Summer is my favourite time of the year – and not just because I was born on a hot August day.
I love the longer, hotter days lazily spent lying around on the beach or exploring a new park. The softer colours as nature blooms. The way life’s hectic pace slows down, shifting our focus from work to play.
But, for a long time, summer, for me, has also been a time of anxiety. The reason? The C-word.
Cellulite. That dimply thing that appears uninvited on your things and bottoms and refuses to go away ever, leaving you feeling ugly and worthless. I was so ashamed of it.
My Battle Against Cellulite
I tried to hide my cellulite the best I could. Summers in Italy can be torrid, but I still only wore full-length jeans. No shorts and miniskirts for me. Bikinis, were completely out of the question.
Although Senigallia looks out to a beautiful, clear sea, I rarely went to the beach. Whenever my friends dragged me there, I was covered from head to foot, too worried about making sure no one saw my dimply skin to really enjoy myself.
In the meantime, I tried everything I could think of to get rid of it. I performed massages on my thighs and bum. Rubbed coffee ground on my skin (all those teen mags swore caffeine was a great treatment for cellulite).
Spent a fortune on cellulite creams that promised to reduce it by a fortnight but never delivered (but at least my skin was so soft!).
All the while, bemoaning the fact I couldn’t afford those expensive cosmetic treatments celebrities have access to. If something costs you an arm and a leg, it must work, right?
Does Anything Work Against Cellulite?
Well, not really. In 2008, a team of scientists reviewed all the current available treatments for cellulite and the results showed what we all already know but refuse to admit:
“Cellulite, a skin surface change that is nearly ubiquitous in women, is a condition that remains elusive to treatment. In fact, no treatment is completely successful as none are more than mildly and temporarily effective.”
Yep, NOTHING. Even those outrageously expensive lasers only provide temporary results.
And yet, we still splurge on them. Or on creams we know are useless, but hey, you never know until you try them right? I too, every time I see a new cellulite cream on the shelves of Boots hope that it may be different from the rest and do something for real for a change.
Then, reality sets in, and I leave the shop empty-ended (well, actually I usually leave with some makeup, or shampoo, but the cellulite cream stays on the shelf). I’d rather use my money for something that really works.
The Cellulite Lie
But the desire to get rid of cellulite is still there. How could it not when we are bombarded every single day by a thousand images of beautiful women who aren’t apparently plagued with it. If they can get rid of it, surely you can too.
You just have to eat only green food for a month, take seaweed baths twice a week for 20 minutes, or soak the affected area in baby oil and and use a hand vacuum to smooth the area (yes, someone really tried that one, but it made things worse!).
But that’s not how celebrity and models have really gotten rid of their cellulite, is it? Nope, they purposefully pose in positions that hide their orange peel skin, under bright lights that help smooth everything out.
And if a few dimples are still evident, no worries. They are just airbrushed away. No one will know. Until some space-invading paparazzi takes a picture of a celebrity enjoying a day at the beach. Then the tabloids have a field day showing us how much a celeb has let herself go.
The message is clear: cellulite is bad. If you have it, you’re disgusting, lazy, and you’ll never find love.
Cellulite Is Normal
The media wants us to believe that crap, so that the beauty, diet, and fitness industries that finance it can sell us their remedies for cellulite, even if we (and they) all know they don’t work.
The truth is that cellulite is normal. It is the body’s natural way of storing fat. According to the Mayo Clinic: “Cellulite is caused by fibrous connective cords that tether the skin to the underlying muscle, with the fat lying between. As the fat cells accumulate, they push up against the skin, while the long, tough cords are pulling down. This creates an uneven surface or dimpling.”
You know what that means? It means that cellulite is not an illness. It’s a normal condition that doesn’t need to be cured.
It means that cellulite is not caused by a bad diet or laziness. It occurs regardless of who you are and what you do. Celebrity or working mum, vegetarian or fast food lover, fitness fanatic or couch potato, you are going to get cellulite.
It also means that we all have been hating ourselves for nothing.
Why You Need To Stop Hating Your Cellulite
That ugly flaw is no flaw at all. The flaw is in the media and in the way it portrays women’s bodies. The media, diet, fitness, and beauty industries love to turn perfectly fine and normal things, like cellulite and wrinkles, into ugly, unforgivable flaws. Whenever they do so, they make a truckload of money.
We, on the other hand, are stuck hating ourselves. Our insecurities and feelings of worthlessness stay with us for years, (sometimes forever), causing us to avoid wearing short dresses and doing fun things, and ruining our relationships with our significant others.
It’s time to stop. Stop hating your cellulite. Stop loathing your body. Stop hiding behind layers of clothing. Stop staying at home on sunny days because you’re embarrassed of what people may think of your dimply thighs (nobody is looking at them, trust me).
