Lifestyle Choices

External treatment is almost as important as internal treatment—breaking down the pockets of cellulite physically so that stored wastes in them are released and can be eliminated from the body. There are several ways of doing it. Which you choose depends on your patience, your preference, and the state of your pocketbook. If the cellulite is hard and long-standing, if there is a lot of it—you will probably need professional help, either a beauty therapist who knows what she is doing (many unfortunately don’t) or a physiotherapist trained in corrective tissue massage or Rolfing.

Properly applied, aromatherapy—the use of essential oils of plants on the skin—can be helpful too, because certain specially selected oils are useful in stimulating lymphatic drainage, while others will draw forth wastes from the skin itself. Most professional treatments for cellulite combine a number of remedies because there is no single substance that gives consistent positive results. One of the most popular is a mixture of thyroxine, an enzyme to dissolve the gel in the pockets of tissue sludge, and a mild diuretic to draw out water from the tissues. It is either briskly applied by hand to skin that has been prewarmed by infrared lamps or massaged to increase its permeability, or it is introduced into the skin with a current passing between two plates put on the body—a process known as iontophoresis.

A more drastic form of treatment is given by injection through extraordinarily long hypodermic needles inserted into and then along just under the surface of the skin, which deposit their contents as they move. This form of treatment usually demands the use of a local anesthetic as it can be very painful. Alternatively, the French have designed a special device in which eighteen tiny needles used uniformly all along the area introduce the substance and then disperse it evenly into the tissue. These treatments can be useful for some women; for others, they just don’t seem to work. But they are expensive, painful, and you must never kid yourself that they are a cure for cellulite. They may help disperse it, but unless you do something to get rid of the underlying causes by changing the way you live, the unsightly puckers and bumps will return to haunt you without fail.

The Medium is massage

Massage is important. It helps stimulate local circulation, loosen the waste products from their hold, and get rid of the pitted, orange-peel look. But it has to be done properly. A physiotherapist experienced in connective tissue massage or a Rolfer is capable of attacking an area of cellulite with what appears to be untold viciousness yet doing nothing but good. But then he or she knows what to do and has spent years using the techniques. Any woman who sets to on her own body, brutally pummeling her legs or hips in the name of self-massage, is in danger of doing much destruction to the fragile distended connective fibers and the soggy mass of tissue sludge, so that she can end up with a permanently disfigured thigh, marbled with bruises and covered with broken veins. Don’t.

There is a right way to go about it. First, always use an oil or talcum powder to help your hands slide. Begin with effleurage—meaning a light stroking of the skin in the area to be treated, hand over hand, always beginning above the area affected (to improve the flow of blood to the area), stroking toward the heart. The only time you should work in a direction away from the heart is when you are in a very tense state, when it will help calm and relax you.

Begin with light strokes and then gradually let them grow firmer as you go until you are finally working quite vigorously on the area. This part of the massage should take about three to four minutes per area.

By now the circulation is improved and you can begin to knead the area without fear of causing damage. Work hand over hand, taking hold of your flesh with the whole palm of your hand and fingers (not just the fingers) and pulling it away from the bone, squeezing it rhythmically at the same time. (This is exactly like the movement you use when kneading bread.) Continue this for a minute or two and then, using the base of your thumb and the knuckles of your hands, push them gently but firmly into the troubled areas, twisting them in a circular motion at the same time. This movement helps break up the pockets of tissue sludge and release their contents into the circulatory systems, from which they can be eliminated from the body. Use this motion for no more than three or four minutes in each area or you risk irritating the tissue and undoing all the good you have done Finally, finish off with the same sort of effleurage with which you began in order to help carry wastes away.

Massage is best done when your skin is warm and preferably slightly damp (as after a bath) if you want to get the best benefits from the oil you are using. Although there are some experts in massage who say it doesn’t matter, I think a vegetable oil, such as almond, coconut, safflower, olive, or sunflower is preferable to mineral oil like baby oil. It seems to have a natural affinity to the skin and also serves as an excellent carrier for any essential oils of plants which you may wish to add for their therapeutic effects. When mixing oils, make them in quantities that you are likely to use up in a couple of weeks so there is no risk of them going rancid, particularly if you live in a hot climate. Or you can store them in a refrigerator. Here are some good mixtures for cellulite massage oil that you can mix yourself.

Nasty but Nice

To 4 ounces of safflower or sunflower oil (or make it 2 ounces wheat- germ oil, 2 ounces safflower or sunflower oil), add the contents squeezed from eight 100-iu capsules vitamin E that have been pierced with a pin (this will provide 200 iu of the vitamin per ounce). Then add the contents of two 25,000-iu vitamin A capsules. Shake well. Vitamin A makes the lot smell more like a medicinal than a cosmetic product, but the effect on aging or blemished skin is well worth the esthetic loss.

L ORIGANS

To 4 ounces of safflower, sunflower, hazelnut, or apricot oil add 10 drops of oil of lavender, 5 drops of oil of juniper, and 20 drops of oil of rosemary. Shake well. Lavender is mildly antiseptic and softens the skin while rosemary has natural diuretic and stimulant properties.

Ivy Does It

Remove the stems and crush to a pulp the leaves of half a pound of fresh ivy with a mortar and pestle. Add 6 ounces of safflower, sunflower, hazelnut, or apricot oil little by little, continuing to crush thoroughly. Put the lot into a covered glass jar and allow to stand in a cool place for two days. Strain and refrigerate.

There are also massage gloves on the market to be used with creams, gels, and soaps, most of which contain ivy, horse-chestnut, or seaweed extracts, all of which are useful in the treatment of cellulite. But the lotions and potions are not going to do you any good unless you religiously massage them in every day. This steady perseverance in the treatment of cellulite areas from the outside is the only thing that really gets results.

You may notice after massaging yourself for a week or two that the condition seems to get worse: your thighs are flabbier and your bottom more puckered than ever. Don’t despair. ‘This is a good sign. It means the treatment is working. Tissue sludge almost always goes through this stage before it is finally reabsorbed into the system and eliminated from the body.

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