Q: Do anti-cellulite products work?

Short answer: More likely no than yes.

Anti-Cellulite Creams and Heating Oils

The primary components of anti-cellulite and heating creams include caffeine, carnitine, essential oils, horse chestnut extract, and ginkgo biloba. These are often recommended by cosmetologists and massage therapists because they supposedly “break down fat tissue” and “speed up metabolism.” However, this isn’t entirely accurate. For example, caffeine can temporarily speed up metabolism and increase blood circulation when ingested. But there are no scientific studies proving that it penetrates the skin and “melts” fat tissue when applied topically. Moreover, if caffeine-based products could indeed deliver these effects so deeply, they would likely be sold as prescription medications rather than over-the-counter cosmetics.

The upper layers of the skin are impermeable to most cosmetic ingredients. Only “carriers” – such as liposomal complexes – can transport substances deeper. This means that your anti-cellulite cream may contain a fat-burning ingredient and carriers to deliver it to the fat tissue. You apply the cream to your thigh, and the ingredient, with the help of carriers, tries to penetrate through the skin barrier and dissolve in subcutaneous fat. But the key questions are: How much of the substance penetrates the fat? How is it distributed? And how effectively does it burn fat?

This is one of the major challenges in the pharmaceutical market: how to deliver substances internally and distribute them effectively. With anti-cellulite creams, the active ingredient might simply accumulate in the fat tissue and then be eliminated from the body. There is currently too little research and confirmed scientific data on this topic. Additionally, standardized methods for measuring cellulite do not exist, making it difficult to determine if any real improvement has occurred.

Scrubbing and Dry Brushing

Another common method to combat orange-peel skin is mechanical exfoliation. Scrubs often contain warming ingredients like pepper, cinnamon, mustard, and ginger extracts. These ingredients do not penetrate the skin but increase the vibration frequency of molecules, causing them to move faster and warm up the skin. While there is a “hot skin” effect, it provides no physical benefit. Warming creams only affect the microcirculation of blood in the applied area.

The abrasive particles in anti-cellulite scrubs are often large and sharp, stimulating blood circulation in the skin and leading to a “smoothing” effect. The same occurs with dry brushing (which can also be quite painful). It’s important to understand that the effect of these procedures is confined to the skin – no topical cosmetic product can directly affect fat tissue and its structure.

Most “anti-cellulite” creams also have a warming or tingling effect. These properties are primarily included for psychological impact: consumers believe that the stronger the sensation, the more effective the product must be at burning fat. Additionally, when the heating (or, in rare cases, cooling) effect is pronounced, the skin becomes red and slightly swollen, making it appear smoother and temporarily concealing the underlying cellulite. However, this is undoubtedly a temporary effect.

Tretinoin

Surprisingly, tretinoin can be useful in the fight against “bumps.” No, it doesn’t penetrate fat tissue and “organize” it. But tretinoin is currently the only substance capable of increasing the thickness of the epidermis. Thicker skin, in turn, makes the bumps of fat tissue less noticeable.