I Love My Cellulite: How I Rebelled Against The Beauty Industry
You have so much to offer the world and how your dimpled skin looks in a bikini shouldn't matter.
Oneinchpunch / Shutterstock By Anna Laura Herndon
I love my cellulite. That’s right... I love my cellulite!
With summer in full swing, I find myself in bathing suits and shorts quite often. It wasn’t always this way, though. I used to hate the lumpiness, the texture, and the fat.
So, what changed? My mindset, because you can’t change cellulite.
I’ll leave it up to you as to whether you want to love every part of you. If you’re not quite ready, that’s okay too.
By educating myself on the topic, I found I was far from alone. After all, 90 percent of women have cellulite!
Here are 3 reasons it’s okay to accept your cellulite.
1. Size doesn’t matter!
Women (and men!) of all body types have cellulite.
Cellulite doesn’t care if you work out 5 times a week or if you’re binging “Bridgerton” on Netflix. It’s actually about connective tissue.
Why is connective tissue different? It’s like a mesh fence and you’re pushing a cushy ball through it. Parts of that ball will bulge through the fencing. That, my dear, is all cellulite is.
2. We can’t cure cellulite.
I recently lost over 40 pounds on a Keto diet. While those 40 pounds disappeared, my cellulite did not.
Plastic surgeons and dermatologists can temporarily decrease the appearance of cellulite to some degree, but those procedures can cost thousands. All for what? To have smooth skin?
Even celebrities have cellulite. Demi Lovato calls it celluLIT.
3. One word — hormones.
Shocker of the day! Hormones play a part in whether we have dimpled skin or not.
After the onset of puberty, our bodies simply hold onto more fat. You can blame estrogen for that! While we enjoy the growth of having more curves, the prospect for cellulite comes with that.
So by now you might be wondering with the advances of science and technology, why can’t we just fix it? We can’t fix what isn’t broken.
There’s nothing wrong with cellulite.
Patriarchal standards set by the beauty industry treat women’s bodies like a trend. One year, thin is in and models like Kate Moss become the go-to. The next, the J.Lo booty is in, then the Kardashians are on the scene and thick girls are in (as long as we only have extra weight in our booties and breasts).
You are beautiful. You aren’t perfect and I find that absolutely stunning. How very boring it would be if we all looked the same!
You have so much to offer the world and how your dimpled skin looks in a bikini shouldn’t matter. Together, we can make it not matter! By not giving in to every beauty trend, we show the beauty industry where the true power lies — within ourselves.
I love my dimples and stretch marks. Most importantly, I love myself. And I’m a rebel for doing so.
So come on, beautiful, I dare you to love yourself and all the pieces that come with you, even if they are a little dimpled.
Anna Laura Herndon is a writer, advocate, and creator of Rants of a Virgo, an essay site. She writes about love, relationships, LGBTQ+ issues, and current events. Visit her author profile on Unwritten.