Cellulite treatment results: when shall I expect them?

HOW LONG DOES IT TAKE TO “GET RID OF” CELLULITE?

• When will I see the first results from my cellulite / skin tightening treatment? Can I get rid of cellulite in one session?

• There is no such thing as immediate cellulite removal (neither instant skin tightening)

• When will I see the first results from my cellulite / skin tightening treatment? Can I get rid of cellulite in one session?

• There is no such thing as instant cellulite removal (neither immediate skin tightening)

• The body needs time to change, especially for something like cellulite or skin laxity, which in most cases has taken decades to develop

• How many cellulite treatments will I need?

• For good, long-lasting results, both time and repeated treatments are needed

• You don’t build muscle in one training session…

• So the body will not…

• Looking for an instant cellulite treatment? A super-expensive, painful, one-off “miracle” treatment will achieve nothing - except perhaps injure your skin.

• So, with a treatment that “works”, in how many sessions will I see the first results?

• The final results of any given session are seen within about a month after treatment

• Results vary from person to person - and that is normal

• Who responds best to treatment?

• In summary…

• Have a skin tightening/cellulite treatment in London with the experts

• Discover our professional training and consultancy in cellulite, skin tightening, radiofrequency and ultrasound cavitation

When will I see the first results from my cellulite / skin tightening treatment? Can I get rid of cellulite in one session?

These are some of the most common questions asked at any aesthetic practice that offers cellulite treatments:

• “Cellulite treatment results: when do they start occurring?”

• “Will I see results today?”

• “How many cellulite treatments do I need?”

• “Can I get rid of my cellulite in one session?”

• “Does everyone get (the same) results?”

It is quite natural to be excited about seeing fast results from your aesthetic treatment, be it an anti-ageing procedure, a cellulite removal treatment etc.

And living in today’s fast-paced world, where instant gratification is considered normal, people want to see results from anything they undertake as soon as possible - ideally yesterday.

But let’s see how realistic such expectations are and what to expect from your cellulite treatment, in real life.

There is no such thing as instant cellulite removal (neither instant skin tightening)

As with everything in life, things need their time to occur.

At least this is true if we want to talk about long-term results, instead of temporary gimmicks aimed at the shallow and the gullible.

This applies to everything, from learning a foreign language, to building muscle mass, to battling acne, to losing weight, to reducing cellulite, to literally anything.

The body needs time to change, especially for something like cellulite or skin laxity, which in most cases has taken decades to develop

So it is utterly naive to expect impressive/long-lasting results in a few minutes, in one session or even in 2-3 sessions.

This naivety emboldens those ridiculous Instagram types who promise “results, results, results” and “amazing body transformations” in 1-4 sessions and who post fake so-called “before and after pictures” on their account every second day.

Oh well…

How many cellulite treatments will I need?

• For cellulite treatments that “work” (the vast majority don’t), anything between 6-12 sessions is needed for good results, in most cases

• Occasionally some people may be happy with 3-4 sessions (light cases and/or younger clients and/or moderate expectations)

• Others may need up to 24 sessions (severe cellulite and/or perfectionists who demand a lot from themselves or from the treatment)

• But in general, few women are happy with just 3 sessions and few are unhappy after 12

• Of course, happiness/satisfaction with anything is subjective and also depends on perfectionism/expectations as well as initial starting point, i.e. cellulite/skin laxity severity

• Further still, in some very severe cases, even 24 sessions will not give satisfactory results, and in those cases it is a good thing to let the client know of this reality, so that they can make an informed decision

• Of course, with treatments that “don’t work” results will never be seen - or they will be seen very, very slowly, making the whole effort not worthwhile

• The subject of “cellulite treatments that work/don’t work” is a huge one and is covered in a dedicated article, but let’s succinctly say here that the most effective treatments at the time of updating this article (Apr 2024) are deep-acting, high-power radio frequency and deep-acting, high-power ultrasound

So this is the reality on the ground, away from the delusions and hype peddled in tabloid newspapers, “influencer” articles, marketing blurb and the rose-tinted spectacles of instagram and the shallowness of tiktok.

