The term was first used in the 1920s by spa and beauty services to promote their services, and began appearing in English language publications in the late 1960s, with the earliest reference in Vogue magazine, "Like a swift migrating fish, the word cellulite has suddenly crossed the Atlantic
The word cellulite began to appear in English publications in the late 1960s, with the earliest mention in Vogue (15 April 1968). Nobody worried about cellulite before, nobody even heard of it, but once it was mentioned in Vogue the word spread like wildfire.
the prevailing medical opinion is that cellulite is a normal condition between women and is not a disorder at all. Cellulite is nothing more than fat. If you are overweight, you can lose extra weight, reducing the appearance of cellulite. If you don’t have any extra weight, you can try this one thing that works for sure by making your skin more taut and smooth.
Cellulite" has always existed, although women only recently declared war on it. As French historian Georges Vigarello underlines in his book, A History of Beauty, “Cellulite stems from […], a culture of examination [of the body], which more than before confronts destitution and decay.” Stroll along the alleys of an art museum, and you become aware of this evolution. For instance, at the Prado in Madrid, Peter Paul Rubens aestheticizes orange peel skin in his painting “The Three Graces.” When it was painted in the 17th century, this masterpiece showcased a beauty ideal.
Even the word “cellulite” is rather recent: it was invented in France at the end of the 19th century. Its first appearance dates back from 1873, in the French medical dictionary Littré & Robin. Cellulite is described as “the inflammation of the cell tissue or laminate tissue.” But doctors during this time period “used this term to denote something different,” notes Rossella Ghigi, an associate professor at the University of Bologna. About fifteen years ago, while she studied in Paris, Ghigi wrote her thesis on the history of cellulite—one of the few studies on this subject.