If there’s one thing most of us would love to banish from our lives forever, it would be cellulite, the lumpy, dimpled skin that turns beach vacations into the stuff of nightmares.
Cellulite affects nearly all women, regardless of whether they're thin or heavy, short or tall, fit or out of shape, a mom or not. And there isn’t much one can do to avoid it. Cellulite is largely genetic, so if your mother or grandmother was a dimpled goddess, chances are that you will be, too.
Cellulite occurs when fatty deposits underneath the skin begin to edge closer to the surface as connective tissue begins to weaken and separate due to age. Although stress, smoking, age, poor diet, and lack of exercise have all been named as contributing factors, cellulite is ultimately just a part of life.
Once you develop cellulite, the best thing you can do is maintain a fit, active, and healthy lifestyle in order to keep it at bay as much as possible. Although you may not be able to get rid of cellulite, there’s a host of treatments that claim to drastically reduce its appearance.
DIY Cellulite Treatments
With so many different cellulite-reduction products on the market, it may be best to start with the simple, less expensive home remedies for cellulite. You can see how they work for you before springing for some of the super-expensive products on the shelves. For this reason, we love the DIY cellulite treatments that use ingredients like coffee grounds, olive or coconut oil, and cayenne pepper. Although many of them have been reported to be reasonably effective at cellulite removal, all of these cellulite treatments produce only temporary changes and would need to be done consistently to keep cellulite in check.
1. Treat Cellulite With Coffee Grounds
When it comes to DIY treatments that use at-home ingredients, coffee grounds are hands down the best cellulite treatment. The thought is that the caffeine and antioxidants in coffee help firm and revitalize the skin. This simple remedy uses coffee grounds mixed with hot water. It can be applied in the shower to any area where you’re seeing cellulite.
1. Mix 1/4 cup of coffee grounds into two to three tablespoons of hot water to form a paste, then add a dash of olive oil for extra moisturizing.
2. Rub mixture onto problem areas for several minutes.
3. Rinse, dry, and moisturize.
2. Treat Cellulite With Lemon Juice And Cayenne Pepper
This isn’t a topical remedy, but rather one that works from the inside out, so it can be effective against cellulite anywhere on your body. Lemon juice is a popular liver detoxifier, making it a great way to fight cellulite that accumulates when fats and toxins build up in your body.
1. Add two to three tablespoons of lemon juice to an eight-ounce glass of water.
2. Add a dash of cayenne pepper and stir.
3. Drink three times each day for 30 days.
3. Treat Cellulite With Essential Oils
As with anything related to the body, there are two schools of thought when it comes to cellulite. Many believe it is strictly genetic, while others believe it is a result of several factors along with the accumulation of toxins in the body. Essential oils are excellent when it comes to removing toxins from the body, and the website essentialoilsanctuary.com has put together a cellulite massage oil blend that you can use alone or with a dry brush. Some of the most highly touted essential oils for cellulite are juniper oil, cedarwood, and celery seed. Essential oils are versatile, too. Here are some ways you can use them if you’re wondering how to get rid of cellulite:
1. Rub several drops of essential oil on the affected area and rub with a dry brush.
2. Add essential oil to a heavy lotion to create your own cellulite cream.
3. Add essential oil to coconut, almond, or olive oil to create a massage oil.
Cellulite Reduction Tools
The foam roller and dry brush are two tools that you can use at home to reduce the appearance of cellulite. Both can be used anywhere on your body (including cellulite on your arms), and alone or with any of the essential oils we’ve covered.
1. Foam Roller
You can use a foam roller to gently massage your skin to reduce cellulite. The foam roller works out tension in the fascia, which is the soft-tissue covering for the body’s connective tissue, according to livestrong.com. This can lead to a temporary reduction in cellulite.
2. Dry Brush
Using a body brush, you can perform a whole-body massage, making gentle circles starting at your toes and working your way up. This is said to enhance circulation in your body, and is probably the best and fastest way to (temporarily) get rid of cellulite. Not only that, dry brushing is said to have a host of other benefits as well.