For good, long-lasting results, both time and repeated treatments are needed

As we mentioned above, you cannot expect something that took one, five, ten or twenty years to manifest, to disappear in one session. The world just doesn’t work like that and whoever promises miracle and/or long-term results in one, two, three or even four miraculous - and usually extremely expensive - sessions is simply lying.

In some cases, as in lymphatic massage treatments, clay body wraps etc, you may see some immediate but temporary result in the appearance of some types of cellulite (those that are characterised by a lot of water retention), due to drainage of some excess water.

However, those treatments do absolutely nothing to help the body drain excess water in the long term, so we are talking about a temporary gimmick or some temporary relief that lasts a few days and has to be repeated every single week - forever.

Furthermore, these treatments only work in “oedematous” cellulite - not in “fatty” cellulite, “hard” cellulite or “soft” cellulite. Those aspects of cellulite, i.e. excessive dermal fat accumulation, fibrosis or skin looseness, respectively, require REPEATED treatment to change.

Plus they also require TIME to allow the different physical processes in the body to take place. And by ‘time’ we mean weeks, not minutes.

You don’t build muscle in one training session…

As everyone knows, the body does not build muscle overnight or after just one session at the gym. It needs both repeated exercise sessions and time to build muscle and increase muscular strength.

Similarly, the body will not release all the cellulite fat or boost lots collagen and elastin production overnight or after just a single session, no matter how much ones pays for the treatment or how famous the doctor who oversees the provision of the treatment is.

(Quite rightly, doctors don’t provide such procedures themselves, as they are too busy providing more lucrative/important medical or surgical services, so they typically employ machine operator staff to perform these procedures. You never get treated by a doctor for cellulite reduction at a doctor’s office.)

Cellulite reduction/skin tightening is one area where money cannot buy someone immediate gratification, even if one swims in billions of $/£/€.

The good thing about having lots of money, though, is that you can afford to have 12 or 24 session per area for the maximum possible results, without blinking.

So the body will not…

• Repair its existing collagen tissue and build some new one overnight or after just one session

• Break scar tissue overnight or after just one session

• Empty fat cells of some of their fat content overnight or after just one session

• Reduce its number of fat cells overnight or after just a single session

Some treatments, such as high-power, deep-acting radiofrequency can produce some immediate skin tightening from the first session (due to collagen contraction) and/or drain tissues of excessive water.

But even in those cases, for results to be long-lasting, repeated treatments are needed, received over several weeks, not days.

Looking for an instant cellulite treatment? A super-expensive, painful, one-off “miracle” treatment will achieve nothing - except perhaps injure your skin.

If you see “photographic evidence” of some amazing results fifteen minutes after just one session on Instagram, you can safely know that the pictures (and the provider of the treatment) are a fake.

As we said above, the body needs both REPEATED stimulation and TIME to change. Don’t fall for the hype of instant miracles with 1, 2, 3 or even 4 sessions.

The only permanent thing that can happen in one miracle session is permanent skin injury from extremely high intensity treatments.

So, with a treatment that “works”, in how many sessions will I see the first results?

With an effective cellulite treatment results start appearing in about 3-4 sessions.

Given that effective cellulite treatments are quite intensive treatments, you cannot have them all in one week. Spacing them once or twice a week (maximum three times a week for a limited number of sessions) makes a lot more sense.

Since most women are too busy to have treatment more than once a week, we are talking about 3-4 sessions taken over 3-4 weeks to see the first long-term results - and 6-12 sessions/weeks for best results.

Sure, there are exceptions and some clients at our clinic start raving about a treatment after one or two sessions - and keep raving about it later in the long run too - but this is more the exception than the rule. Obviously, in those cases, 6 sessions will usually suffice for those clients (depending on cellulite severity).

And there are some more stubborn cases where about 4-5 sessions are needed for the first proper, long-term results to be experienced. Obviously in those cases 12 sessions may be needed for satisfactory results - and even more in the more severe cases of cellulite.

