“A real injustice”: why do men (almost) not have cellulite?

Cellulite, which appears on the skin as an orange peel effect, affects most women and much less frequently men. A specialist explains

A thought overheard by a pool on a beautiful, hot summer day: "Frankly, it's a real injustice that men don't have cellulite ," grumbles a young woman. "Besides, why don't they have any?" With about nine out of ten women having or will have cellulite in their lives, the question is indeed worth asking.

A specialist in aesthetic medicine in Bouscat, near Bordeaux, Dr. Virginie Knaëbel knows the subject well. To understand the origins of this "injustice" between women and men, it's important to first understand what cellulite is and how it forms.

On the same subject

Cellulite, a female problem

Lipodystrophy, that's its real name. But it's better known as cellulite or dimpling. It involves engorged fat cells in the deep layer of the skin called the hypodermis, which gives the thigh, buttock, or leg an orange-peel appearance. With an unsightly effect.

The phenomenon begins in the deepest part of the skin, the hypodermis. This is where adipocytes are located, cells responsible for storing fat, positioned next to each other. "They have a particular arrangement in women," explains Virginie Knaëbel. "They are perpendicular to the skin and partition the fat lobules." In the case of weight gain, these adipocytes, trapped by "connective fibrous partitions" that are not very extensible, increase in volume perpendicular to the skin, thus causing this "orange peel appearance" on the surface of the epidermis, that is to say, a little bumpy, irregular," continues the doctor.

In men, the arrangement of these "partitions" is different: "The fibrous trabeculae are organized to be more solid and less perpendicular," explains Virginie Knaëbel. "They are not parallel to the skin but have an architecture that is more supportive than partitioning." The result: when adipocytes increase in volume, they are better distributed under the skin and do not cause this orange peel effect.

Why does cellulite form? There are multiple factors: "There are hormones, genetics, lifestyle, i.e., diet or a sedentary lifestyle, and from the age of fifty, there is also a phenomenon of sagging skin that can exacerbate cellulite. So, weight isn't the only factor," notes the doctor.

If women are the first victims, it's also because their body fat is greater than that of men (25% versus 15%). Why? "In women, the distribution of fat is designed to support a pregnancy," summarizes the doctor. "That's why it's on the thighs and buttocks; these are storage fats, whereas in men, there is more muscle mass due to testosterone."

So, finally, can men get cellulite? "It can happen," the specialist smiles. "I've seen men who have it on their thighs, but it's rare and less visible because their skin is thicker." Cellulite in men is usually found on the arms and abdominal area. According to some estimates, which are difficult to verify, cellulite affects around 2% of men.