(Ivanhoe Newswire) -- If you’re spending big bucks on new creams and devices to get rid of your cellulite, you may want to take a second look at recent research. Doctors say treatments that work on fat won’t do the trick on its more visible counterpart.

Research shows noninvasive treatments like creams, lasers and injections that work on fat aren’t as effective for cellulite treatment.

“At this point, it’s very early, and we should have a skeptical eye on some of these technologies,” Mathew Avram, M.D., director of the Massachusetts General Hospital Laser and Cosmetic Center in Boston, Mass., told Ivanhoe.

Some treatments, like those involving laser and light, offer temporary removal of cellulite -- but no treatments offer permanent results. Although noninvasive treatments for fat now exist, none are effective on cellulite.

“By removing fat alone, you don’t change the architecture significantly enough to see an improvement in cellulite,” Dr. Avram said.

Dr. Avram says culture has fueled misunderstandings about cellulite which leads to unrealistic expectations of patients seeking to get rid of it.

“A lot of people feel cellulite and fat are the same thing, and they’re not,” Dr. Avram said. “Essentially, cellulite has a lot to do with the differences in the skin architecture between men and women.”

Experts anticipate effective combined fat and cellulite treatments to emerge in the near future. Radiofrequency devices, cold treatments called cryolipolysis and new laser treatments are among the possibilities. For now, Dr. Avram said it’s important to ask questions and be skeptical when it comes to cellulite removal techniques.

SOURCE: Ivanhoe interview with Mathew Avram, M.D.; presented at the American Society of Dermatologic Surgery Annual Meeting, Nov. 6-9, 2008, Orlando, Fla.