Many people are familiar with the spas offering body wrap treatments in special herbs and ingredients that promote weight loss and detoxification. Common ingredients used in these natural body wraps include mud and honey, among other things. The elements, along with a type of thermal wrap, are placed around your body. Some people use body wraps as one of the many ways to lose weight.
Now, there is a new type of body wrap on the market called an infrared body wrap. These new body wraps utilize radiant heat and replace the mineral wraps of the past. Many people claim they have lasting weight loss effects. This is also a safer alternative to cosmetic surgeries like liposuction for slimming down and eliminating cellulite. But the question remains: Does this new infrared body wrap work?
How Does the Infrared Body Wrap Work?
These body wraps are usually use pads wrapped around the body in different places. Light emits from these pads and makes the body heat up from the inside out. The light heats the body means that you can keep the room at a cooler temperature than a traditional sauna. The pads also target specific areas and do not need to cover the entire body.
The Process
Unlike traditional body wraps that utilize herbs and minerals, you can use infrared body wraps over a person’s clothing. An infrared body wrap session typically uses a set of silicone treatment pads that cover critical areas of the body:
- Upper torso
- Abdomen
- Upper arms
- Thighs
Infrared body wrap sessions are offered at many health spas that offer traditional body wrap treatments. An infrared body wrap session tends to be more expensive than the conventional method. You should bring plenty of water and keep yourself hydrated when undergoing infrared body wrap treatment.
What Else Can These Infrared Body Wraps Do?
Infrared body wraps are said to be able to help with a variety of issues. You can supposedly erase cellulite with infrared light, and a person can lose weight with each session. Other things people claim it improves include jaundice, eczema, and blood circulation.
However, like the different benefits of infrared body wraps, further study and research are needed. The one thing that these body wraps can almost certainly help with is muscle and joint pain. The infrared light acts like a heating pad, which can help soothe the pain.
Treatment for Muscle and Joint Pain
The heat can help soothe the ache of muscles after a workout and the pain that comes with conditions like arthritis. There is no formal research on the results of infrared body wraps used to relieve joint pain. The idea is that the pads help the body heat up from the inside, and it has the same effect as a pad that heats the outside of the body.
Do Infrared Body Wraps Work?
We still need further research before determining whether infrared body wraps’ health benefits and claims are true. Doctors have stated that even natural body wraps still lack scientific evidence for detoxification claims. Infrared body wraps have only had short-term effects observed, so diet and exercise are still the better options for long-term weight loss. For muscle and joint relief and dealing with aches, pains, and soreness, infrared body wraps can be considered an effective means of treatment and therapy. However, these health claims still require further study as well.
Resource Links:
- “Does Infrared Light Therapy Work for Weight Reduction?” via National Center for Health Research
- “Infrared Saunas Will Not ‘Detoxify’ You” via The Atlantic
- “Attempts to Lose Weight Among Adults in the United States, 2013-2016” via Nationcal Center for Health Statistics
