How Can You Get Rid of Cellulite and Have Firmer Thighs?

Many people want to get smoother skin, especially when it comes to cellulite. Whether you want to reduce your cellulite, get rid of it, or have firmer thighs, there are many options to get you there. At IntimMed, we can help you to lessen the look of cellulite in your thighs and buttocks to give you more attractive and firm thighs using different scientifically proven procedures, techniques, and products.

What is Cellulite?

Cellulite is a common skin condition, affecting more than 90% of post-pubertal women.
Skin appearance – dimples, unevenness and bumps is often referred to as “cottage cheese,” “mattress,” or “orange peel” effect.
Cellulite occurs mostly in the thighs, buttocks, abdomen, and upper arms; occurring in women of normal weight but exaggerated in women with excessive body fat.

What Causes Cellulite?

The appearance of cellulite is caused by:

Women Naturally Have Thinner Skin – Makes the underlying subcutaneous fat pockets more obvious at the skin surface.

Bulging of Subcutaneous Fat Pockets – Estrogen/progesterone changes with the menstrual cycle, birth control pills, or pregnancy. contributes to the enlargement of fat cells within the fat pockets under the skin. Estrogen-related fat cell stimulation is most pronounced in the fat pockets of the thigh and buttock areas.

Fibrous Septa pulling skin dimples down – Women tend to have more vertical fibrous septa perpendicular to the skin which effectively pull the skin downward at the anchor points, causing dimples.

Decrease in Local Circulation and Lymphatic Drainage – A decrease in circulation and lymphatic drainage causes a decrease in metabolic exchange between the fat cells and the circulation, causing the fat cells in the subcutaneous layer to be more engorged and expand the fat pockets, making the cellulite look worse. Furthermore, the lack of drainage and circulation causes local inflammation, building up undesirable protein deposits in the subcutaneous layer and exaggerating the cellulite look, especially the orange peel appearance. To make matters worse, the engorgement of fat cells, and the accumulation of the undesirable protein deposits further decrease the local circulation and lymphatic drainage, causing the vicious circle of making cellulite even worse.

Treatments for Cellulite: How to Get Rid of or Reduce Cellulite

Treatments to get rid of cellulite should be chosen based on the correction of the specific causative factors mentioned above, most effectively done by combining modalities with proven efficacy.

Thicken the thinner skin

For women with cellulite associated with obvious thin skin, it would be beneficial to encourage collagen and elastin production to thicken the skin and improve the skin tone, thus reducing the appearance of cellulite. There are several approaches to achieve the objective of improving the skin:

Topical treatments using active ingredients such as Retinol, various vitamin derivatives, botanicals, and growth factors can certainly help.
Energy platforms, such as shockwave (e.g. EPAT technology), radiofrequency (e.g. TempSure), or various laser can improve the skin thickness, tone, and appearance, reducing the appearance of cellulite and making it less obvious.

Shrink the Bulging of Subcutaneous Fat Pockets to Reduce Cellulite

To decrease the subcutaneous fat pockets, they need to be locally directed – Losing weight often does not help in decreasing the appearance of cellulite. The local superficial fat deposits causing cellulite do not correlate well with body weight – thin people have cellulite. Liposuction does not help to decrease the look of cellulite either – doing liposuction close to the skin where the local fat deposits associated with cellulite are located often causes even more skin irregularity.

Topical agents such as methylxanthines (e.g. caffeine, Theophylline), phosphatidylcholine, and certain botanicals (e.g. green tea, coffee) have some effectiveness in lipolysis, which cause the fat cells to shrink and decrease the fat pocket bulges, thus reducing the appearance of cellulite.
Energy modalities such as pulse wave therapy (e.g. EPAT therapy) have shown a decrease in fat cell volume after treatment. Some light and laser treatments have shown the effect of lipolysis, either by direct effect or photo-modulation (systemic effect of phototherapy). Mesotherapy, that is injecting the local subcutaneous tissue with chemicals to dissolve fat, remains somewhat controversial currently.

Dividing the Fibrous Septa which causes dimpling

Fibrous septa pull down on the skin and cause the dimples of cellulite. Dividing these septa is an effective way to get rid of cellulite. The division of these fibrous septa can be done by subcision, an office procedure done under local anesthesia.
Shockwave therapy or focused ultrasound could also get rid of cellulite by causing the septa to rupture, but there has not been enough evidence of the effectiveness. We are studying this as a research project.

