard Murad, MD, author of The Cellulite Solution.

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Cellulite remedies are real. At least some of them are. You have a great opportunity to see what can be done about cellulite based on real science if you can find it. The mother lodes of free information on this topic are available at the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office website and at PubMed, the online medical database at the National Institutes of Health. Based on what I have found at these government sites alone, cellulite can be reduced or eliminated naturally. More importantly, you can use this public information to sort through all the weak and scientifically unsupported claims by thousands of manufacturers about their cellulite remedies. This is the best way, in my opinion, for accepting and rejecting different products.

U.S. Patents

The government patent site is free, so you can do a search yourself, using the word ‘cellulite’ in a patent title search. By doing so, you will find 37 patent titles. You can click on the links to each one to see what the main herbal composition is. (This does not give you a full copy of any patent, though. If you really want one, you can order it through the website. The last time I bought one it cost $6.00, which is a bargain.)

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