Are Lasers and Liposuction Good Options For Cellulite Removal?
Because 90% of all women will develop cellulite at some point in their life, the search for cellulite removal products and procedures is always a hot topic.
Two of the more aggressive treatments that people always ask us about are liposuction and the new laser treatments, Cellulaze and Cellusmooth.
Let’s take a quick minute to go over these procedures and discuss whether they’re truly effective at cellulite removal.
Liposuction
As many of you are aware, liposuction is a surgical procedure whereby an incision(s) is made and a suction tube is inserted into your body.
Deposits of excess fat are then sucked up through the tube and into a waste container (gross!).
Liposuction has its uses for body contouring and shaping, but is a terrible option for cellulite removal.
We say that because liposuction has virtually no effect on the dermal fat and connective tissues that cause cellulite.
More problematic, liposuction damages the fine network of capillaries and lymph vessels that are crucial for the health of your skin (since we now know that poor circulation is a MAJOR factor in cellulite development).
Further, liposuction can leave you with loose, sagging skin which only amplifies the appearance of cellulite.
If you need any more proof that liposuction is not the answer to cellulite removal, know that both the American Academy of Dermatologists and the American Society of Plastic Surgeons DO NOT recommend it for this purpose.
That’s definitely a pretty strong argument against liposuction for treating cellulite!
Laser Lipolysis
You may have noticed that in the last few years, a few laser procedures for the treatment of cellulite have been approved by the FDA.
The two big ones are Cellulaze and Cellusmooth.
These minimally invasive procedures can be effective at cellulite removal, but they’re long-term effects are simply not known (which makes them risky in our opinion).
These treatments both work by inserting a laser through tiny incisions in the skin.
The laser is then used to “melt” or “liquify” lumpy pockets of fat, that is then forced into the body’s lymph system for drainage.
The laser is also used to sever the fibrous connective bands that are found underneath the skin and stimulate collagen growth.
The good thing about these laser treatments is they only require local anesthesia and you can get back to normal activities within a few days to a few weeks.
A compression garment is usually kept over the affected areas to prevent leakage.
So how well do Cellulaze and Cellusmooth work?
The results so far are encouraging, but far from perfect.
On the website RealSelf.com, which gives users a chance to rate their cosmetic procedures, Cellulaze has about a 69% “Worth It” rating.
That seems good, but also means 31% of the people who underwent the procedure didn’t think it was worth it.
Part of that might be explained by the extreme cost of these procedures.
One treatment generally costs between $5,000-$12,000, depending on the size of the area being treated.
That’s a lot of money for cellulite removal!
The Bottom Line
When it comes to treating cellulite, we think there are better options available to women than lasers and certainly liposuction.
Doing things like eating healthily, exercising, taking the right supplements, exfoliating, reducing stress, using a topical cream and getting enough sleep and water seem like a much safer and ultimately better approach to cellulite removal.
While these new laser procedures show promise, they are ridiculously expensive and we just don’t know what the long-term effects are yet.
Remember, 20 years ago everyone thought liposuction was a great solution for cellulite. It turned out that’s not the case (and isn’t used much for that purpose anymore).
Before undergoing any of these procedures, I would try the more natural and safe techniques we talk about on this website and in many other places.
A good place to start looking is our updated list of the 10 best cellulite creams.