Improving Local Circulation and Lymphatic Drainage

Using mechanical means, such as lymphatic massage the local circulation and lymphatic drainage can potentially be improved, thus enhancing fat metabolism transport and causing a decrease in protein deposits and local inflammation. EPAT pulse wave treatment can also effectively stimulate circulation and lymphatic drainage.
Topical treatments such as retinol or botanicals have been shown to improve circulation and thus decrease fat cell size.

Cellulite Treatment Options – IntimMed – Seattle

We have selected the most effective treatment modalities to get rid of or reduce cellulite, some cover several causation factors at the same time. Dr. Lau is a known expert in acoustic wave/shock wave technology with multiple patents and publications in the field. He highly recommends EPAT as a lead treatment modality. Please call to schedule a free consultation.

CelluPulse EPAT (Extracorporeal Pulse Activation Treatment) for Cellulite

One of the most exciting new technologies for the treatment of cellulite is EPAT, a non-invasive office procedure using acoustic pressure waves to get rid of and reduce cellulite. Research studies have shown that EPAT pressure waves stimulate the early expression of growth factors in tissue, improving blood supply and increasing cell proliferation and tissue regeneration. In treating cellulite, the pressure wave also will impact the fibrous septa that contribute to cellulite. The EPAT treatment also improves circulation and lymphatic drainage, develops new capillaries to ensure better exchange to the connective tissue and fat cells, allows for new collagen fiber growth to thicken the skin, and improves the bio-mechanic property of the skin. All these actions address the major causation factors of cellulite to help improve the appearance of the affected areas.

reduction of cellulite on thighs before and after using CelluPulse EPAT (Extracorporeal Pulse Activation Treatment)

Ballancer Pro

The Ballancer Pro system, exclusively provided by IntimMed in Seattle, massages the lymphatic vessels and lymph nodes in the proximal areas near the core of the body. This gentle, relaxing massage drains the lymph nodes that are generally filled with fluid first, then paves the way for an enhanced circulation of lymph. As the sequence progresses, it begins the compression moving lower down the extremities. It helps with lymphatic drainage, which optimizes results in treating, reducing, and getting rid of cellulite, especially in conjunction with CelluPulse EPAT.

Radiofrequency (RF) Device – TempSure

RF energy is also known to affect the connective tissue septa and fat. The thermal energy causes tissue contraction and stimulates collagen growth, which improves the appearance of the skin over the cellulite area. The RF treatment is recommended especially for patients with flaccid skin texture, often in conjunction with EPAT therapy.

Topical Agents for Reducing Cellulite

Topical agents containing certain active ingredients have demonstrated effectiveness when used independently at home or in conjunction with office procedures in treating cellulite.

The objective of topical treatments is to encourage lipolysis, which is the decrease in size of fat cells; to encourage collagen and elastin production to thicken the skin and improve skin tone; and to improve local circulation and lymphatic drainage and decrease local inflammation.

Methylxanthines, such as caffeine, aminophylline and theophylline in the chemical form or in the form of botanicals, such as coffee, tea, and cacoa, have been shown to stimulate lipolysis, the shrinkage of fat cells. Another well studied chemical used in cellulite topical treatments is retinoids, such as retinol. The action of retinoids is to increase skin thickness and increase local blood flow. In addition to these two well studied chemical groups, many botanicals are said to have various beneficial effects, some examples are as follows:

* Source: “Botanical Extracts Used in the Treatment of Cellulite.” D. Hexsel, et. al., Dermatologic Surgery. 2005: 31: 866-872.

Dr. Lau, a cosmetic chemist by training, specifically formulated a topical anti-cellulite thigh-firming gel containing these most effective active ingredients to help optimize the reduction of cellulite.

Subcision to Get Rid of Cellulite

Deep dimpling is caused by thick, fibrous septa. These septa can be divided by the office procedure of subscision, using a specialized cutting device under local anesthesia, resulting in the reduction of cellulite.

Diet, Exercise, and Dietary Supplements

We believe that proper diet, exercise, and dietary supplements will improve the general tone of skin and subcutaneous tissue, decrease fat deposits, and improve circulation. All of these will contribute positively to improving the appearance of cellulite, and more importantly, the health and beauty of the woman. One of the best things you can do to get rid of cellulite or reduce its appearance is to have a healthy diet and exercise regularly.

Please call us to discuss the best treatment plan for you to help get rid of the cellulite and have more firm and attractive thighs. Please call to schedule a free consultation.

How to Reduce and Get Rid of Cellulite