Exercises For Cellulite
One of the best ways to remove cellulite with longer-lasting results is to up your exercise routine by adding in some simple moves. The good news is that you don’t have to spend hours working out at an expensive gym for effective cellulite removal. All you need is 10 to 20 minutes several times each week, using a small set of weights that feel comfortable for you. We’ve put together some quick, targeted exercises that you can add to your fitness routine. These are effective for all of the common cellulite problem areas.
1. Exercises For Cellulite On Thighs
Lunges
- Step forward and bend at the knee, using weights or with hands on hips.
Kickbacks
- From your knees, rest your weight on your forearms and swing your leg up in the air. You can do this with weights.
Leg Lifts
- You can do these lying down or standing up.
2. Exercises For Cellulite On Butt
Pelvic Raise
- Lie on your back and lift your pelvis and hold, isolating your glutes.
- Same as a regular lunge, only lunge backwards.
Reverse Lunge
- Same as a regular lunge, only lunge backwards.
Plié Squats
- You can hold these to isolate the muscles, and raise your heels while your knees are bent for greater isolation.
3. Exercises For Cellulite On Arms
Tricep Kickbacks
- Using small weights, kick your arms back from your elbow.
Hammer Curls
- Curl your arm up like you’re lifting a hammer.
Arm Flys
- Let gravity sculpt your arms by lifting your arms away from your sides. Achieve even better results by circling your arms as they are outstretched.
4. Exercises For Cellulite On Stomach
Planks
- Lie face down and lift onto your forearms, keeping your whole body straight.
Crunches
- You can hold these half way to isolate the muscles.
Twisting Crunches
- Hit those obliques by adding the twisting motion.
Best Cellulite Products You Can Buy
If you’re not an avid do-it-yourselfer, or you’ve got a beach vacation coming up soon, it may just be easier to purchase one of the many cellulite-reducing products on the market. We reviewed several top-rated creams and massagers that can be used together or alone as effective cellulite treatments.
1. Cellulite Creams
The Seaweed Bath Co. Detox Cellulite Cream – $15.79, amazon.com
With five-star reviews all around, this detox cream contains both seaweed extract and coffee-bean extract, two of the most powerful cellulite blasters you can use. As a bonus, it’s paraben free and sustainably harvested.
Sol de Janiero Brazilian Bum Bum Cream – $45, amazon.com
Use this fantastic cellulite cream anywhere on your body, or all over it perhaps! It glides on perfectly, smells fantastic, and isn’t greasy or oily at all. The secret here, aside from the great name, is the addition of guarana, which has loads of skin-firming caffeine.
Salcoll Collagen Anti-Aging Marine Collagen Body Gel – $99, amazon.com
This stuff isn’t just crazy expensive, it’s crazy amazing, too! Not only does it reduce cellulite, it also tones skin, gets rid of scars and stretch marks, and much more. The gel doesn’t feel sticky and is highly moisturizing, allowing you to use it all over.
2. Medical Cellulite Removal
If you’re really serious about cellulite removal and can afford to shell out hundreds or even thousands of dollars for a more permanent cellulite treatment, there are a number of medical cellulite removal options you can choose from, many of which are now FDA approved as effective methods for getting rid of cellulite. Two of the most popular choices are Cellulaze and Zwave, which we’ve highlighted below.
Cellulaze
This FDA-approved laser treatment is extremely expensive, with each treatment clocking in at several thousand dollars. It is not covered by insurance. The company boasts that the Cellulaze procedure “attacks the structural problems beneath the skin that cause cellulite.”
ZWave
ZWave is an innovative product that uses radial shockwaves to get rid of cellulite, and is probably the best medical cellulite treatment at this price point. It is much less expensive than Cellulaze, but will still cost between $300 and $400 per visit. It’s suggested you do at least three visits per week.
Did you learn some great ways to reduce cellulite in this article? Be sure to SHARE with anyone who could benefit from our cellulite remedies!
