Tone up your tushie

As smooth as a baby’s bottom? Not your precious posterior, ‘coz you probably suffer from the cottage cheese look that most women are fighting a constant battle against. Cellulite affects almost every woman at some point in her life; doesn’t matter if she’s the slimmest doll around or a mother of four. Now the harsh truth is, there is no real cure for these unsightly dimples of fat on your thighs and bottom. But there’s hope yet. A combination of exercise and diet is the key to reducing the appearance of cellulite, says dermatologist Dr Lata Trasi. "Exercise will always help in toning up the body and a good diet consisting of lots of healthy veggies and fruits will go a long way in improving the condition," she advises. Don’t depend on "magical" creams to make the pockets of fat disappear. "Cellulite is formed when lumps of fat push up through the fibrous tissue between the layers of skin and fat. This usually affects the buttocks and thighs in women, and even a few men. Creams do not do well in reducing cellulite. You would see an improvement of not more than 10-20 per cent using these anti-cellulite creams," Dr Trasi explains.

Massage oils are only slightly more effective, but other options like treatments using ultrasonic or radio frequency waves to smoothen the affected areas could provide upto 50 per cent reduction, says Dr Trasi.

The best treatment currently available is mesotherapy, the dermatologist suggests. In this method, the required medicine is injected into the desired area. The procedure is carried out in four or five sessions 15 days apart, and the cost for the treatment could vary from Rs 2,000 to Rs 20,000, depending on the severity of the condition. But even this can’t promise you cellulite free results, so you might be better off adopting a more natural method — a lifestyle change to include lots of exercise and a healthy diet.