Infinite Ideas (Firm) - Perfect skin: tips and techniques to make you glow

Perfect skin

Tips and techniques to make you glow

Infinite Ideas

8. Cellulite busting

The exercise moves, the creams, the treatments, the foods, the pants one way or another, you will beat cellulite.

Cellulite is a reminder that life can be cruel. It afflicts nearly 85% of us including supermodels. (Okay, so its not always that cruel!)

Strangely, though, men dont notice cellulite. Apparently, if they get that close to naked flesh, they honestly dont care what kind of minor imperfections greet them.

Still, thats no comfort to the millions of women who suffer with cellulite. We hate it! And its bloody hard to shift.

Cellulite, in case you need an explanation, is that lumpy dimply skin we get on our bottoms, thighs, tummies and even arms. Over the years, many a column inch has been devoted to theories on what it could be. Now the consensus is that its fat. And the reason why men dont get it is that womens fat cells are shaped differently; the connective fibres that keep the fat in place run horizontally in women, diagonally in men. So, if womens fat cells become enlarged, they tend to squish upwards and poke out of the top, like squashing butter through cheesecloth, hence its appearance.

There are countless reasons for this. Being overweight is one. Water retention plays a part, as these fat cells have more fluid in them than other cells. This is often the result of a sedentary lifestyle that has caused your circulation and lymphatic drainage system to slow down. This means that your skin doesnt get the vital supply of blood and oxygen required to nourish it, and you retain fluid, which makes those bulges worse. Various bad habits, from smoking to too much booze or a poor diet, can cause free radical damage. Free radicals are nasty destructive forces that attack our skins collagen and make our skin tissues weaker, which means they lose their lovely youthful elasticity.

Fortunately, there are steps you can take:

Exercise more

Research has shown that women who followed a low-fat diet and did twenty minutes of aerobic exercise weekly, including some strength exercises, lost 3.5 kg in weight (nearly 5 cm from their thighs). Plus 70% of women said that their cellulite improved in just six weeks by doing weight training aimed at their legs.

When you exercise you boost your circulation and lymph drainage, so you build muscle that effectively boosts the skin, which helps flatten out those bumpy bits. Plus, taking more exercise at least twenty to thirty minutes three to five times a week can help shift some of the fat that causes cellulite.

Aim to do three sessions a week of aerobic exercise such as cycling, running, dancing, kickboxing or a fitness video. Also, make sure youre doing some resistance or strength work as building lean muscle is vital; good moves are lunges, squats or step work (cycle uphill, try a step class or run on a treadmill at an incline).

Watch your diet

Losing a few pounds can help reduce the fat that causes your cellulite. Try to cut back on salt, which causes water retention, and on fatty and sugary foods. Eat tons of fruit and vegetables, as these are rich in antioxidants that help mop up the free radicals that can damage skin and cause wrinkles and sagging. Also eat plenty of potassium-rich foods such as carrots, broccoli and watermelon to help balance your bodys fluid levels, and fish, which contains fatty acids that are good for healthy skin.

Aim to drink about 2 litres of water a day to help boost circulation and reduce water retention. And watch your alcohol and coffee intake, as both can interfere with your circulation.

Body brush and pamper

Tons of treatments involve algae, body wraps and machine-based pummelling to help fight cellulite. They aim to help boost the skins circulation, reduce water retention and soften and condition the skin. Try them, but dont expect miracles.

Endermologie is arguably the only salon treatment that has any proven results. Youll need about ten sessions and a healthy bank account to see the results for yourself, but it could be worth a try. Its a deep-tissue massage treatment using a machine that rolls back and forth across your cellulite to break down fat cells and firm your skin. It comes from France, where they take cellulite very seriously (have you ever seen a French woman with cellulite?), and is approved in the US by the FDA as an effective, albeit temporary, treatment for cellulite.

A cheaper option is to body brush every day. Body brushing is thought to help boost the skins circulation and lymph flow, which can help beat the fluid build that swells your fat cells. Its also softening because it exfoliates the dead skin that accumulates on the surface.

Start at your feet and with a brush made from natural fibres brush in long strokes (always in the direction of your heart). Ideally do it morning and night before a shower or bath.

Cellulite tends to look worse on dry or dehydrated skin, so moisturising can help minimise its appearance. Experiment with anti-cellulite beauty creams, too. All will probably help moisturise your skin and improve its texture; some may also contain ingredients to help improve circulation, reduce fluid retention and boost production of collagen. Again, use alongside a healthy low-fat diet and regular exercise; miracles havent been bottled quite yet.

How did it go?

QCan you recommend any great exercises that target thighs and bottoms?

ATry the donkey kick. Get on all fours, with your hands under your shoulders and your knees in line with your hips. Drop down on to your forearms, keeping your back straight and tummy muscles tight. Now kick the left leg up, keeping the bend in the leg so the upper part of the leg becomes horizontal. Keep the foot flexed, return the leg to the ground and repeat ten to twenty times on that leg. Then kick the right leg up and repeat the process. Build up to three sessions on each leg.

QIve heard about cellulite-eating pants. Are they for real?

AI dont know about the eating part, but yes there are seam-free pants designed to sculpt and define your hips and bottom thanks to the compression action and micro-massage. In one study, women who wore Lipocontour pants for twelve hours a day for eight weeks reduced their hips by up to 7 cm, their thighs by 3 cm and their bottoms by 3 cm.

Heres an idea for you

A DIY massage is a good night-time treatment. Gently but firmly massage your legs and thighs using upward movements in a gentle kneading motion, always working towards your heart.

Defining idea

If I had been around when Rubens was painting, I would have been revered as a fabulous model. Kate Moss? Well, she would have been the paintbrush.

DAWN FRENCH

Defining idea

The chief excitement in a womans life is spotting women who are fatter than she is.

HELEN ROWLAND, writer

9. Fabulous foundations

Beautiful skin can be a sign of youth, good health, meticulous grooming, great genes or a combination of these. If you fall short in each department, youll want to know how to get it out of a bottle.

A beauty counter is like an Aladdins cave or a knicker drawer: full of pretty things, yet youre really only interested in finding an item that works miracles.

Everyone knows that good skin stems from drinking lots of water, getting plenty of sleep and eating a healthy diet high in fruit and vegetables. If youre short on time, however, and havent been all that saintly, youll want results and youll want them now. The key, as we all know, is to look natural, but not too natural.

Fortunately, these days foundations contain all sorts of silicone powders and light-diffusing pigments to disguise flaws and make skin glow. Theyve also been imbued with great sunscreens and vitamins to protect skin from the sun. And there are mattifying formulations to help even out skin tone.