Dayspa

APR 2014

DAYSPA is the magazine of spa management. Spa owners and spa managers turn to DAYSPA for spa management trends, spa management tips and more.

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62 DAYSPA | APRIL 2014 Targeting Cellulite very particular form of fat that gets trapped between lay- ers of water and accumulates just below skin's surface," he says. And as it builds, it begins to form bumps and bulges. LADIES FIRST Life, as we know, isn't fair, and women are way more likely than men to have an issue with cellulite. This, ex- plains April Zangl, CEO of HydroPeptide, is due to the way women's fat, muscles and connective tissues are distributed. "Estrogen tends to stimulate fi broblasts in connective tissue, which produce damaging enzymes that degrade the collagen fi bers that make up the cellular bridging of adipose tissue—aka body fat," Zangl says. While men's fi brous connective tissue is arranged like a net, women's runs parallel and vertical, says Ilike Organic Skin Care founder Szilvia Hickman. She adds, "Women's fat-storing cells are located just beneath the skin surface and can thus be easily seen, while men's are nestled deep amongst their muscles." Lydia Sarfati, founder of Repêchage, offers the fol- lowing illustration: "Female fat is contained in large, oval pockets, with the skin anchored into the dermis like buttons on an upholstered chesterfi eld sofa. Therefore, the surface of the skin often appears spongy." Estrogen can also promote the retention of excess tissue fl uid. And that's not all it does. Pichery asserts that, despite its strong hereditary component, cellulite is linked to a hormonal disorder. "Cellulite is directly related to fl uctuations in female hormones that control blood and lymph fl ow, as well as fat storage and con- nective tissue structure," she contends. "Therefore, it sets in and can intensify during estrogen peaks"—times that encourage fat storage—"such as puberty, preg- nancy, menopause, menstrual cycles and during the fi rst few months of oral contraceptive treatment." So, when women experience PMS and menstrua- tion, for instance, any resulting hormonal imbalance will, says Sarfati, "cause bloating and fl uid retention, further congesting the lymphatic system." CONTRIBUTING FACTORS Gender isn't the only culprit, however. Any of the fol- lowing can set the cellulite wheels in motion: Stress The production of cortisol, a fat-storing hor- mone linked to overactive adrenal glands and stress, can lead to cellulite formation, says Silhouet-Tone's Teix- eira. Cortisol not only strips skin of its normal defenses, dayspamagazine.com/freeinfo • Use FreeInfo #25 continued on page 64 T a r g e t i n g C e l l u l i t e 4 1 4 . i n d d 6 2 Targeting Cellulite 414.indd 62 3 / 7 / 1 4 9 : 5 6 A M 3/7/14 9:56 AM

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