Surveys show that 9 out of 10 women have cellulite someplace on the body. The usual places include the thighs and the buttocks. Cellulite isn’t fickle; we see it on women who are 20+ pounds over their ideal weight, and we see it on women that could generally be described as fit. There is no rhyme or reason to this condition, so we’ve stopped trying to figure it out. Instead, where researchers have started devoting energy is in the development of clinically-significant cellulite treatments. Efforts into research and development have led to exciting advances. In our NYC office, Dr. Sobel treats cellulite with a new FDA-approved injectable, QWO™. We’ll introduce you to it here.
What Causes Cellulite?
To understand how QWO or any other cellulite treatment works, it is necessary to know what causes the dimples on the skin. For some time, it was believed that fat was the problem. This is true to some extent but not completely. If cellulite were a fat problem alone, it would be an easy fix with diet and exercise. The real factor that contributes to cellulite is the structural makeup of a woman’s connective tissue and skin. Yes, women. Men rarely get cellulite because the structure of their skin and fascia are different.
Cellulite appears because the fibrous connective bands under the skin act like vertical bars. Fat cells can get trapped in between them. Pockets of fat between the fibrous septae press up against the skin while the bands pull inward against the fat. The result? Cottage cheese or orange-peel skin.
What is QWO and How Does It Work?
Now that we know what causes cellulite, we know what to target. QWO is the first injectable to target the fibrous bands that pull on the skin. It has been approved for use in the buttocks, where it breaks down the fibrous bands via an enzyme reaction. This reaction is stimulated by the active ingredient collagenase clostridium histolyticum.
QWO™ works in three ways to improve the appearance of cellulite:
- It breaks down targeted fibrous bands that pull the skin
- By breaking up the bands, it allows fat cells to disperse naturally across the buttocks
- It stimulates collagen production, which helps maintain optimal skin thickness
Results from QWO injectable cellulite treatment take some time to develop. Treatment is scheduled over the course of three sessions scheduled three weeks apart. About a week after the final session, so about 10 weeks from the time treatment commenced, the visible signs of cellulite start to fade. From that point, the results seem as though they could last indefinitely. To confirm this will take data from long-term studies. Because QWO is so new, it is hard to tell how many years the results will last.
Are you ready for an easier way to eliminate cellulite? Contact us today to schedule your consultation for QWO injections.