Stop wasting your money on treatments that don’t work. Stop complaining about it and teaching our daughters to do the same. Stop letting your cellulite control our self-worth.
You are not your cellulite. Each one of us is an amazing and beautiful person who happens to have cellulite. And that’s fine. It’s ok. It really is.
It may not feel like it now, but you can make your peace with your cellulite too. I did. Although I still wish sometimes that someone created a cream that removed the chicken bumps for good, I don’t hate myself and my body because of my cellulite anymore.
How To Stop Hating Your Cellulite
I never thought I’d get there but I did. Getting the facts straight (ie. cellulite is a normal female characteristic turned into something awful by an industry that profits by it) rather than the myths propagated by the media (cellulite is an illness that only affects the lazy) helped me accept my cellulite.
Consuming media that makes me feel good about myself, surrounding myself with positive people, focusing more on inner beauty, and enjoying the moment contributed too.
Now I can rock miniskirts, go to the beach, and do a lot of stuff that before I refused to do because I felt too ashamed and self-conscious. My cellulite is still there for everyone to see, but I don’t care about it anymore. I don’t even remember that it’s there. Its just not important anymore. And it is so liberating.
Accepting cellulite as part of your body means freedom. It frees you, and those around you too. It gives your daughter, your family, and your friends a positive example to look up to. It shows them that you can have cellulite and be beautiful, sexy, confident, loved, and worthy.
So, own it with pride and confidence.
How do you feel about your cellulite? Share your thoughts in the comments below.
Very nice thoughts!!! I don’t mind my cellulites. I’ve learned to embrace them. Yes, it’s true, other people are also busy minding their own body so checking out others has a slim chance. So let’s relax and enjoy the beach! Next swimming, I am thinking to show off my battle scar aka CS scar in public. Haha!
Laarni, I’m so glad you’ve learned to accept your cellulite too. It is so liberating isn’t it? Life is so much better when we just live it to the full without focusing on our cellulite or whatever other imperfections we are taught to hate. And you should totally rock your CS scar in public! 🙂
As a pear shape .. cellulite is inevitable. I’m not all that comfortable in shorts, but when it’s hot – cellulite be damned .. lol.
Monica.
Monica, oh yes covering up cellulite when it’s too hot is hell. But don’t let yours prevent you from wearing shorts any other day too. Everyone has cellulite, it is no big deal. 🙂
I sometimes feel the beauty and related industries punish women for being women. The fat that makes us shapely is denigrated and we often forget that the way we look is normal. Its as if we should all look like prepubescent boys.
Dee, that is so true. That’s because that ideal of “beauty” is unattainable. The more we strive to achieve it, the more money they make. We should just learn to ignore it and love our bodies the way they are, although I know it is easier said than done.
I really like this article. Can we all just show up in public together and those with the less visible cellulite can join in and do some funny ‘cellulite revealing’ poses and then we can all get used to seeing it and move onto something more important. The only thing I didn’t like is its still referred to as a ‘condition’ – but really if most women have it then its not a condition unless being a woman is a condition?
My friend’s ex husband liked cellulite – he felt it was feminine (he was otherwise an idiot though!).
KW, that would be amazing! We really need to stop seeing it as a flaw. It’s absolutely normal. 🙂
Glad to know there are men out there who like cellulite too.
Sadly, the only reduction of cellulite I ever saw was when I was in extreme disordered eating and obsessive overexercising. So not healthy! Funny, I was still miserable. Now, in recovery, it has come back with a vengeance. It’s been tough to accept, but articles like this help. I try to focus on function over form of my body. Plus, now that I’m nourishing my body, I’m much happier, which leaves space in my brain for more important things. Thanks for the positive words
Kristen, I’m so glad this article helps. Cellulite is absolutely normal and nothing to be ashamed or embarrassed about. Our bodies are capable of so much more aren’t they and we do live a better life when we focus on nourishing, rather than punishing, them. I’m so glad you’re overcoming your struggles. You are a very strong woman and I wish you all the best for the future.
Thank you for writing this it brought tears to my eyes and is something I definitely needed to read.
Hope, my pleasure. I’m glad it touched you and you found it helpful.
Nice thoughts but they do nothing in the face of having to bare cellulite at the beach or pool or simply wear shorts during the summer. The sooner there is a safe and effective “cure” for this non-illness, the better.
Patricia, I think you’re missing the point. Having to bare cellulite is completely normal and nothing to be ashamed of. If someone makes you feel bad because you have cellulite, they have a problem, not you.
I just found this after googling “is cellulite normal” because I *never* see cellulite on women in the media but if I stop to look at actual women in real life they pretty much all have it; the only ones who don’t are in their late teens/early 20s. It’s mad to think that we’ve been brainwashed into hating something that is perfectly natural and non-harmful. I feel a lot better about my body right now and I’m going to stop wasting money on snake oil “cellulite cures”. Thanks!