Cellulite Reduction Massage

Cellulite – perhaps every woman’s least favorite word and most hated nemesis; even Barbie feared it in the Barbie movie! The beauty and skincare industry has made millions selling cellulite treatments, creams, lotions, and potions over the years, and yet at some point in time, 80-90% of all of us women will have that sh*t. UGH. THE STRUGGLE! 

Let’s talk about what cellulite is, why we get it, and what we can do to reduce the appearance – because I will tell you right now, once we’ve got it, I’m sorry to say, sis, it isn’t leaving. We CAN reduce the appearance of it, but it takes an act of God, genetics, and probably a plastic surgeon to really get rid of it for good. 

Ok, so what is cellulite? Cellulite is produced by fatty deposits under the skin that cause pockets, dimples, or depressions in the skin. Cellulite is not related to BMI; you can get it no matter what size you are. Most women will, at some point in their life, acquire cellulite. My best friend, growing up, had it since she was 10. On the other hand, I was blessed to be without it until the ripe old age of 22; upon waking one morning, I looked down at my right thigh and asked myself, WTF is that dent doing there?!??? It’s all been downhill since. 

So, cellulite is formed by fat deposits underneath the skin, but what if you have stayed the same size all your life and or never had significant weight gain/loss? Why does this happen? That is a complex question, and as I don’t have ALL the answers, I will tell you about it in the simplest way possible. 

Factor One: genetics. Some people will always have cellulite, no matter what. My brothers have it on their legs just like I do, and it has to do with our bodies' collagen and elasticity levels. We might produce less, which creates a general weakness in the skin that allows these dimples to happen in the first place. 

Factor Two: aging – as we age, our collagen production decreases, and skin becomes latent or weaker/looser/stretched, and so as our skin begins to sag slightly - it makes the appearance of dimpling worse. 

Factor Three: scar tissue. Over time, our bodies create scar tissue, whether from accidents or general wear and tear; that scar tissue creates a lack of smoothness in the fascia layer and a bumpy/lumpy texture that contributes to the dimpling and pockets that create the appearance of cellulite. 

Factor Four: Hormones! Am I right? – I don’t even know if I need to say more there! One word: hormones. If you’re a girl, you just know. 

What Can Be Done About Cellulite!?

What can we do? Ok, so obviously, eating a healthy diet, drinking enough water, walking 10,000 steps a day, and dry brushing all help, but you’re probably wondering if there’s something else. Something that doesn’t involve thousands of dollars and anesthesia? The answer is yes! That’s where we come in with our cellulite reduction massage treatments. Before I describe this treatment, I have to tell you a few things: results vary, there is no 100% “cure” for this, you will bruise, and you will have a confidence boost. 

I’ve put it off long enough; let me tell you about our cellulite reduction massages. These vigorous treatments incorporate a mix of gua sha, fascia blasting, Brazilian wood massage techniques, and manual lymphatic drainage. These treatments are meant to be aggressive, aka they hurt. The method behind the madness is simple; we are trying to stimulate a repair response in the body, similar to microneedling, meaning we are trying to create collagen production and a healthy inflammatory response. 

We start by activating the lymphatic nodes along the legs and groin; this wakes the lymphatic system up and tells it to start working to flush the area of toxins. We then get down to business with our combination of fascia blasting, gua sha, and the Brazilian wood techniques – the goal is to heat the muscle and fat in that area – when the muscle gets hot, it will start to eat/absorb the fat cells, similar to a weight training workout, the vigorous nature of this treatment gets your muscles into “fat burning” mode. The other aspect of this session is scar tissue breakdown; this will enable a smoother appearance naturally, with less congestion in the fascia layer. Lastly, this vigorous session creates vasodilation and an isolated, healthy inflammatory response. This response ques the body to create collagen and elastin, which decreases latency in the skin and assists with skin tightening. 

Our sessions focus typically on 2-3 areas think front/back of the legs, butt, and sometimes the tummy, but the tummy work is much gentler than the legs so as not to damage any digestive organs. One session won’t yield many results; the more consistent you are, the better. Bruising will 100% happen after the first few sessions. By session 3 or 4, the body has become more used to the treatment, but the fascia and muscle tissue will have become much smoother, and any scar tissue will be much less apparent so that bruising will decrease. For most of our clients, we will see a significant reduction in the appearance of dimpling by sessions 3-4 and visibly tighter skin, especially when it is in conjunction with healthy eating habits and exercise. The ideal rotation for this treatment is 2x a week for 3-4 weeks, and we recommend incorporating dry brushing at home to increase lymphatic drainage and the absorption/detox of fat cells. 

Pro tip – adding an infrared sauna session before or after this treatment really takes it up a notch. Infrared saunas stimulate the body's internal healthy inflammatory response, and 45 minutes in an infrared sauna can burn over 300 calories. Also, the benefits include, but are not limited to, skin tightening! Luckily for you, we have a full-spectrum infrared sauna in-house that can easily be added before or after this treatment. 

See you on the table, and let's turn that Cellulite into celluLIT!