If you pride yourself on staying up on the latest aesthetic treatments or always know about the current go-to beauty product, you may have heard about the new FDA-approved injectable for cellulite – QWO. The medicine in QWO has been specifically approved for the treatment of moderate to severe cellulite in the buttocks of adult women. In fact, it’s the first injectable solution to cellulite that has earned that endorsement.
But cellulite is notoriously hard to treat. Cellulite creams don’t really work or their results are temporary. So what about this new treatment? Do cellulite injections work?
Cellulite injections of QWO prescription medicine work because they treat the underlying cause of cellulite by breaking down the fibrous collagen bands that are to blame for cellulite.
The effectiveness of QWO cellulite reduction treatment comes from its ability to treat cellulite below the skin’s surface rather than trying to smooth away cellulite dimples from the top down. To get a clear picture of why QWO works, it’s necessary to understand how cellulite works.
What is cellulite?
What a silly question. Everyone knows that cellulite is dimpled skin, especially a woman’s butt and thighs. In fact, 90% or more of women (and 10% of men) have cellulite. Although cellulite shows up on the surface, it is just the visible result of something happening below the skin – a place creams and other topical solutions can’t reach.
There are three aspects to cellulite – skin laxity, fat, and most important, fibrous bands. It is these bands that connect the skin to the muscle fascia, which is important. But over time, the bands become thicker and denser. They pull down on the skin, and when they do, they cause dimples on the surface and push the fat cells against the skin. It becomes easier to see the unevenness the less firm skin becomes due to the normal aging process.
How to get rid of cellulite
Now that it’s clear that cellulite is a problem below the skin that only appears on the surface, it’s time to consider the best ways for curing cellulite. Any type of topical cellulite solution will only improve the skin laxity issue. Skin may appear temporarily firmer, making cellulite less visible, but the cellulite itself won’t be affected.
Weight loss is sometimes offered as a solution to cellulite, and while it can help decrease the amount of fat in the area, it won’t change the way that fat gets distributed and appears on the surface. That is why even thin women have cellulite – remember it affects 90% of the female population!
While the two solutions offered above won’t get rid of cellulite, cutting the fibrous bands, which are called septae, will. This is one reason that until now, the most successful cellulite treatments have been invasive or surgical. Unless the septae are released, no real or long-term improvement can be made.
Why injectable treatments work
New QWO injections attack cellulite where it starts. Made of the prescription medicine collagenase clostridium histolyticum-aaes enzymes, QWO is injected into the buttocks where it goes to work on those fibrous bands. The enzymes break up the fibrous bands, releasing them and limiting their pull on the skin above. Fat is redistributed, leading to a smoother surface appearance. This minimally invasive treatment even stimulates new collagen growth to improve skin laxity in the treatment area.
For most patients, 12 injections performed in a series provide the best results, but the number of treatments will be determined by your provider. Treatments are spaced about 21 days apart. That means in just two months, cellulite is visibly and truly improved. Best of all, because cellulite injections work by treating the cause, results are long lasting.
Greenwich Medical Spa, a leader in body sculpting treatments for more than a decade, is thrilled to offer QWO injectable treatment for cellulite. Contact us to discuss how QWO can improve your rearview for summer and beyond.