Do body wraps really work?

Body wrap, sounds snuggly. For a long time, the treatment has been considered a go-to method for instant weight loss – though it’s reputation may have stayed the same (it’s a short term fix and sweating is the culprit), the benefits of wrapping stretch way beyond your waistline. As usual, the ancient Egyptians are treatment trend-setters, as they were the first to use wraps back in the day. So, what’s the deal? Is it uncomfortable? Is cling film involved? Is the weight loss thing real? We’ve wrapped up all the details, right here (touché).

By Rachel Spedding

• 1 What is a body wrap?

  A body wrap cocoons your whole body in a rich mixture of ingredients (depending on your wrap of choice), to detoxify and smooth skin. You’ll be swaddled from neck to toe in either warm cloths, foil or a linen blanket to keep those nourishing ingredients against your skin. The treatment is believed to help improve arthritis, skin ailments and cellulite, while detox wraps will work to draw out toxins.
• 2 It's exfoliating (and moisturising)

  If you choose a body wrap that includes a scrub, your skin will be thoroughly exfoliated first. Whether the exfoliant is sea salt, pumice, sugar or the like, it will work to remove lurking dead skin from the surface, ready to nourish the fresh skin beneath with moisture. Wrap solutions, regardless of their contents, are always seriously moisturising, so it’s a good treatment to try if dry skin is a concern for you.
• 3 It helps you detox

  Though there’s little research to prove that wraps draw toxins from the body, the ingredients used are a strong argument for it. Seaweed in particular (when combined with seawater and algae) hydrates and refreshes the skin. You may notice an improvement to dry skin patches and acne. If it’s a detox you’re going for, book your wrap for the evening, skip socialising and head straight home to bed. Sleep solves all. Margaritas do not (apparently).
• 4 It's very relaxing

  No one can argue with this one. Like hopping into fresh-smelling bedsheets, a body wrap cocoons you in hydration. If it takes being wrapped up to force you to relax, we’ll do it – since you can’t squeeze your phone between the seaweed. No matter what impact the treatment may have on your skin, or cellulite, the no-brainer benefit of a body wrap, is being forced to lay still with calming music and low-lighting. Although, if you’re claustrophobic, you may need to pass on this one. 
• 5 There are a few different types

  There’s a long list of body wraps (the proof is right here), but the go-to options are: oil, seaweed, mud and infrared (rogue, I know). Seaweed wraps work to refresh and hydrate, oil wraps are ideal for very dry skin, mud works a treat on imperfections, and harbours anti-stress properties to calm your mind as well as your skin. And infrared? That one deserves a special shout out.
• 6 Infrared: what's the deal?

  In this wrap, your clothes are kept on, and infrared-generating silicone pads are strapped around you. Infrared waves break down fats into a liquid form, allowing secretion of body water, toxins and fat through perspiration (fancy word for s-w-e-a-t), the technical word is thermolipolysis. Research does suggest 8 pound weight loss per treatment, but quick fixes are rarely the revolution they seem to be (a little like coke vanilla, good while it lasted). If you’re interested in losing weight, little else beats the old school exercise-eating-well triad.

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