The final results of any given session are seen within about a month after treatment

With a treatment such as deep-acting, high-power radiofrequency or high-power ultrasound cavitation - which aim to produce long-term results - it takes some time to see the final results.

This is because the various body processes that occur after such treatment on the skin typically take weeks to occur.

So from any given such treatment the final results of that treatment are seen within about a month after treatment.

This practically means that after you finish your course of 6 or 12 sessions, you will keep improving for about a month after the last session.

I have seen countless clients who went on holiday right after their course of treatment and kept improving during holiday (and even afterwards, as most holidays last 1-2 weeks).

Results vary from person to person - and that is normal

Of course, as with anything else, the results obtained from a specific treatment can widely vary from person to person. This is due to several factors:

• The severity of cellulite

• The person’s overall health and metabolism

• Expectations (realistic / unrealistic)

• Diet, exercise, smoking, alcohol drinking, hormonal contraception, overall lifestyle

• Unknown / unexpected factors (nothing biological can be accurately predicted or guaranteed)

Who responds best to treatment?

After more than two decades in the industry and several thousand treatments, I still cannot predict who will respond faster or slower.

Some cases initially look difficult and tricky and yet you see fast and impressive results with them, while others look like easy cases and yet we see slow progress with them. And of course there are all the grey shades in-between. Things are not black and white.

However, there are some people who routinely experience faster results and these are usually those who are very active and very strict with healthy eating, not drinking and not taking hormonal contraception.

And on other hand you have those with typically slow progress, such as the ones who come to the clinic with chocolate muffin in hand (yes, it does happen) or who tell you about how much drunk they get every single weekend (and yes, it happens a lot too).

I have also found that above the age of 60, progress is slow, although we did have the occasional great results with clients aged 65 or even 70.

In summary…

For the very few cellulite treatments that actually do “work”:

• You may see some results on the first session, but…

• You will most probably need 3-4 sessions to see the first long-term results

• You will most probably need 6-12 sessions to be happy

• And the final results of each specific session will be gradually seen within about a month after treatment

• (The qualification “most probably” is needed in the above statements, as nothing biological can be accurately predicted - results can vary widely between people)

• Also, you may potentially not be satisfied, even with the best treatment in the world, if:

  • You keep doing the things that originally caused cellulite (i.e. eating poorly, drinking, smoking, sitting down too much, not exercising, taking hormonal contraception etc);

  • You have unrealistic expectations

  • Your cellulite is severe

  • You are over 60-65 years old

  • And, occasionally, for other known and unknown factors

So do your best in terms of nutrition, exercise and lifestyle whilst you receive about 6-12 sessions, for best results and satisfaction.

Have a skin tightening/cellulite treatment in London with the experts

At LipoTherapeia we have specialised 100% in skin tightening and cellulite reduction for more than two decades and 20,000+ sessions.

This is all we study and practise every day and have researched and tried hands-on all the important skin tightening equipment and their manufacturers.

As strong, deep acting radiofrequency and deep-acting, high-power ultrasound cavitation are the technologies of choice for skin tightening and cellulite reduction, we have invested in the best RF/ultrasound technologies in the world.

Furthermore, over the last two decades we have developed advanced RF and cavitation treatment protocols in order to make the most of our technologies, for maximum results, naturally and safely.

Our radiofrequency/ultrasound treatments are comfortable, pain-free, downtime-free, injection-free, microneedling-free, 99.5%+ safe and always non-invasive.

And our focus is on honest, realistic, science-based treatment, combined with caring, professional service, with a smile.

We will be pleased to see you, assess your cellulite, skin laxity or fibrosis, listen to your story, discuss your case and offer you the best possible treatment.

Learn more or check prices and book an expert treatment at our London clinic (49 Marylebone High Street, W1)

Discover our professional training and consultancy in cellulite, skin tightening, radiofrequency and ultrasound cavitation

Do you want to deeply understand radiofrequency, ultrasound cavitation, cellulite and skin tightening?

Attend a half-day, 1-day or 2-day or 3-day professional consultancy / one-to-one masterclass and confidently offer your clients the safest, strongest and most effective treatment possible.

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