Cellulite Cure Diary

You’ve done it all, been on every kind of diet available to mankind, purchased home exercise machines, and made a new year’s resolution to commit to the gym, and failed … every year. And then, like a light at the end of the tunnel, you see a product that promises to take those wrinkly bulges out, without the hard work!  Too good to be true?  Well let’s find out.

Many companies like Nivea, L’Oreal, and Neutrogena have joined in the cellulite patch bandwagon.  All of them promise beautiful, smooth, none “cellulitey” looking skin after some use of their products, many of them advising adding to this product routine exercise for “better effects”.  Even many of the smaller companies have started to make their own versions of this product. But what exactly is it and what does it do?

Believe it or not, the main active ingredient of many cellulite patches is caffeine (sometimes named odd names like caffeine xxo, making sure you understand that this is not the kind of caffeine you get from your daily cup of coffee… or is it?).  Now before you think that now you’re SURE the patches are highway robbery, caffeine is also the main ingredient in a popular procedure done by many dermatologists, namely mesotherapy, as a noninvasive (read: no operations) type of liposuction.  What the dermatologist does is to inject the strategic places of your body with the medicine, and, after a few sessions, you have a slim figure – ideally that is. 

Now what exactly is it in caffeine that has this miraculous effect on fat cells? An interview with a dermatologist reveals that caffeine has a thermogenic effect of fat, in plain English, it simply means that it causes heat and melts the fat from the body. Because of this, many users actually claim feeling a slight burning or hot sensation when the patch is applied to their skin.

But, again, does the patch work?  The reviews are mixed.  Some claim that they have noticed some improvement in the skin tone, but the dimpled skin or “orange peel effect” is still very much evident.  Some say that they notice a vast improvement on the look and feel of their cellulite areas.

Another doctor, though, warns that these patches may reduce the look of cellulite by triggering the skin to puff up but the results are generally negligible and do not last long.  The reason being that though the active ingredients are similar to those used for mesotherapy (non-surgical liposuction), the delivery of the goods is very different.  For the patches, the ingredients first have to go through the layer of your skin to get to the actual fat, unlike mesotherapy where it is directly injected to the problem areas.

Another thing about cellulite, is, if you melt them now, and you still maintain the same diet, they will return with a vengeance.  So make sure that when you see some changes, to keep them that way, you have to change some eating habits too.  So, is the cellulite patch for you?  You decide.  The fun part of any discovery is in the experimenting, that is, if you can spare the expense, because these patches do not come cheap.

On the whole, the best thing to do for cellulite is still exercise, diet, and a great attitude!