Slimming leggings, cellulite, fat reduction and skin looseness

“TL;DR: Leggings can hide cellulite and excess fat well but are not ideal, as they constrict arterial flow and undermine skin firmness. The end result in the long run is skin looseness and more cellulite.

Extreme constriction can reduce fat locally but excess fat grows elsewhere, usually right by the edge of the garment (as seen in muffins tops or lower stomach bulge, just above the top of the leggings).”

Weight loss leggings? They don’t exist.

• Slimming leggings: they work, but fat “moves” somewhere else…

• Very tight compression / slimming leggings and skin looseness

• Very tight compression / slimming leggings and cellulite

• In summary

• 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

Slimming leggings: they work, but fat “moves” somewhere else…

The very tight compression garments (such as Spanx, Skims etc) do improve the appearance of the body while being worn, so there is not much discussion to be made on this aspect.

Slimming leggings do hide the fat and improve the appearance of the body contours. You put them on, they keep the excess bulge contained and cellulite compressed. Job done.

Furthermore, very tight garments can potentially (NOT always) also diminish fat on the areas where they are worn, IF they are worn for several months or years.

This is because extreme pressure make fat cells in the area they are applied on (very) gradually die off, via a process called “adipocyte apoptosis”.

However, that fat doesn’t actually disappear from the body - this is not a weight loss method. The excess fat is stopped being deposited and gradually gets removed from the areas under compression and start being deposited and gradually get moved into areas not under compression.

This explains the effect of:

• Developing muffin tops when you wear tight compression only on your buttocks

• Or having more belly fat just over the underwear / trouser belt level

And no, compressing the whole body under tight compression to become overall slim is not an option and will not work, as we will see below.

Very tight compression / slimming leggings and skin looseness

Moreover, extreme compression will cause skin looseness and sometimes even health issues:

• Compression stimulates the sympathetic nervous system - not very good for blood pressure. This is why whole body compression is not a good idea. The constant excessive sympathetic nervous system stimulation is enough to raise blood pressure but not enough to lead to the oxidation (burning) of all the body fat.

• Plus it will inhibit arterial flow, which means less tissue oxygenation - clearly not very good for your skin. As we mentioned above, slimming leggings take several months to produce results in regard to topical fat reduction. However, several months of wearing slimming leggings definitely leads to skin looseness.

So the whole exercise is futile: you move some topical fat around at the expense of skin firmness.

Very tight compression / slimming leggings and cellulite

• Graduated compression slimming leggings can partially and temporarily help against cellulite, if the cellulite is of the “water retention” type

• However, slimming leggings will actually make the situation worse if the cellulite is of the “loose skin” type

• Non-graduated pressure (constant pressure) slimming leggings will make the situation worse in any case, as they negatively affect both blood circulation and skin firmness

So slimming leggings (only the graduated compression type) may be OK for cellulite for a while but not forever, as no one wants to replace smoother legs for flabbier legs.

In summary

Slimming leggings and other very tight compression garments “work” but with many caveats:

• Skin looseness

• Reduced arterial flow

• Fat “moving” elsewhere

So using slimming leggings temporarily, e.g. for a night out or a weekend is fine. But long-term use is not such a good idea.

A better solution is the combination of:

• Healthy nutrition

• Daily physical activity

• Exercise

• Reducing smoking/vaping/drinking

• Localised treatments: deep-acting, high-power radio frequency and deep-acting, high-power ultrasound are the strongest anti-cellulite and skin tightening technologies

• Real cellulite creams, i.e. creams with multiple, high-purity anti-cellulite actives in high concentrations

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)

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.

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