Does it Work?Unsure if the latest product or service lives up to it's claims? From popular products to the latest scams, discuss it here before you buy!
Has anyone tried these, and know if these things really work? I see them everywhere, and at all the spas. They wrap you really tight in this absorbant stuff, and it is supposed to absorb the toxins from your body. They guarantee 9-30 inches in the first visit, and they say the results are permanent, unless you gain weight.
I've never had one done, but I've heard of them and I know the mechanism behind them. They basically make you lose water by drawing it out of your skin - the the wrap creates a hypertonic environment around you, so naturally you lose inches, and it probably takes off some dead or almost dead skin cells by dehydrating them so they slough off better. Obviously they don't make you lose fat, just water, but their claim is correct - yes, it's permanent as long as you don't gain weight - but you have to gain water weight after you've been wrung dry, don't you?
Basically the skin is a selectively permeable membrane, and very few substances can pass in, and especially out - you can't remove any significant amount of toxins from your body through the skin. I have yet to see even one peer reviewed, replicated study that proves otherwise. Toxins in the body are processed by the liver and kidneys and usually eliminated, but some heavy metal toxins can build up in the body. Even still, they settle in areas where there are the most lipids present - it lessens the likelihood of them getting into blood and causing systemic problems, its your body's way of protecting you - so they're found in small quantities in the liver and fat tissue, sometimes in the brain if they can pass the blood-brain barrier. Most people don't have toxin levels that would cause them any problems, and they certainly don't put any weight on you unless they reach levels toxic enough to affect your metabolism and that is highly unlikely unless you work or live in an area where you are constantly exposed or have been slowly poisoned by that crazy woman next door. So toxins are stored basically in fatty tissue, and yes, fat lies under the skin, but there's a matrix of fibrous connective tissue that separates the two, not to mention as I said the skin's selective permeability. Water, certain synthetic drugs and protein-based chemicals can get through into the skin, but it's very selective about what gets out - basically just water and oils along with a some ions come out in the form of sweat and the amount of toxins that can exit is minimal.
Bottom line - if you have a reunion or other special event coming up, getting this done a day or so before could have you down a size to fit into that sexy red dress, but its hardly permanent and could be dangerous if you ingest alcohol, caffeine, or other diuretics directly before or after the wrap. If you want a quick fix for something special and smooth skin to boot, by all means get it done - but you could get the same effect by soaking in a tub of saltwater and scrubbing yourself raw. If I were you I'd take the cheaper option and save my money for that sexy red dress
Vanessa's right - it's hardly permanent. I can't believe that salons that provide wraps get away with saying all that crap. Like I stated earlier today in the "infrared sauna" thread, anytime a promise is made to 'detoxify' the body, I KNOW it's crap.
The term "cellulite" is often used to describe deposits of dimpled fat found on the thighs and buttocks of many women.
It is alleged to be a special type of "fat gone wrong," a combination of fat, water, and "toxic wastes" that the body has failed to eliminate.
It's important to know that "Cellulite" is not a medical term. Medical authorities agree that cellulite is simply ordinary fatty tissue. Strands of fibrous tissue connect the skin to deeper tissue layers and also separate compartments that contain fat cells. When fat cells increase in size, these compartments bulge and produce a waffled appearance of the skin.
Many years ago, Neil Solomon, M.D., conducted a double-blind study of 100 people to see whether cellulite differed from ordinary fat. Specimens of regular fat and lumpy fat were obtained by a needle biopsy procedure and given to pathologists for analysis and comparison. No difference between the two was found.
More recently, researchers at Rockefeller Institute used ultrasonography, microscopic examinations, and fat-metabolism studies to see "affected" and unaffected skin areas differed in seven healthy adult subjects (five women, two men; four affected, three unaffected). The researchers concluded: (a) certain characteristics of skin make women more prone than men to develop cellulite; (b) the process is diffuse rather than localized; and (3) there were no significant differences in the appearance or function of the fatty tissue or the regional blood flow between affected and unaffected sites within individuals.
Alleged "anti-cellulite" products have included "loofah" sponges; cactus fibers; special washcloths; horsehair mitts; creams and gels to "dissolve" cellulite; supplements containing vitamins; minerals and/or herbs; bath liquids; massagers; rubberized pants; exercise books; brushes; rollers; body wraps; and toning lotions. Many salons offer treatment with electrical muscle stimulation, vibrating machines, inflatable hip-high pressurized boots, "hormone" or "enzyme" injections, heating pads, and massage. None of these actually work.
Many salons and spas claim that body wraps or garments can trim inches off the waist, hips, thighs, and other areas of the body. The wraps -- with or without a special lotion or cream applied to the skin-- may be applied to parts of the body or to the entire body. Clients are typically assured that fat will "melt away" and they can lose "up to 2 inches from those problem areas in just one hour."
Suddenly Slender, which franchises body-wrap shops in the United States and Canada, claims that "wrapping works because cellulite is water-logged fatty tissue." Home-use wrapping systems are also marketed, often with a claim that they can "remove toxins." Some marketers suggest measuring a large number of body areas before and afterward and adding up the differences to get "total inches lost." Life Force International, for example, advises users to add the results of 17 measurements. This enables minor changes due to temporary effects or to measurement variations to appear to be large numbers.
The bottom line is very simple: No body wrap can cause selective reduction of an area of the body. Although wrapping may cause temporary water loss as a result of perspiration or compression, any fluid will soon be replaced by drinking or eating. The idea that herbal wraps detoxify the body is absurd.
so does clay act like a big liver/kidney on the outside of your body to detox you? I hope all my organs are working properly It's permanent - as long as you don't gain weight
so does clay act like a big liver/kidney on the outside of your body to detox you?
Yes, as a matter of fact I'm working on a groundbreaking procedure that will replace damaged livers with herbal clays to cleanse from inside the body - after all, nature has no idea what it's doing and needs me to help it along. I need funds for my research, so please send $1,000.00 or more to:
Bank of Pseudoscience Research
Account No. 3.1415926535
I also have a bridge and a lovely peice of ocean front property to sell you
Herbal/Clay Body Wraps?
No good
It's permanent - as long as you don't gain weight 
