Body Wraps for Cellulite Reduction: Do Body Wraps Really Work As Advertised?

• Tweet
• Sharebar

• Tweet

Many spas and beauty salons offer a treatment called body wrapping. Body wraps are non-surgical treatment that promises to tighten your skin, reduce cellulite, eliminate toxins, and even help you lose a couple of inches after a single session.

The process includes the use of special wraps or clothing and can be applied with special lotions or creams that are applied to the skin. Customers are usually told that they can lose “inches” as opposed to “pounds” and that fat will “melt away” bringing about a loss of inches in about an hour.

Who can resist ads for body wraps that promise “to burn away fat even while you sleep,” to “lose 3-6 inches the first day?” What woman wouldn’t love to find a product that will render them slim and trim without the need for exercise or dieting?

What are body wraps really?

Some are plastic or rubber garments worn around the waist, hips and thighs, and others cover nearly the entire body. Some are applied at beauty salons, others can be worn at home while carrying out routine activities, while exercising, and even while sleeping. Some are inflated with air from a vacuum cleaner, others use an electric hair dryer to blow in warm air. Some are used after a cream, gel or lotion is applied or after the wrap is soaked in a solution.

Some people have tried using “plastic wrap” as body wrap material. In fact, that used to be a popular practice several decades ago. Body wrapping has evolved since those days, becoming much more sophisticated. Prices for a body wrap range anywhere from $40 an hour up to as much as several thousand dollars at some of the upscale spas.

The treatment may start with taking measurements from various areas around your body, including waist, abdomen, buttocks, hips, thighs, knees, calves, thigh, and forearms. You may then be covered with a mineral salt and clay paste and wrapped tightly from ankle to neck in warm cotton bandages pre-soaked in a mineral salt and clay solution. The salt and clay mix exfoliates the old dead skin and draws out tissue waste.  Seaweed, mud and herbal wraps are also popular options.

Herbs can be fresh or dried and usually organically grown is best. Each herb has a specific effect. Some increase circulation, another may soothe the skin and so on. The herbs are steeped in very hot water (almost boiling) then special muslin sheets are soaked in the solution, and these herb-infused sheets along with other insulating layers are wrapped around the body.

Most often, you will be wrapped from neck to toe with the arms set close to the sides of the body. This can be uncomfortable for someone who suffers from claustrophobia. The easiest correction for this is to keep the arms free from the wrap.

Body wraps are said to reduce body dimensions by removing fluids and/or toxins from the body. The goal is to create a condition not unlike your body when you have a fever. When we have a fever, our body eliminates toxins by sweating. It’s the same principle with body wraps. Some people report a very intense detoxification while for others it might be mild.

This detoxification process is what actually causes the inches to be lost as it tightens and firms the skin. The wrap helps to compact the soft body tissues and sculpt the body’s contours. That’s why you lose inches but don’t actually lose any weight.

Medical experts agree that such treatment will cause a loss of inches and perhaps pounds due to profuse perspiration. However, the reductions are only temporary. The fluid is soon replaced by drinking or eating. Keep in mind that rapid and excessive fluid loss is potentially dangerous because it can bring on severe dehydration and can upset the balance of important electrolytes in the body. Reputable spas are aware of any potential hazards such as this, so do your homework and select a spa with a good reputation.

Selecting the spa

Whatever type of body wrap you select make certain that you feel comfortable with the spa and that a technician is always close at hand. Care should be taken when selecting a salon or spa. Some things to consider:

• How long have they been offering body wraps?
• Do they have a licensed clinician whose sole purpose is massage and/or body wraps?
• Where do their herbs and other contents come from?
• Will they allow a tour of their facilities prior to signing up for the procedure?
• Have they had any unresolved complaints reported by the Better Business Bureau?
• Do they have any package pricing for multiple visits?

You may want to talk to your friends if they have had a body wrapping experience, whether they enjoyed it and what kind of results they experienced. You may even want to check for “two for one” specials and try it out with a friend!

Body Wrap Results: Does it work?

Some advertising claims that body wrapping will eliminate, or at the least reduce, cellulite but I’ll leave that up to you to determine. Whether or not you will see permanent reduction in your cellulite is doubtful.

However, you will most likely lose a few inches here and there (even, if just for a few days), and you will feel altogether healthier and revitalized. The results are terrific motivation to stick to a healthier diet and to maintain a regular exercise program in a bid to keep those extra inches at bay.

So, if you have an event this weekend and need to fit into a dress that is too tight – then you may want to give body wraps a try, even if the cellulite reduction is only temporary.

Read more in How to Get Rid of Cellulite main page and my posts: Get Rid of Cellulite the Old-fashioned way, Killer Cellulite Exercises For Your Legs and Butt, and Top Hamstring Exercises for Cellulite Removal.

Incoming search terms:

• cellulite reduction body wrap
• body wraps for cellulite reduction
• body wrap for cellulite reduction
• Cellulite Reducing Body Wrap
• cellulite reduction body wraps
• cellulite reducing body wraps
• body wraps to reduce cellulite
• body wraps and cellulite reduction
• do body wraps really work cellulite
• celulite reduction body wrap