Women Have Different Bands

X-Shaped Bands

Fibrous bands bind the skin to deeper tissues such as fascia or muscle. In men, these bands run perpendicular to the skin. But in women, these fibers are crosses, like Xs. A good way to envision this is to picture a whole series of Xs under the
skin. The part of the X that is attached to the skin traps fat. The fat can’t go anywhere, and pushes up on the skin. But those two little bands are tough and won’t stretch. They then pull the skin down and have a tufting effect on the skin and the fat.

Another way to look at this is there is a 23 day cycle of birth, growth and death that begins in the dermis (or lower layer of the skin). When new cells are born, they are round and filled with fluid. As they make their way toward the surface of the skin,
they lose fluid, becoming more elongated and flat.

Once the cells reach the outer layer of the skin, they fall off as a result of washing, rubbing etc. Now as I mentioned above, the dermis consists of very elastic fibers. Remember, they are shaped like Xs in women. These fibers give the skin resilience or bounce. Within these fibers are the glands which produce sebum, which is a fatty substance secreted from the sebaceous glands. Most of these glands open into hair follicles.

These glands also produce the body’s moisturizer, sweat glands, blood vessels, and nerve endings. Each of them is dependent on a healthy dermis functioning properly. When a build up of dead cells clogs the dermis and sweat becomes trapped beneath the skin this causes the accumulation of fat, thus bulging occurs beneath the skin.

Why Don’t Men Have Cellulite?

The reason men typically do not have cellulite is simply because of the way the fibers within their dermis are shaped. They aren’t crossed, they are perpendicular to the skin, and so a build up of sweaty fat beneath the skin never takes place. Not only are the fibrous bands in women crossed, but they tend to be much tighter than men’s which causes a pulling on the skin and ends up causing the actual dimpling effect.

Another reason that men tend to not accumulate cellulite is because they have tougher skin corium (dermis) which doesn’t allow a build up of fat to collect. Men therefore have smoother, tighter skin than women do. Another factor is hormonal.

Estrogen rev up fat storage as needed for menstruation and pregnancy. Plus, in the late stages of pregnancy estrogen can actually break collagen tissue fibers apart, which is a crucial step in relaxing the cervix for childbirth. Ladies, I’m sorry to say this but all of this sets up a major breeding for cellulite. Progesterone, also found in women, plays a role by stressing out your veins, making you retain fluid and causing you to put on the pounds.