Beauty Question: Do cellulite creams really work?
M. writes:
Dear Jolie, I am 19 years old and summer (and spring break) is drawing near, and I just finished reading the Marie Claire with Drew Barrymore on the cover. Under “Insider Beauty Secrets” they say that there is basically no hope with cellulite creams…and therefore I should not spend my money. Have you ever heard of Fat Girl Slim from Poetic? Or those new crazy patches that apparently firm your skin from L’Oreal??? I’m hoping that along with exercise, there is hope in a jar to help firm my bum and thighs for this summer, and felt like you the beauty guru would be best to ask (even better than Marie Claire :)). Much love!
Hi M.!I hate to say it…but efficacious cellulite creams are one of those myths, like Santa Claus or men who prefer “natural” women. (The problem there is usually the male fantasy of “natural” versus the brutal female reality, but that’s a whole ‘nother story.) While there are some cellulite creams that have cult status (like Shiseido Body Creator and Osmotics), all the creams really do is smooth out the appearance of the top of your skin. They can’t actually make cellulite disappear and literally change the composition of your body, otherwise they’d have to be FDA regulated as drugs, not faux-miraculous, happiness-inducing (well, temporarily, at least) cosmeceuticals. That’s not to say that you may not see a very small, temporary difference in the appearance of your thighs and tummy after using these creams several times a day, everyday, for weeks—the same way, say, a really great foundation might make acne look like, poof!, it’s gone—but even if that unlikely scenario were to happen, once you stopped using the creams, the magic would disappear. And I’m just too damn lazy to put all that time and effort into something that will probably not work, or will only provide miniscule results once it does.
March 26th, 2008 at 11:12 pm
I have 2 lotions that REALLY do temporary TIGHTEN up the skin and create a smoother appearance. My favorite of the 2 is the Bath & Body Works “Bring up the rear” lotion. SMELLS GREAT! Second, the Arbonne Figure 8 Contouring lotion works really well too!!!