What Causes Cellulite?

Cellulite may sound like a medical condition but cellulite is nothing more than normal fat beneath the skin. The bummy appearance of the fat is caused by the connective tissues pushing against each other, causing the skin above it to picker. Cellulite isn't harmful though most people would want to get rid of it of improve the cellulite because of the way it looks.

The number one myth that most people have is that being overweight causes cellulite, or having cellulite means you are overweight. Even thin people can have it. However, if you are overweight, losing some weight may help improve the cellulite condition.

Cellulite forms in areas with the least circulation so it means that without any activity, cellulite forms much easier. Cellulite is more common among women than men and often hereditary and some of the factors that influence how much cellulite you have and how visible it is include:

1. Poor diet

2. Fad dieting

3. Slow metabolism

4. Lack of physical activity

5. Hormone changes

6. Dehydration

7. Total body fat

8. Thickness and colour of your skin

Why are women more likely to suffer from cellulite problems than men?

There are 2 major reasons why women are much more likely to develop cellulite than men.

1. Men have thick epidermis
   Men have a much thicker epidermis than women, and therefore making male skin much more resilient to structural changes and skin dimpling, decreasing the chances of cellulite formation. On the other hand, women have a thinner epidermis, which exposes it to lumpiness and disfiguration.

2. Different Skin Structure between Men and Women
   Male and female skin is fundamentally different.
   Female fat cells sit within large, side by side, separate compartments that form columns underneath the skin's surface. The compartments overflow and expand vertically when there is an accumulation of the fat cells, putting pressure on the skin's surface, and causing the orange peel skin dimpling effect known as cellulite.
   Male skin however, follows a crisscrossed pattern, and male fat containers are smaller, creating a one big solid blob of fat when there is an increase of fat in the body. Ever notice those guys with beer bellies never really have cellulite?

Why is cellulite more common in the thighs and buttocks of females?

It is well established that women generally have a higher percentage of body fat than men. For instance, the average percent body fat values for adult men and women (18-34 years) are 13% for men and 28% for women. The thighs and buttocks of women tend to store more of this body fat. The type of fat deposition is characteristically terms as pear shape. There are also 5 times more fat cells in the thighs, hips, and buttocks of women then in other parts of the body.

Types of Cellulite

Cellulite is a skin alteration often described as an 'orange peel,' 'mattress,' or 'dimpling' appearance on the thighs, buttocks and sometimes lower abdomen and upper parts of the arms of otherwise healthy women. Approximately 85% of post-pubertal woman have a form of cellulite. Although rarely observed in males, those men presenting with cellulite are commonly deficient in male hormones. The name originated from the French medical literature around 1816. The original name, cellulite, implied that it is a disease, however years of study now disprove this disease theory. As a matter of fact, some of the scientific literature refers to this changed skin condition as 'so-called cellulite, an invented disease' (Nurnberger and Muller, 1978). In the same literature mentioned above, Nurnberger and Muller proposed a grading system for cellulite problems, categorising them into 3 main types.

TYPES OF CELLULITE: TYPE 1 OR GRADE 1

Cellulite Type 1 or Grade 1 is the formation and visibility of dimpled skin only during pinch test and compression.

TYPES OF CELLULITE: TYPE 2 OR GRADE 2

Cellulite Type 2 or Grade 2 is the formation and visibility of dimpled skin in some positions other than pinch test and compression, for example, while standing.

TYPES OF CELLULITE: TYPE 3 OR GRADE 3

Cellulite Type 3 or Grade 3 is the formation and visibility of dimpled skin in all positions, even while standing up or lying down.

So which cellulite type or grade are you suffering from?

For information on the treatments available for cellulite reduction or improvement, click here.