Grade 1
Mild dimpling on pinching
Visible only when you pinch or contract the muscle, and not when standing relaxed. This is the stage where skin-quality treatment and consistency do most, and where results show soonest.
Cellulite
It shows up in the changing room mirror or a holiday photo, however many squats you have done. Cellulite affects around nine in ten women regardless of weight or fitness, because it is built into how female skin is structured, and the right treatment on Wimpole Street visibly smooths how it looks.
At a glance
- Affects Thighs, buttocks, abdomen, upper arms
- Cause Fibrous bands tethering skin over fat
- Treated at Wimpole Street, London
- Course Ongoing rather than one-off
- Outcome A visible improvement
What it is and why it happens
Cellulite is a question of structure rather than fat, which is why slim and very fit women have it. Around nine in ten women do, and almost no men, and that difference is the clue to what it actually is.
Female connective tissue is arranged in vertical columns. Fat sits between them, and where those fibrous bands tether the skin down while fat pushes up between them, you get the dimpled surface. Male connective tissue runs in a criss-cross lattice, which holds everything flat.
So it is architecture rather than excess. Weight loss sometimes improves the appearance, though the bands stay in place, which is why treatment works on the skin above them.
Regents Park Aesthetics treats cellulite at our Wimpole Street clinic, a short walk from Oxford Circus. Several treatments genuinely improve how it looks, and the best results come from thinking of it as ongoing care, like a good skincare routine for the body.
Know your type
Which type is yours?
Grade 2
Visible when standing
Dimpling present at rest without pressing. The most commonly presenting stage. Responds beautifully to a combination approach.
Grade 3
Pronounced with laxity
Deeper dimpling with loose skin over it, often after weight change or in the fifties onward. Skin tightening does more here than anything aimed at the fat.
Worse by evening, heaviness
Fluid-related puffiness
Where fluid retention exaggerates the appearance rather than causing it. Lymphatic drainage genuinely helps this component, leaving legs lighter and smoother.
How we assess and treat
Assessment at Regents Park Aesthetics is done standing, because lying down flattens the tissue and hides exactly what we are grading. We look at the area at rest and with the muscle contracted, and we pinch to see how much is fibrous tethering and how much is skin laxity.
We ask about weight trajectory. If you are actively losing weight, treatment is timed for when you reach your goal, because further loss changes both the fat and the skin over it.
And we talk through the outcome before anything is booked. The treatments here soften how cellulite reads by improving the skin above it, and the reward is a noticeable improvement you can see in a photograph. Knowing exactly what to look forward to is why our patients love their results.
Your options
Which treatment for your type of cellulite?
As a guide, this is how we typically match each type to a treatment. Your own plan is always confirmed at consultation, and where a type is best seen by a specialist, your clinician points you to the right door.
Type
Recommended treatment
Why
Pronounced with laxity
Tightens the skin as well as the septae, which dimpling alone does not need
Treatments that address it
| Morpheus8 Body The London favourite, reaching 4mm and tightening skin over the treated area. Ideal where laxity is a significant part of the picture. From £800. | Lymphatic Drainage Reduces the fluid component for a genuine, lighter, smoother look between sessions. A lovely partner to radiofrequency. From £90. | |
|---|---|---|
 |
 |
|
| £800 | £90 | |
| Skin quality at depth | Fluid component | |
| Moderately | Temporarily | |
| 3 | Ongoing | |
| 2 to 3 days | None | |
| Explore Morpheus8 Body | Explore Lymphatic Drainage |
Morpheus8 Body
The London favourite, reaching 4mm and tightening skin over the treated area. Ideal where laxity is a significant part of the picture. From £800.
- £800
- Skin quality at depth
- Moderately
- 3
- 2 to 3 days
Lymphatic Drainage
Reduces the fluid component for a genuine, lighter, smoother look between sessions. A lovely partner to radiofrequency. From £90.
- £90
- Fluid component
- Temporarily
- Ongoing
- None
Can you treat it at home?
A few home habits genuinely help, and they work best alongside clinic treatment.
Caffeine creams cause brief local tightening through vasoconstriction, lasting hours. Retinoid creams used consistently for six months or more gently thicken the skin, which softens the appearance and makes them the best-founded topical choice.
Dry brushing and massage move fluid and improve circulation temporarily. Pleasant, and lovely before an event.
Resistance training genuinely helps, and is the most under-rated thing on this list. Building the muscle underneath fills the area and reduces how much the surface dimples. It also does more for how the leg looks overall than anything in a jar.
Hydration and reducing very high salt intake help the fluid component. Smoking impairs circulation and connective tissue quality, so stopping helps.
Save your money on detox wraps, anti-cellulite supplements and products promising to dissolve fat through the skin, and put it towards the habits above.
Questions, answered
Frequently Asked Questions
Fibrous bands of connective tissue tethering the skin down while fat pushes up between them. Female connective tissue runs in vertical columns which allows this; male tissue runs in a criss-cross lattice which does not, which is why it affects around nine in ten women and almost no men.
Sometimes it improves the appearance. The bands stay in place, which is why slim and very fit women get cellulite too, and why treatment focuses on the skin above them.
Visibly, by treating the skin above it, and the result is kept with maintenance sessions.
Radiofrequency that thickens and tightens the skin over the bands. Morpheus8 is our favourite in London.
Yes. It reduces the fluid component, which genuinely improves the appearance for a lighter, smoother look, and pairs well with radiofrequency for the skin above the bands.
Caffeine creams tighten briefly through vasoconstriction. Retinoid creams gently thicken skin over six months or more, which makes them the best-founded topical choice.
Resistance training genuinely does, and it is the most under-rated thing available. Building the muscle underneath fills the area and reduces how much the surface dimples.
It reduces fat volume, so where a genuine fat pad is contributing, it can refine the contour. The dimpling itself responds to radiofrequency.
Morpheus8 body from £800, lymphatic drainage from £90. We quote a plan.
Three to four for radiofrequency, then maintenance. Regular maintenance keeps the result looking its best.
Yes. Radiofrequency works without targeting pigment, so it suits every skin tone.
Regents Park Aesthetics
Feel like yourself, on a good day.
A medically led clinic where every plan starts with an assessment and every injectable is placed by a medical professional, so the result looks like you on your best day.
Address19 Wimpole Street, London W1G 8GE
Telephone020 7580 4813