FIFTEEN years ago, no one would have known what "cellulite" meant. Even over the past few years, cellulite has gone from being a few perfectly normal dimples to having the same image for women as underarm hair, BO or dandruff. Of course, the beauty industry is cashing in on a late-20th- century phenomenon. Just think of Italian Renaissance or later Flemish art it is riddled with what is now deemed to be unsightly amounts of cellulite. Rubens's well-rounded nudes are particularly lumpy. More recently, Marilyn Monroe sported a fair amount of wobbly flesh in Some Like It Hot and even the latest generation of screen idols such as Pamela Anderson and Demi Moore have been snapped by paparazzi lately revealing their less-than- perfect hamstrings which just goes to show that even if you areslim and working out, you can still have cellulite.
Last year in Britain alone, some Pounds 17 million was spent in the pursuit of smoother, firmer skin on the legs and when Dior launched its Svelte Body Refining Gel in Japan, more than 100,000 bottles were snapped up in the first 48 hours.
So what is cellulite?
THE French - much-versed in matters of the body beautiful - call it peau d'orange, referring to the dimpled texture that characterises the skin of an orange. Yet what cellulite actually is remains something of a mystery; the medical profession in Ireland and Britain refuses to recognise it as a specific problem although reports show that apparently 85 per cent of women claim to be afflicted by it.
What is sure is that cellulite consists of a different kind of fat to the regular "flat" sort found in the rest of the body. It also differs from that found in men. It seems to be linked to the hormone oestrogen, responsible for distributing curves to the womanly parts of the body supposedly going to need them, such as thighs and hips. With the rise and fall of hormones - exacerbated by the contraceptive pill and HRT - and the trials of modern living, blood flow and effective lymphatic drainage (which disposes of body toxins) are reduced and the fat gets stuck in stubborn little pockets around fatty areas of the body. Other contributing factors range from stress to yo-yo dieting, chemical additives in foodstuffs and all the other usual culprits: alcohol, caffeine and cigarettes.
What can be done?
THE most popular solutions offered areanti-cellulite lotions and gels to be applied at home, and I have spent the past few months plastering myself with sticky potions in an attempt to find what worked best. The following are those I most liked.
I started off with the reputable house of Clarins; its Body Lift (Pounds 24.75 for 200 mls) was voted the company's favourite product last year by aficionados of the brand. Containing poetic-sounding ingredients such as butcher's broom and horse-chestnut which reactivate sluggish circulation, the gel-like consistency spreads easily. It also had a cooling and tightening effect which I could feel working, although I did find its honey- suckle-like scent a little overwhelming. Clarins also produces a Body- Shaping Cream (Pounds 27 for 200 mls) which targets the abdomen, hips and arms as opposed to just legs.
For me, a more aromatically attractive option was French brand Decleor's anti-cellulite oil called Slendisium Dermarone (Pounds 24 for 100 mls) which is made up of delicious essential oils such as sandalwood, rosemary and geranium. The Decleor consultant recommended I use this under another gel cream, Cellulium (Pounds 24 for 200 mls), containing fruit acids. I massaged this over the oil, which felt very reassuring and sensuous but basically involved more effort and time than I am willing to put into something like this on a daily basis.
Simultaneously, I was making use of nay other leg to test the much- discussed and newly-relaunched Dior Svelt Perfect (Pounds 27 for 200 mls). According to the publicity material, this is more perfect than Dior Svelte thanks to an added ingredient (extract of cassava) "which stimulates the natural production for Cyclic AMP, the enzyme which activates the mechanism of withdrawing sugars and lipids out of cells". I liked the low-key smell and honeyed-gel consistency of the product and, best of all for lazy people like myself, it required no massage so is effortless to use.
But do any of these products actually work?
WELL, after using each of the above - frankly all seemed equally effective - my legs certainly felt firmer and smoother and looked it too. However, the underlying cellulite was still there, gently puckering in my reflection in the mirror. I wasn't really convinced cosmetic products alone could penetrate deep through the layers of skin, and any of the beauticians to whom I subsequently spoke agreed that creams used by themselves were not a miracle cure. On the other hand, used in conjunction with "lifestyle changes" and skin-brushing, a lumpy texture can be vastly improved.
Diet and exercise
RECOMMENDATIONS INCLUDE:
Drink plenty of still water (at least one litre a day) at room temperature.
Avoid processed foods whenever possible.
Increase daily intakes of fresh fruit and vegetables.
Cut down on red meat, sugar and dairy products.
Cut out (as much as possible) coffee, tea, cigarettes and alcohol.
Try buying organic produce; your circulation does not like chemicals that much.
Combine the above suggestions with low-impact exercise such as swimming, yoga or walking. Gentle stretching works better than leaping up and down too hard as the latter only seems to compound cellulite. Exercise also helps in the battle against stress, another major contributing factor in the production of cellulite.
Skin-Brushing and Massage
DRY skin-brushing is considered to be one of the best and least expensive ways of shifting cellulite. Use a loofah glove, or even better a stiff brush, and brush up from the soles of the feet and down from the top of the body towards the heart. Self-massage with a combination of anti- cellulite essential oils is also helpful.
Salon treatments
IF YOU have the time and the money, salon treatments take some of the effort out of the battle against cellulite. The array of options involving all sorts of strange (and often expensive) machinery can be mind-boggling, so I kept things relatively simple. Any kind of gentle lymphatic drainage massage, for example, is good, although beauty therapist Nuala Woolfe of Sandycove, Co Dublin (tel 01-2300244) recommends her Ice-Cold Slimming Wrap, new from the French company Matis. After a short bout of reflexology, the treatment involves sliding incredibly cold bandages - pre-soaked in menthol and camphor - onto your legs, or other parts of the body needing weight loss - and leaving them there for 20 very chilly minutes. As well as absorbing oils, the cold really gets the circulation going and the heightened tension of the skin creates a lifting effect which I could feel working for hours afterwards. At Pounds 23 per session, the slimming wrap is good value as anti-cellulite treatments go, although like most of them, you will need about 10 sessions to deal seriously with the problem.
For a more pampering approach, the Buttercups chain of salons (tel 01- 6794866) proposes a seaweed body wrap as one of the best anti-cellulite treatments. After consuming a glass of a seaweed and magnesium drink which helps eliminates toxins (in other words, sends you scurrying to the lavatory), the session involved my being brushed down and then coated in scented warm green goo. Next I was wrapped up like a sausage roll in tin foil and an electric blanket and left to nod off for half-an-hour while the seaweed performed its magic, which is all about drawing out toxic waste and improving the texture of the skin. It felt really relaxing, but again you need to invest in a certain number of treatments to start noticing an improvement. Prices start from Pounds 30 per session.
AND finally, in spite of my distrust of machines, I was persuaded to try the Medicell treatment by Anne McDevitt of the Diathermy Clinic on Wicklow Street in Dublin (Tel. 01-6777962). Here, cellulite is wobbled away using an ultrasound system to break down fatty deposits. Preceded by a fascinating thermal image pinpointing your cellulite hotspots in glorious technicolour and then a deep body brush to stimulate the circulation, the Medicell is totally painless. A lymphatic drainage massage completes the treatment, while Anne gives what she refers to as individual "counselling" with regard to diet, lifestyle and cellulite maintenance tricks to be kept up at home. A minimum of 10 sessions with Anne, costing Pounds 30 each, is necessary to see good results.