Minimize your cellulite: get firmer thighs in eight weeks - bodycare

Natural Health, April, 2002

THERE ARE NO MIRACLE CURES for cellulite, but if you use the right essential oils--and eat a low-fat diet and exercise three times a week--you can lessen its appearance in eight weeks, says Joan Apter, a Woodstock, N.Y.-based aromatherapist.

Cellulite develops when excess weight, poor circulation, or water retention weakens the connective tissue beneath your skin. When this tissue breaks down, fat pushes against your skin, forming dimples.

Apter recommends two essential oil fixes: a massage oil and a bath. Both recipes call for oils that enhance your circulation and help eliminate retained water, among other actions. To make the massage oil, combine in a bottle 1/2 cup massage oil (like jojoba) and 5 drops of each of the following essential oils: grapefruit (Citrus paradisi), cypress (Cupressus sempervirens), juniper (Juniperus communis), and clary sage (Salvia sclarea). Shake well and massage onto moist skin daily (just after a shower is ideal).

For the bath, mix 5 drops juniper essential oil, 3 drops cypress essential oil, 3 drops orange essential oil (Citrus sinensis), 3 drops lemon essential oil (Citrus limon), and 1 tablespoon honey. Add the mixture to a tub filled with warm water. Take a 20-minute soak once a week. --L.E.