How to Gauge the Severity of Your Cellulite

Every woman with cellulite always seems to think they have the worse possible case. I hear them say this day in and day out.

Doctor, my cellulite is the worst you have ever seen. I want to respond by saying, if you knew how to do a self exam, you would not think so, but it is one of those things you do not say to patients.

As the Cellulite Viewing Season approaches, it is important to understand the severity of cellulite and how to perform a self examination. There are four grades of cellulite and it is easy to grade yourself during the self examination. One needs to become familiar with the Pinch Test. Using the thumb and index finger grab about two inches of skin and fat, squeeze your fingers together and lift. If you see the appearance of cottage cheese skin, then cellulite is present.

Grade 0: No visible cellulite while standing and a negative pinch test.

Grade 1: No visible cellulite while standing, but the pinch test is positive.

Grade 2: There is visible cellulite while standing, and it disappears with lying down.

Grade3: There is visible cellulite while standing and laying down. I refer to this as terminal cellulite because it is difficult to treat.

Celebrity Cellulite or Functional cellulite: This is cellulite which appears or becomes worse with sitting cross legged, turning, bending, walking and running.

During your cellulite examination stand straight with legs slightly apart and look at your thighs while only turning the neck. If you perform any of the above maneuvers during your examination, you will increase the severity of what you see by bringing out the functional cellulite.

Now that you know how to grade cellulite, you donï¿1/2t have to spend time complaining about how terrible your legs appear.

Dr. Lionel Bissoon
Author, The Cellulite Cure
www.cellulite.md