Ok, we want to preface this entire post with this.

If you have any of these—and let’s face it, most of us have something—whether it’s cellulite, skin laxity, or stubborn fat, we are not telling you that you need to do anything about it. Nope, nuh uh, 100% no, not our message.

If you have cellulite, skin laxity and/or stubborn fat, or a combination of things, and it really bothers you, we just want to offer you some solutions to support you. If none of these things bother you, even better. This stuff is normal and if it’s not a problem for you, then you need no solution. Always do you.

That being said, there’s a lot of confusion out there about what’s what, and also about possible treatment options. Plus there are technologies out there that make a lot of promises without ever delivering. There is nothing more frustrating than getting the totally wrong treatment for an issue and having it not work, so we thought breaking it down here could be helpful.

Cellulite

Everyone’s got it! Well, pretty much all women have it (thanks universe!). Anywhere between 80%-90% of women have cellulite somewhere on their body, which is also true for up to 50% of the population at large.

There tends to be a misconception that if you address cellulite with fat reduction treatments the appearance of cellulite will also diminish. In theory, if you reduce the overall volume of fat cellulite may improve but there’s a good chance it may not.

Cellulite can be a tricky condition to treat. We’ll usually take a multi-modal approach in order to address cellulite. We recommend combining threads inserted subdermally to smooth out puckered skin with treatments like Morpheus8 Body and Sculptra.

Morpheus8 Body uses radiofrequency (RF) technology in combination with deep microneedling and is really effective in treating rippling skin and cellulite. It’s also an excellent collagen booster, which is also super important for maintaining your result.

Sculptra is a stimulatory filler that’s great at treating skin depressions and hollows. It’s really effective for the area around the bum where we often find cellulite. It works by encouraging your body to create new scar tissue to improve on the overall structure and volume in the area. And it’s also another top of the line super collagen producer, key for keeping the appearance of that cellulite at bay.

Skin Laxity

Skin laxity is another one of those confusing ones where there’s a lot of misinformation as to what treatments can be effective for it. A lot of people think CoolSculpting can treat skin laxity, but CoolSculpting will truly do nothing for loose skin, so don’t make that mistake.

You may notice skin laxity with age, which is normal due to the muscles weakening and a general loss of collagen over time. You might also notice it after weight loss or following procedures like liposuction. It can also appear following pregnancy or just because our bodies change over time.

For skin laxity we recommend Morpheus8 or FaceTite and BodyTite. Both types of treatments use RF technology which shrinks tissue tightening lax skin, melts fat, and builds collagen. The only difference is that Morpheus8 combines RF with microneedling whereas FaceTite and BodyTite utilize a probe just underneath the surface of the skin in target areas in order to deploy RF heat.

Because FaceTite and BodyTite have the ability to melt fat cells they can also address small pockets of stubborn fat. And just as a side note, if you are interested in BodyTite at our clinic, it must be booked with and performed by one of our plastic surgeons.

If you’re looking to address moderate skin laxity on the face, Forma can also be very effective. Forma is more akin to an RF facial and quite gentle as a treatment. However skin laxity on larger areas typically require more aggressive intervention with treatments like Morpheus8 or FaceTite/BodyTite.

Stubborn Fat

We consider to be those pockets of unwanted fat that are really resistant to diet and exercise to be stubborn fat. You know the ones: those little pockets where no matter what you do you just can’t shed them. FaceTite and BodyTite can be effective for small areas of stubborn fat but this is where CoolSculpting is your go-to non-surgical treatment.

CoolSculpting can eliminate about 20% of fat per treatment by freezing and permanently eliminating unwanted fat cells. As much as we love this treatment, it does take time and patience and could require multiple treatments and treatment areas depending on how much fat you’re looking to eliminate.

If CoolSculpting sounds like it might take too much time for you, or you are looking to eliminate larger amounts or address more areas, then we might recommend other options that might even include surgical ones. This is the beauty of working with a team of plastic surgeons. There’s always something for everyone 🙂