Hard cellulite vs soft cellulite: what are the differences?

“TL;DR: Soft cellulite refers to cellulite combined with skin laxity and water retention. Hard cellulite refers to cellulite with excess fibrosis.

Each type of cellulite requires different professional treatment. However, the fundamentals, i.e. what you can do at home to reduce cellulite, remain the same: healthy eating, exercise and smoking/alcohol/contraceptive pill avoidance.”

Different types of cellulite: hard vs soft

• What are “hard cellulite” and “soft cellulite” and what are the differences between the two?

• How do you reduce soft / hard cellulite?

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

• Advanced, infrared / red light therapy treatments in London at LipoTherapeia

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

What are “hard cellulite” and “soft cellulite” and what are the differences between the two?

There are different types of cellulite according to depth, lump size, feeling and appearance. On this article we are examining the distinction between soft vs hard cellulite:

• Soft cellulite is the everyday term that people use to describe cellulite, which is accompanied by skin laxity. This is the most common type of cellulite and is usually accompanied by water retention too, as the causes of water retention, cellulite and skin looseness overlap.

• Hard cellulite is the everyday term used to describe cellulite which is combined with tight skin. Quite often this type of cellulite leads to an appearance of hard cellulite lumps which seem about to “burst”. Hard cellulite is much more fibrotic than soft cellulite.

(Fibrosis / scar tissue is in integral aspect of cellulite, together with fat accumulation and water retention.)

Both types of cellulite have their difficulties and challenges in terms of their reduction.

How do you reduce soft / hard cellulite?

The reduction of both types of cellulite requires the same approach:

• Eat more healthily

• Exercise more and/or at higher intensity

• Avoid the contraceptive pill, drinking and smoking

• Take a couple of polyphenol-containing supplements (green tea, gotu kola, flavonoids, pine bark etc)

• Use a real cellulite cream, i.e. a cream with multiple, high-purity, high-concentration actives

• Have a course of deep-acting, high-power radiofrequency and high-power ultrasound cavitation, the strongest SAFE cellulite reduction technologies known today

However, the two types of cellulite need a quite different approach in terms of treatment:

• More emphasis on skin firming is needed for soft cellulite (i.e. emphasis on deep tissue radiofrequency)

• More emphasis on fat reduction / fibrosis reduction is required for hard cellulite (i.e. emphasis on deep tissue ultrasound)

The same approach applies to anti-cellulite creams (the very few ones that are worth using):

• Soft cellulite requires active ingredients with more emphasis on skin firming and circulation improvement (i.e. centella asiatica, skin firming peptides etc)

• Hard cellulite requires active ingredients with more focus on fat reduction (e.g. caffeine, forskolin etc)

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.

And for even better, faster results, we now combine our RF/ultrasound treatments with high-power red/infrared light LED treatment.

Our radiofrequency/ultrasound/LED 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 cellulite / skin tightening treatment at our London clinic (49 Marylebone High Street, W1).

Advanced, infrared / red light therapy treatments in London at LipoTherapeia

At LipoTherapeia we are passionate about phototherapy (also known as photobiomodulation/PBM, red light therapy, infrared light therapy, blue light therapy, LED light therapy etc) and we use the most powerful equipment available today (up to 240mW/cm2), for best results and treatment of large body areas.

We use specialised therapy protocols for skin rejuvenation / anti-ageing, pigmentation / post-inflammatory hyperpigmentation (PIH), moderate/severe acne, skin redness, sensitive/inflamed/irritated skin, wound healing, sports injuries / musculoskeletal pain and overall wellness / well-being.

Our LED phototherapy sessions are comfortable, deeply relaxing and super-safe and are great to enhance our radiofrequency/ultrasound treatments for skin tightening / cellulite reduction.

On our booking page you can book stand-alone phototherapy sessions or combine them with our other treatments, as an add-on.

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

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

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.

Service available via Zoom or at our central London practice.

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