The word "cellulite" (pronounced cell-u-leet) was first used in European beauty salons in the early 1900's to describe the bumpy looking fat on women's thighs and buttocks.

Although cellulite does not appear in any medical dictionary, some people theorize that it is different to ordinary fat and thus requires extraordinary treatments. However, these people are usually owners of beauty salons or entrepreneurs who manufacture special cellulite products, both of whom are willing to exploit the gullibility of the public in order to make money.

Nicole Ronsard, a New York beauty salon owner, popularized the cellulite theory in 1973 with her best-selling book titled Cellulite: Those Lumps, Bumps and Bulges You Couldn't Lose Before. According to the theory, cellulite is a combination of fat, water and toxic wastes. The connective tissues holding the fat cells just beneath the skin's surface accumulate water and waste products that aren't properly eliminated by the liver, kidneys or intestinal tract.

These connective tissues then supposedly harden and combine with fat and water to form pockets of a gel-like substance - cellulite - that bulges out to produce the characteristic "orange peel" appearance on the skin.

In short - no. There is absolutely no medical evidence that the connective tissue of the fat cells is exposed to toxins as a result of the liver or other organs not functioning properly. Any person retaining wastes or toxins would be very ill and could die of not treated. It is a distortion of science to present cellulite as a disorder of the liver, and by confused association, of the kidneys, intestines and skin.

Furthermore, studies confirm that cellulite is not a special type of fat. There is no biochemical or structural difference between the fat from cellulite areas and common fat. Whether you call it cellulite or any other name, it is still plain old fat!