Cellulite refers to the abnormal protrusion of subcutaneous fats within the fibrous connective tissue of the skin. The abnormal protrusions are manifested as skin bumps or lumps on the skin. The lumps are caused by fat deposits pushing and distorting the connective tissue under the skin which results in a change in the appearance of the skin.
This condition mostly affects post-adolescent women because they produce high levels of estrogen and the t difference in the distribution of fat in their skin compared to men. It is for these reasons, that this is seen as a rare condition for men. Most men with cellulite always live in denial and avoid seeking medication because they view it as a ‘female condition’.
In this article, I am going to show you the symptoms, causes, and treatment of cellulite in men.
Signs and symptoms
A cellulite will appear as a dimple on the skin. Sometimes, a lumpy appearance to the flesh is also a sign of cellulite.
The condition is most often associated with an ‘orange peel’ appearance to the skin. It mostly affects the waistline in men which is different in women where it is commonly located in hips, buttocks, and abdomen.
Some people always confuse cellulite and stretch marks but even though the two conditions are closely similar there is a difference between them. Whereas cellulite manifests as dimpled skin mostly on the thighs, buttocks, hips and abdomen, stretch marks are indented streaks on the skin that usually start out as pink, red or purple and then fade to white.
Why do men get cellulite?
Unlike in women, where the causes of cellulite are well known, there are still many studies being carried out to find the exact causes in men. The following are some of the most probable reasons why you might develop this condition.
Sedentary life style
The number one cause of cellulite in most people is just a poor lifestyle. I am talking about people who have no clue about the direction to the gym, people who puff out smoke at the same rate as the exhaust of a 1970s farm truck and the guys who gulp liquor like the radiator of the first-generation motor vehicle. Then there are these guys who will eat anything that comes there way without caring about whether it is a balanced diet or not. This kind of lifestyle will prevent proper water retention and blood circulation in your body thus resulting in a case of cellulite.
Hormonal imbalance
Testosterone and adrenalin are the hormones responsible for the breakdown of fats in your tissues. For a variety of reasons like side effects of drugs, diet changes or depression, a man may develop hormonal imbalance in the body leading to high concentration of the hormone estrogen in the body which causes the body to store fats thus resulting to cellulite. It should be noted that any man can develop hormonal imbalance.
Consumption of too much junk foods
We are living at a time where advertising is unregulated and giant food companies are making a kill from selling us all those junk sugary foods and snacks. We want to look cool and therefore end up just buying and consuming without caring the effects such foods may have on our bodies. The truth is that overconsumption of junk foods is the reason why we have so many overweight and obese people in the world. Weight gain is among the major causes of cellulite in men.
Stress
Stress is harmful to your health!! I am quite sure that you have heard this phrase more often to the point you have grown tired of it. But it is true, stress causes hormonal imbalance in the body which in turn causes cellulite. Another reason you should be weary about being stressed is that when you are stressed, your body spends most of its energy on revival after a nervous breakdown. This means that there is no energy left for breaking down fats through metabolism. Accumulation of fats causes weight gain and then cellulite.
Medication
Men suffering from prostate cancer and undergoing estrogen therapy may develop cellulite as a side effect of the medication. Remember, earlier on we said that an increase in estrogen is the reason why women are more prone to cellulite than men, inducing estrogen to treat cancer will cause the same results in men.
Male cellulite treatments
There have been a lot of discussions and arguments amongst dermatologists on whether cellulite is a medical condition or just a natural process induced by hormones. The following are some of the ways that can help you get rid of cellulite if it is giving you sleepless nights.
Bio-Dermology Treatment
Bio-Dermology cellulite reduction treatment is a new technology that involves the use of a Bio-dermology machine (BDM) which works on a non-invasive vacuum principle to break up cellulite below the skin and coax it towards the lymph glands where it can be excreted. The treatment causes increased metabolism and aeration around your body and can also treat body toning, body slimming and lymphatic drainage.
Try a cellulite massager
A cellulite massager is an electronic device that comes with a variety of different nozzle heads which when used in the right way can penetrate deeper in the skin and enhance blood circulation does reducing cellulite. It is a very healthy and effective way to get rid of cellulite. There very many advantages of using a cellulite massager over normal massage. You can also visit a professional massager for this therapy even though that will cost you a substantial amount of money.
Consider a diet change
Stop eating anything that comes your way if you want to get rid of cellulite. Avoid all kinds of junk food, fats and sugars. You should include black berries in your diet because they promote collagen production. Collagen is responsible for production of new skin tissues. Also consider eating avocado if you want to balance your hormones. Drinking a lot of water will flush out the toxic substances and impurities from your body. You must also consider reducing your alcohol consumption and smoking.
Hit the gym
Most people fear exercising because they believe that to exercise, you need to spend hours in the gym punishing your body by lifting heavy weights and doing gymnastics. Workouts should be fun because that is the only way you will sustain them. You need to lose weight if you want to lose the cellulite. Start slow buy doing simple physical activities like taking a walk or jogging. Find activities that are fun, you can then slowly and steadily move to other easy aerobics.
Topic overview
It is impossible to find a normal human being with a smooth skin. Most of us have either pimples, stretch marks, wrinkles, eczema, spots, moles or splotches. No one is perfect and the fact that you have cellulite does not make you a lesser human being. Do not allow your condition to affect the general quality of your life.
References
- https://www.quora.com/Do-men-care-about-cellulite
- http://www.dailymail.co.uk/femail/article-15144/Cellulite-man-thing.html
- https://www.livestrong.com/article/187154-cellulite-in-men/
- https://www.builtlean.com/2013/08/27/cellulite-treatment-men-women/