Updated 07 August 2014

A natural approach to cellulite

Cellulite can be embarrassing, but the good news is there are natural remedies for orange-peel skin!

Death, taxes and cellulite…the great equalisers. Cellulite does not discriminate, most women of all ages and sizes (yes, even skinny supermodels) have at least a few embarrassing orange-peel patches of skin.

Read: The lowdown on cellulite


Many experts believe that cellulite is caused by a combination of factors including one's general lifestyle, diet, lack of exercise, hormonal changes and ageing. Some say that the female hormone oestrogen is the main culprit and the reason why men don't get the dreaded dimples.

Read: Ageing skin

Hormones and ageing – partners in crime
Oestrogen encourages the storage of excess fat around womens' hips, thighs and bottoms. Some experts believe that womens' bodies store excess toxins in and around these fat cells and that the build-up of these waste products exacerbates the appearance of cellulite.

Ageing has also been labelled as a guilty party, as the fibres that tightly hold a young woman's skin together, shrink as one gets older. This causes increased pressure on the skin that squeezes fat, toxins and fluids outwards and around the skin fibres, resulting in the unsightly bulges on the skin's surface that we call cellulite. This effect can be best described as when you flop onto a soft bed – you sink down into the middle of the bed, and the mattress bulges out around you.


What we do know however, is that simple lifestyle changes like doing more exercise and eating a healthy diet can make a difference in as little as six weeks. You must however realise that the fight against cellulite requires a personal revolution in how you live you life. Only once you adopt a healthy lifestyle will you really benefit from expensive anti-cellulite potions, lotions and machines.

Natural remedies:

1. Cut down on the toxins



2. Change your diet


- Avoid excess sugar: Not only does too much sugar pack on the pounds, but too much of it, interferes with the way our body metabolises vitamin C - a vitamin that's essential for collagen and elastin formation.



- Eat organic food: Organic food is free of pesticides, insecticides, hormones and artificial flavourants that will reduce the number of toxins your body has to deal with.

- Feast on bioflavonoids: Include lots of blue and red foods like red grapes, blueberries, cherries and blackberries in your diet. The bioflavonoids present in these foods are packed with anti-ageing anthocyanidins. These antioxidants feed your skin and work in conjunction with vitamin C to maintain the strength of the collagen and firm up the skin's overall structure.


- Lemon twist: Start the day off refreshed and revitalised by drinking a glass of hot water with a squeeze of lemon. This will kickstart your liver.

3. Exercise




4. Natural therapies

- Take up yoga, it's a great way to stretch and tone your muscles, which will make your skin look smoother.

- Afraid of needles? You shouldn't be, because acupuncture is a great way to unblock the body's energy and clear out any unwanted toxins. Acupuncturists help the body to heal itself and restore balance. This, accompanied by a diet change and an exercise regime, will help eliminate toxins from congested systems.

- Stand up straight. A good posture, not only makes you look slimmer, but will also improve your breathing, which results in better circulation. Try manual therapy or bodywork techniques like Rolfing, massage and the Alexander Technique, if you want to correct your posture, realign your body and improve the overall functioning of your body.

- Reflexology. Boost energy flow to the rest of your body by having regular therapeutic reflexology sessions. Reflexology is said to stimulate the release of stored toxins into the blood circulation and the lymphatic system, from where it is then eliminated.

- Meditate. Relax! Stress causes the release of adrenaline, which redirects blood away from the skin to the muscles to prepare for "fight or flight". Tense muscles also stop the free flow of blood, and therefore oxygen and nutrients, to the skin. When you're stressed, you're also more likely to indulge in toxin-forming substances, like alcohol, coffee and high-sugar foods and cigarettes. Learning how to meditate or taking up yoga will help you to de-stress.

- Aromatherapy for your cellulite. Aromatherapy massage with essential oils like black pepper, juniper berry and grapefruit are believed to encourage the elimination of toxins, while sage and rosemary warm the skin, increasing circulation.

5. Other things to do

- Breathe in, breathe out. Practise some deep breathing, this will not only relax you, but will improve your circulation. Also try to get some fresh air every day, as the pollutants from traffic fumes and secondary cigarette smoke add to our body's toxin load.


- Cover up. Fat, dimpled thighs look better with a tan right? That may be the case, but in the long run, skin damage caused by the sun will lead to premature ageing. Damaged collagen and elastin fibres can contribute to cellulite, so slather on that sun block.

- Stub out that cigarette. Smoking is a dangerous source of toxic chemicals, the most well-known one being nicotine. These toxins contribute to the breakdown of collagen (supportive tissue), resulting in premature wrinkles and cellulite. The cigarette toxins also put a heavy burden on your body's main detoxer, the liver.

- If you can't stand the heat, get out of the…bath. Too many excessively hot baths can damage your skin tone, making cellulite more visible. If you do indulge in a hot tub, every now and again, compensate for lost elasticity by applying a rich, vitamin E-packed body cream afterwards.

- Have a regular Epsom salts bath. Take a detoxifying soak in a sea salt or Epsom salts bath. Epsom salt makes you sweat out toxins, while simultaneously relieving aching muscles. For an aromatherapy and salt bath: Add a cup full of Epsom salts to a bath with 10 drops of detoxifying rosemary or cypress essential oils, which have first been diluted in 10ml of carrier oil.

- Early morning wake up call. A cold shower first thing in the morning will boost your circulation and get your lymph moving. Alternate with hot and cold water.

Brush up on skincare. Dry-skin brushing with a hard, natural bristle brush, before a bath or a shower has long been known as one of the best ways to reduce cellulite. It will break down fatty tissues, while gradually eliminating toxins by channelling them to the blood, sweat and lymph. Using circular strokes, brush, up your body, towards the heart, but brush in a circular direction on your bottom.

6. What not to do




7. What to take


Drink herbal teas instead of caffeinated tea or coffee. Dandelion tea is will help detoxify the liver, while Rooibos Tea is renonwed for its antiodxidant properties. Other liver "tonics" include fennel tea, milk thistle supplement and garlic.


Read more:
Cellulite, water intake linked
The lowdown on cellulite


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