Cellulite on Legs and Thighs: Why It Happens There and What Treats It
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Cellulite on the legs and thighs is the version almost every woman has and the one that bothers people most, because it shows in shorts, in a swimsuit and in a changing-room mirror. It sits on the backs and outsides of the thighs, above the knees and on the bottom, and it does not care whether you are slim or not. This page explains why the legs get it when the arms and stomach usually do not, what makes it worse, what you can do at home, and which treatments at our clinic in Whickham, Newcastle, make a visible difference to it, with prices.
Why cellulite shows up on the legs and thighs first
Cellulite is fat pushing up through a net of fibrous bands that tie the skin to the muscle underneath. In women those bands run straight up and down, like the columns in a quilt, so when the fat between them swells the skin dimples. The thighs and bottom carry the body's biggest store of subcutaneous fat, the skin there is under more strain from gravity and sitting, and the circulation to the legs is the slowest in the body, so fluid pools and the bands tighten. Add oestrogen, which directs fat to the thighs and softens the tissue around it, and you have the reason it is a legs problem long before it is anywhere else. Our guide to what causes cellulite goes through the five causes in more detail.
What makes leg cellulite worse
Sitting for long stretches, which compresses the backs of the thighs and slows the circulation further. Weight going up and down, which stretches the bands. Loss of skin thickness with age, which lets the dimples show through. Dehydration and a high-salt diet, which hold fluid in the tissue. Tight clothing that restricts flow around the thighs. None of these causes cellulite on their own, and none of them fixing themselves removes it, but together they decide whether it is barely visible or obvious.
What you can do at home
Strength work for the legs and bottom, because muscle underneath gives the skin a firmer base and the dimples show less. Walking every day, because the calf and thigh muscles pump the fluid out of the legs. Drinking more water and eating less salt, which lowers the fluid sitting in the tissue. Dry brushing and firm massage, which move fluid and improve the surface for a day or two. None of this reaches the bands or thickens the skin, which is why cellulite creams and rollers give a temporary change at best, and why people come to us once they have done everything right and it is still there.
Treatments that make a visible difference
Exilis Ultra: thickens the skin over the dimples
Exilis Ultra Body heats the skin and the fat under it with radio frequency and ultrasound, so the skin thickens and tightens and the fat between the bands reduces a little at the same time. Thicker, firmer skin shows the dimples less, which is the change people see. A course of four sessions is £785 for one area, such as the backs of both thighs, or £1,285 for two, and each session feels like a hot stone massage with no downtime.
Body Ballancer: clears the fluid
Body Ballancer is a compression suit that works up the legs in waves, pushing the fluid that sits in the tissue back into the lymphatic system. Legs look smoother and feel lighter straight after a session, and a course keeps it that way. £100 a session or £999 for twelve, and it is the treatment we pair with Exilis so the fat and fluid the heat releases are cleared.
EMSculpt Neo: a firmer base underneath
EMSculpt Neo contracts the thigh or glute muscles thousands of times in a thirty-minute session while heating the fat over them, so the skin sits on something firmer. A course of four is £2,000 for one area. It suits legs where the skin is not loose but the shape underneath is soft.
Fat freezing: for a pocket, not for cellulite
Fat freezing removes a pinchable pocket of fat, such as inner thigh fat or saddlebags, from £350 an area. It does not treat cellulite on its own, and freezing fat under dimpled skin without tightening it can make the dimples show more, so on the legs we usually pair it with Exilis or leave it out.
Which one for your legs
Dimples with skin that has lost its firmness: Exilis, with Body Ballancer to clear what it releases. Legs that feel heavy and puffy by the evening: Body Ballancer first, because a good share of what you are seeing is fluid. A soft shape with skin that is still firm: EMSculpt Neo. A pocket of fat with dimples over it: fat freezing then Exilis. The free assessment is where we look, pinch and tell you which, and how much change is realistic, because cellulite can be reduced and softened but nobody can promise to remove it completely. The cellulite treatment page has every price in one place.
Cellulite treatment near me: where we are
Whether you searched for cellulite treatment near me, cellulite on legs or thigh cellulite treatment in Newcastle, this is where you would be coming: The Knowles, Front Street, Whickham, Newcastle upon Tyne, NE16 4SN, about ten minutes from Newcastle city centre and the MetroCentre and about fifteen from Gateshead town centre, with free parking on Front Street and in the village car parks. Clients come from Sunderland, Durham, Hexham, Northumberland and Teesside, and evening appointments run until 8:30pm Monday to Wednesday. Call 0191 649 8699, text 07307 201681 or book a free assessment online.
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