Your Cellulite Questions, Answered

The Basics

What is cellulite, exactly?

A. It's basically pockets of excess fat that have squeezed between the bands of tissue connecting muscle to skin. Unfortunately, we don't know why it happens or how to stop it before it starts.

Why do women get cellulite more frequently than men?

A. Estrogen plays a role, plus women typically have more body fat than men. But the main reason is that the bands connecting skin and muscle are different on men than they are on women. Men have thicker bands, there are more of them, and they form a crisscross pattern (as opposed to the vertical pattern on women's bodies). That keeps the fat in place so it doesn't pucker.

Why do even skinny women have it?

A. Unfortunately, you don't need a lot of body fat to have cellulite. Even the thinnest women have some layer of fat between their muscles and skin, and everybody has the bands that the fat can push through.

Why is it mostly on the legs and butt?

A. That's where most women store fat!