Can Spa Body Wraps Help you to lose Inches?
Almost a year ago I was mindlessly stuck in traffic on the freeway in rush hour hoping to get anywhere else and I caught the end of the “call now” signal on the radio and grabbed my cell phone. Hoping to win concert tickets or a restaurant gift certificate, I ended up being caller #10 and won something I had never heard of: a body wrap. After looking up the spa’s website, the featured wrap that I had won—all $120 worth—is not a dehydrating wrap that makes you lose water weight, but one that is supposed to wrap away your inches, tighten your cellulite, and infuse your body with nutrients. Although still skeptical, it was free so I made an appointment. Little did I know wraps are sweeping the nation as a natural way to tone your body and give your mind and skin a confidence boost.
Herbal body wraps may seem superficial but they have actually been used for decades for uses like releasing muscle tension and providing a calming effect and some massage therapy technicians are also trained in the art of the body wrap. Some body wraps are clay or mud and act as more of a strengthening mask for the body to soften the skin and reduce swelling, blemishes, rough patches, redness, or inflammation. However, most of the body wraps being offered today are full of herbs and extracts aimed at filling the skin with nutrients and pulling out the toxins for a refreshing feel.
My wrap is the latter; long cloth strips dipped in warm water and nutrients applied tightly to the body. Hundreds of women flock to these places looking for that miracle inch loss that still allows them to eat anything and skip the walking groups during their lunch hour. Not knowing what to expect, I walked in with a bathing suit under my clothes, no makeup, and dirty pulled-back hair, hoping to see more of the same. Instead I was met with women in their 30s and 40s wearing stilettos and designer clothes in the middle of the day, faces full of makeup, waiting to get their cellulite squished.
I was escorted behind a curtain with a girl who could have been in high school and she took my measurements, assured me that I would lose ten inches over the next hour, and started wrapping me like a mummy. I was doused with more water and nutrients after all the bandages were applied and my feet, hands, and hair were bagged with shower caps held on by rubber bands—in order to “catch” the toxin-filled water that will be seeping out of my skin.
The real catch to the healing power of the wrap is exercise. In order for the wrap to be most beneficial, you can barely move but are placed on a walking machine to move your legs, with the option to use a trampoline. Every fifteen minutes your name is called to get doused with more nutrients and aside from feeling like a mummy trapped in an aquarium—almost immediately after you start moving the bags start to fill with water that swishes around your hands and feet constantly—you stop being cold for a few seconds. For a whole hour you are asked to move without stopping except for the re-dousing periods and if you can get past the fact that your fingers feel like raisins maybe you can enjoy the movie put on for your entertainment and motivation. I got to watch most of My Cousin Vinny which was a treat because I had not seen it in a while, but as soon as I was unwrapped and I could breathe I felt like I had spent the day at a water park, as this body treatment is definitely not attractive and I did not feel sexy.
With a guarantee of ten inches of loss, my caretaker measured me again and unfortunately I had only lost just over six inches across my entire body. My caretaker assured me that as I was younger than the demographic the wraps appeal to and I also do not have the ideal body type for this treatment to work efficiently. The guarantee held up and because my first wrap was already free due to the radio station, I received another free wrap. The good news is that I was sent home with an empty stomach and a big bottle of water and—to my surprise—a new level of confidence. I was supposed to keep losing throughout the weekend and did not notice a huge change or great inch loss anywhere specific except that my fresh-from-the-dryer jeans were not as snug and my smile was a little bigger.
I have yet to go back for my second complimentary wrap because I am waiting for a special occasion to use it; however, I will be trying yet again to wrap away my unwanted inches. It is good to remember that natural herbal body wraps use minerals and amino acids but are not a mixture of fairy dust and magical weight loss cures. I now believe that herbal body wraps are a bit of liquid courage poured into the skin and soaked up like a sponge eagerly hoping the patient goes back into the world with a brighter smile, a higher head, and a body that exudes happiness and pride.
Adding Eminence body wraps to the services roster of Me Day Spa is exciting for us 
