Attack cellulite!
It's easy to hide your skin in winter, but keep on top of your cellulite-busting routine and you'll banish your skin's fiercest enemy.
Feel alone in your quest to beat cellulite? You’re not the only one. Research by beauty brand Thalgo reveals that 95 per cent of women suffer with the dreaded orange peel. First, it’s important to understand what cellulite is. It’s not simply fat, but is made up of damaged fat cells that are not being adequately supported by the skin’s fibres, due to poor circulation and poor lymphatic drainage. We know that drinking more water, cutting out processed and sugary foods and upping your exercise regime all help to reduce cellulite, but you can boost your efforts with products that support the process.
Start each day with a good scrub. Before you hop into the shower use a dry natural bristle brush all over your body to help break down fatty deposits, boost lymphatic drainage and exfoliate uneven-looking skin. Using Fushi’s Body Brush (1) (£5.95; fushi.co.uk), start at your feet and work your way up your body towards your collarbone, using small sweeping motions covering every part of your body. Always brush towards your heart to get your blood pumping and lymph flowing in the right direction.
If dry brushing isn’t your thing, try a detoxifying body scrub in the shower. Using a scrub on a regular basis will keep skin free from dead cells and prevent ingrowing hairs, too. Weleda’s Birch Body Scrub (2) (£9.50 for 150ml; weleda.co.uk) is our pick of the bunch. Reveal glowing and rejuvenated skin with this heavenly, citrus-scented scrub. Free from synthetic chemicals, the beeswax pearls and natural plant oils nourish the skin. Birch oil stimulates the circulatory system and tones, detoxifies and reduces water retention.
Bring the spa into your bathroom with The Organic Pharmacy’s Detoxifying Seaweed Bath Soak (3) (£35.95 for 325g; theorganicpharmacy.com). Seaweed, sea salt and eucalyptus help purify and penetrate the deeper layers of the skin. Create your own hydrotherapy experience by blasting your skin with alternating hot and cold water. Do this three or four times in the shower to improve blood flow. Steal some time in the sauna or steam room after a workout, as it’s known to increase blood flow from your heart by as much as 70 per cent. Toxins residing in your fat cells will then be transported nearer to the surface of the skin and excreted in sweat.
Caffeine, stress and cellulite are linked. Stress, made worse by caffeine, can increase fatty deposits in your skin. Cut caffeine from your diet, saving it for topical use only. Creams with added caffeine can reduce the size of fatty cells by up to 17 per cent, according to the Journal of Cosmetic Dermatology. Try Thalgo’s Cellu-Thighs (4) (£44.35 for 125ml; feelunique.com). It contains caffeine from green coffee and yerba mate to reduce the visibility of cellulite. Red Algae extract boosts the absorption of caffeine into the subcutaneous layer of the skin (beneath the dermis) and is said to deliver results within two weeks.
As you age, skin becomes thinner, and this makes the appearance of fat cells in the subcutaneous layer worse. Nourishing and plumping your skin’s outer layers will improve skin elasticity and reduce the dimple effect of cellulite. A superfood body oil, like Minvita’s Baobab Body Oil (5) (£35 for 100ml; shop.minvita.co.uk), is perfect for giving skin a hit of nutrients. Made from the seeds of the African baobab fruit, this oil is high in antioxidants and vitamins A, D, E and F. Massage into clean skin morning and night in circular motions.
Follow these tips on a daily basis, before settling down to a detoxifying cup of decaffeinated green tea, and cellulite will soon be a thing of the past!
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