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Wraps
What are wraps?What to expect from a wrap
Afterwards
Hot tip!
Different kinds of wraps
What are wraps?
Wraps are spa treatments designed to slim and tone the body, hydrate or firm the skin, or relax and soothe the muscles. Body wrap treatments come in varied and exciting packages, with one common factor: mummification.
OK, so it's not as scary as that. Think of a body wrap as a nourishing cocoon to warm, cleanse and moisturise.
Body wraps use soothing oils, muds or creams and thermal blankets to swathe and warm the body, promoting muscle relaxation and encouraging sweating to flush out toxins.
What to expect from a wrap
Most spas seem to use a few core adjectives to describe their body wrap treatments: slimming, detoxifying, relaxing and revitalising are favourites.
Depending on the wrap you choose, you might notice:
* temporary inch loss
* tighter, softer, firmer, hydrated or cleansed skin
* relaxed muscles.
Some wraps are also thought to relieve tired or heavy legs and aching joints, ease inflammation, and help to flush out toxins through sweating. While it may not provide an instant weight-loss fix, the feel-good factor of a body wrap might help you jumpstart a diet or exercise regime.
What happens You'll be able to undress or change into your paper knickers in privacy. Spa therapists are great at preserving their clients' modesty. Then you might be treated to a gentle exfoliation or scrub to slough away any dead skin cells.
Sometimes body wraps work best when the skin is slightly damp, so your therapist may ask you to take a quick shower before she applies your treatment. If the spa is offering inch loss, you will be measured at various points around your body first, too.
After applying a therapeutic solution to your entire body, your therapist will swaddle you in heated bandages or a thermal blanket and leave you to rest. While you lie there sleeping - or worrying that she's abandoned you forever - the heat in the cloths will relax your muscles, open your pores and encourage sweating to flush out toxins. When you are finally un-embalmed and rinsed, she might rub lotion or moisturiser into your newly soft skin.
The solution first applied to your body depends on the treatment you have chosen. Mud, algae, seaweed, herbs, oils and paraffin are common, but honey, rose oil, aloe vera or cucumber are not unknown, either. Many spas have their own signature body wraps, from the exotic to the just plain edible. Could you spend an hour coated in chocolate or red wine without being tempted to lick...?
After she has coated you in mud, algae, chocolate or peanut butter, your therapist will wrap you in warm towels, or heated cotton bandages, or hot linens, while you lie on the treatment table. You will be wrapped again in a thermal blanket or warmed plastic sheets to trap the heat next to your skin and boost your circulation. Body wrapping mimics the effects of a fever; it encourages the body to sweat out impurities. So to keep you comfortable, you might have a cold compress placed gently on your forehead.
Some treatment tables have a central section that can be lowered, leaving you suspended only in your blanket. This is what is known as "dry flotation", and some people find the sensation of weightlessness deeply relaxing. Your therapist might then leave you to relax for 20 minutes to an hour, while you sleep, dream, plan... or worry about how on earth you'll escape if she's jumped in her car and gone home.
When you're finally freed from your cocoon, don't expect an immediate butterfly-like transformation. You might feel quite cold and soggy at first without your thermal blanket -- so the shower afterwards will be a welcome one. You will be able to scrub away any remaining algae, mud or lumps of strawberry jam before your therapist rubs cream, lotion or oil into your baby-soft skin.
Wraps may be combined with other treatments, such as scalp, head, foot and hand massage, skin brushing, Vichy showers, face masques, loofah or salt scrubs and facials.
Afterwards
You may feel slimmer, toned and firmer after your wrap treatment. Although any initial weight loss will sadly disappear once you have a drink, the wrap experience might just provide the motivation you need to start a healthier new diet or fitness programme.
Hot tip!
Being all wrapped up in thermal blankets can feel very strange if you're unable to drift off to sleep. Take your iPod along with some relaxing tunes all set up and ready to play.
Different kinds of wraps
Algae mask or wrap: Warmed algae is applied to your entire body to help nourish and detoxify the skin. The algae comes in the form of a pungent thick paste and might feel odd or even itchy.
Bust wrap: A serum, lotion or mask is applied to the bust area, and then wrapped. The aim is to firm and soften the skin. It can be specially good for women trying to tone up after breastfeeding or weight loss.
Cellulite treatment wrap: Designed to boost circulation and flush out toxins, this wrap targets your cellulite, and focuses on bums, tums and thighs.
Clay wrap: This is similar to a mud wrap. Aromatherapy oils are sometimes mixed with the clay to make it smell good. A clay wrap can feel a bit clammy when it is first applied but soon cocoons you in warmth.
Frigi-thalgo wrap: A cold wrap treatment, designed to control excess fluid in the hip, leg and thigh areas. Frigi-thalgo is thought to be good for attacking cellulite and fluid retention, and provides relief for tired legs. The coldness of the wrap stimulates circulatory changes and might be ideal for kick-starting a diet.
Herbal wrap: Pieces of hot muslin or cloth are soaked in herb-infused oils and layered over your body to form a wrap that nourishes and detoxifies your skin.
Mud wrap: A layer of soothing mud is applied to the skin to detoxify, cleanse and firm. The mud is thought to ease water retention and cleanse the pores by drawing out impurities. A mud wrap might help with arthritis, rheumatism and minor skin irritations.
Oil wrap: Rich, nourishing aromatherapy oils are used to moisturise dry or dehydrated skin. Often these come in the form of an oil-based balm which, when heated, melts into the skin.
Paraffin wrap: Often forming part of luxury manicures or pedicures, paraffin oil is brushed or rubbed over your body, and then you're cocooned in a wrap of some kind. It has a softening and moisturising effect, and doesn't make you smell like lighter fuel as you might expect! A paraffin wrap is thought to reduce muscle and joint aches and soothe symptoms of arthritis. It's a popular winter treatment and great for skin in need of intense moisturising.
Parafango wrap: "Fango" is the Italian word for mud. This treatment uses a warmed paraffin and mud mixture to create a mini-sauna effect, stimulating the lymphatic flow of the body and drawing out toxins.
Thalasso or seaweed wrap: Your body is slathered in warm seaweed and then wrapped up in a heated blanket. Before you imagine yourself looking like a piece of sushi nori, or the creature from the green lagoon, this concentration of seawater and seaweed comes in a thick paste, not in poppable lengths of slimy sea plants. It doesn't always smell great, it must be said, but its effects are palpable and fun – it hydrates and firms the skin, and leaves it tingly-fresh.
Universal wrap: This is the closest thing to being "mummified" – the ingredients used may vary, but this term refers to being completely wrapped all over in muslin strips, usually to lose a few inches temporarily. The results are good, but the treatment itself is not flattering. Ensure no-one has a camera.
See also:
* Scrubs
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