When I want to fight cellulite

My story

We’ve just planned a trip to Mayotte (land of ylang-ylang), and now I’m starting to stress: I’m not going to wear shorts and a bathing suit with legs like that! Lack of exercise has let it reappear, the enemy of (almost) all of us, that damned cellulite… So I’m going back to the little routine I set up a few years ago, when I still took the time to do it, to try and limit that “orange peel” skin. A bit of sport (I’ve now taken up the footbike, a kind of scooter with big wheels, less “traumatic” than jogging), and juniper hydrosol, a real ally in the fight against cellulite and water retention.

My tip

I know there’s no magic formula for getting rid of cellulite for good, but it can be reduced. To do this, I try to strengthen my muscles a little, especially in my legs, which helps to correct the orange-peel appearance somewhat. The ideal way to do this is with endurance sports, which not only strengthen the muscles but also burn some fat if you do them for more than 45 minutes. Cycling, Nordic walking, swimming and aquagym are well suited to this.
At the same time, I take juniper hydrolate internally, at a rate of one tablespoon 3 times a day, diluted in a glass of water. In the evening, I massage the “unsightly” areas to promote toxin elimination and blood circulation, and thus reduce cellulite. To do this, I prepare an emulsion in a 100 ml bottle, mixing 30 ml calophylla vegetable oil (draining) and 30 ml juniper hydrosol. I shake the bottle to emulsify the aqueous and fatty phases, and use this preparation in a “palpate-and-roll” massage on the thighs, for about fifteen minutes.

What does phytotherapy have to say?

Cellulite is due to the excessive development of adipocytes (fat cells) stored under the skin tissue, which deform it, giving the skin an “orange peel” appearance. Cellulite almost exclusively affects women, and the vast majority of them. To treat it, we use diuretic, draining, depurative, circulatory or lipolytic (“fat-burning”) plants. Juniper, with its diuretic, detoxifying and depurative actions, is ideally suited to and frequently used in anti-cellulite treatments. It is often combined with more circulatory plants such as cypress, immortelle (helichrysum) or peppermint, as well as sage for its lipolytic properties.

Did you know?

The term “cellulite” is commonly used to designate “orange peel skin”. This has nothing to do with another category of cellulite, infectious cellulite, an etymologically more correct medical term for severe inflammation of the skin, turning red in places

I use hydrolats with total SAFETY

Juniper is above all a diuretic plant. As a precaution, oral use is not recommended in cases of renal insufficiency. However, juniper hydrosol can be safely rubbed into the skin to combat orange-peel skin and slim the figure.

JUNIPERUS COMMUNIS Juniper

Native to Europe, juniper is a prickly shrub found at altitudes of up to 2,500 m. Its berries ripen in the second year. In the 16th century, juniper berries were considered a panacea, a universal antidote. It was said that if you ate a juniper berry every day, you’d be spared the disease. Today, the berries are used for their diuretic and aperitive virtues, in addition to their nutritional qualities. The aroma released by distillation of the berries and young twigs is sweet, woody and slightly fruity. Juniper is composed mainly of mono and sesquiterpenes, hence its diuretic, ex-pectorant and bronchial antiseptic, aperitive, digestive, antirheumatic and analgesic properties.