Stage 1:
The first stage of the trial is an induction and stabilisation phase. The participants will be seen on the first visit, the trail explained, and any questions answered. If the participant wishes to proceed, a consent form will be signed and the participant will be measured for the correct size Cell-u-Light product - but the product will NOT be given to the patient until visit 3, to prevent them from trying the product out before the trial stage.
They will then have the assessments performed and recorded. They will be given the time and dates of their next 8 weekly visits.
Visit 2 (end of week one) and visit 3 (end of week 3) will be part of stage 1. The Cell-u-light pants will not be given to the patient until visit 3 to
Stage 2:
The second stage of the trial will begin on the third visit (at the end of week 2) and will last for 4 weeks. Participants will be given the Cell-u-light low-compression apparel to wear and shown the correct method of donning and doffing. They will be instructed to wear them daily for a continuous 8-hour period. Participants can choose which 8 hours suits them best.
Participants will be instructed to remove the apparel a minimum of 2 hours before attending their appointments. This will allow time for small indentations left on the skin surface (caused by the ink-polymer pads) to dissipate, so that imaging and subjective assessments are accurate.
Stage 3:
The final stage will act as a 2 week 'wash-out' period. Participants will stop wearing the Cell-u-light and will have two final appointments at the clinic to record and observe any residual effects of the prior intervention.
Throughout the duration of the study, it will be vital that participants maintain their usual diet and exercise levels to avoid any fluctuations in weight (that may in turn affect the appearance of their cellulite). In this way, the investigators can ensure that any difference is due solely to the effects of Cell-u-Light. To further reduce deviations in weight, lymph abundance, etc. visits to the clinic will be standardised for each volunteer such that each appointment will be at the same time each week.
The trial will be performed in the clinical area in (the CQC registered) Whiteley Clinic. The temperature will be controlled and monitored to be within 20-22 centigrade. Consent for the trial and further usage of images in future publications will be obtained from all participants. \[It will not be possible to ascertain which volunteer is being described from any photography.\]
Participants will undergo non-invasive measurements, medical photographic imaging and scans to assess the following:
* Height - Only needed at the initial visit.
* Weight
* Appearance of cellulite
* Assessment of lymph in the thigh and buttock regions
* Subjective opinion of comfort and ease of donning and doffing of the apparel by participant
* Subjective grading of cellulite by participant
* Objective grading of cellulite by aesthetician
For the subjective grading of each participants' cellulite, the investigators will use the grading system described by Nunberger \& Muller. This consists of 4 grades (0, 1, 2 and 3) as seen below, however, only 3 will be used as Grade 0 is the classification for 'no cellulite present' and therefore, does not fit the purpose of our study.
