A slew of treatments promise to help you get rid of lumps and bumps.

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Many questions continue to shroud the multi-injection pharmaceutical and herbal cocktail known as mesotherapy, or lipodissolve, which is touted as a fat-melting, cellulite-curing, youth-restoring treatment.

Mesotherapy is a concept — not a specific drug. It is simply a mixture of vitamins, herbs and drugs, typically in a soy-lecithin base, injected into the middle layer of skin.

While some of the medications in a mesotherapy mix may be approved by the Food and Drug Administration, they are used far off label, and soy lecithin, a key ingredient in most mesotherapy mixes, is not FDA-approved in the United States for any use.

Phosphatidylcholine, a liver drug used in mesotherapy, is considered so dangerous to healthy individuals that it has been banned in Brazil.

The popularity of mesotherapy is growing, despite the questions and a lack of standards for treatment. However, there may be a valid conclusion about mesotherapy in the not-so-far future: The Aesthetic Surgery Education and Research Foundation, a research arm of the American Society for Aesthetic Plastic Surgery, has undertaken the first FDA-sanctioned study of mesotherapy. This study is the first step in determining if mesotherapy works and if it is primarily safe.

TriActive and VelaSmooth

Although there is no cure for cellulite, there are treatments available that can diminish its appearance. The latest FDA-approved noninvasive treatments for cellulite are VelaSmooth and TriActive. These treatments can help smooth the appearance of the lumps and bumps associated with cellulite thanks to the combination of light-based energy and mechanical massage. Recommended as a series of one or two weekly treatments over one to two months, results can be unpredictable and follow-up treatments are necessary to maintain results.

First approved treatment

Widely available at both spas and doctors' offices, Endermologie was the first FDA-approved treatment for cellulite. This noninvasive, deep massage method, which began in France in the 1980s and came to the United States in 1991, uses suction to pull up the skin and knead it between rollers. The action is said to loosen the fibrous bands that cause cellulite and to disperse lumps and bumps into a smooth layer. It takes about 12 weekly treatments to get maximum results, and maintenance treatments are necessary to sustain results.

Based on a long-standing acne-scar treatment, subcision was developed in 1997 by a Brazilian dermatologist. Your dermatologist or plastic surgeon can insert a specially designed needle under the skin to release the fibrous bands that contribute to cellulite. The procedure is performed under local anesthesia, but there is post-operative pain and bruising, as well as a risk of possible scarring, infection and contour irregularities. While results are not 100 percent predictable, they are permanent.