You might not be able to explain what cellulite is, but you probably know it when you see it.
Dr. Popp explains cellulite is little out-pouches of fat. Imagine the fat lives in a honeycomb with walls or little boxes. The fat is close to the surface of the skin. In some areas, it’s less than 1/16 of an inch below the skin.
If you have this series of boxes and one of the boxes closest to the skin has fat in it that bulges out and a box next to it has fat inside it that shrinks up, this is expressed on the surface of your skin as dimpling. That dimpling effect happens because the skin is uneven; some areas are sunken in and some are pooching out.
Dr. Popp categorizes cellulite in one of two ways: fine or coarse.
He said fine cellulite looks like hail damage while coarse cellulite is a rather large indentation.
No Magic Cure
Just like stretch marks, there is no one 100% cure. Dr. Popp said the latest technology that seems to have the best long-term effect and potential cure is lasers and ultrasound machines that go below the surface of the skin. “The way these work is a little probe is placed below the skin to cut all these boxes or walls of the honeycomb to allow the skin to be more uniform rather than dimpled,” says Dr. Popp.
These are curative approaches to treating cellulite, but he said there are also temporary processes. These include creams, lotions and a treatment that’s been around for a while called Endermologie. For this service, a vacuum roller is used with a body wrap to squeeze fluid out of cells. This will flatten cells for a period of time but will ultimately have to be repeated on a regular basis.
Get a Referral
Dr. Popp doesn’t treat cellulite in his office and the reason is it is cost prohibitive. Cellulite lasers are expensive for the amount of patients he has that request treatment for this. But he said he is happy to offer referrals for those who want to try the treatments.
Click on the “contact” button on the top of this page to ask Dr. Popp a question.
