Does this scrub actually reduce cellulite, or does it only improve how the skin looks?

It is important to understand this correctly before buying: no scrub, including this one, changes the fat structure under the skin that causes cellulite. What a scrub like this can do is improve the look and feel of the skin surface in the areas where cellulite is most visible — thighs, hips, buttocks and upper arms.

Three things contribute to that visual effect:

• Mechanical smoothing. Cane sugar and sea salt remove the build-up of dead surface cells, so light reflects more evenly and skin feels less rough and bumpy to the touch.
• Massage. The act of massaging the scrub in stimulates the skin surface and microcirculation, which gives a temporary fresher, more toned appearance.
• Caffeine and chlorogenic acid from the ground arabica coffee — components valued in body cosmetics precisely for this temporary tightening, "more awake" look of the skin during and after massage.

The effect is cumulative in the sense that regularly polished, well-conditioned skin simply looks smoother than neglected skin, but it is temporary in the sense that stopping use returns the skin to its baseline. If your goal is a real reduction in cellulite, the scrub works best as a supporting step alongside movement, hydration and general body care — not as a standalone solution. If your goal is softer, more even-looking skin before summer, self-tan or an event, that is exactly the job this product is designed for.