With summer finally here, or, at least, in the process of arriving, you can suddenly become all too aware that it’s time to dust off the old bikini. With a trip to a crowded beach looming, you realise that your muffin tops are looking particularly muffin-y, your stretch marks are really going the distance and your cellulite is bubbling more than it ever has before. However, with our anti-ageing wellness solutions to fit every price range, you’ll be strutting on the sand with confidence come summertime.
1. Muffin Tops: It’s impossible to “spot reduce” the areas you’re particularly not fond of, but a healthy approach to taking care of your overall wellbeing can have the bonus effect of reducing those muffins to mini cupcakes. Make sure you’re eating a healthy diet and incorporate stretching and toning exercises into your regimen. Good options include swimming, yoga and Pilates.
If you’ve got a bit of money to spend, you might want to try i-Lipo, which starts at around £90 per treatment. This method works to essentially shrink your muffin top through the use of laser pads. Dr John Flynn of Cosmedic & Skin Clinic in Southport, Queensland, claims, ‘This gentle method rids the body of excess fat. Clients are losing up to 12 centimetres measured across three sites, after a four-week course.’ Finally, if you really want to shell out the big bucks, some salons offer Hypoxi, (approximately £415 for a series of 12 sessions), which targets trouble zones like your hips, thighs and tummy. It combines stationary cycling with vacuum technology to stimulate blood flow to your lower body and trigger fat and cellulite reduction.
2. Stretch Marks: If your aim is to prevent stretch marks, try massaging your tummy, hips and breasts twice daily with Trilogy Aromatic Body Oil, (£20). However, if the stretch marks are here already, no cream can fully make them disappear. That said, a topical lactic or glycolic acid (such as ASAP Revitalising Bodymoist, (£24)) can make your stretch marks smoother and flatter. For a salon option, having regular massages during pregnancy or puberty can help to keep your skin supple as it expands, due to the enriching oils used. Make sure you find a therapist who specialises in pregnancy massage, and only indulge after your first trimester. Clinically speaking, Fraxel laser treatment (£420) should be done after you’ve given birth, but while your stretch marks are still red or purple. This means that there is still blood flow to the area, and your chances of success are higher.
3. Cellulite: As with most DIY beauty treatments, getting rid of cellulite involves a combination of healthy lifestyle choices. You need to lighten your digestive load by eating healthily, as well as taking up daily body brushing and any exercise that involves running or jumping. All of these lifestyle choices combined will help to enhance your lymphatic drainage, and, as a result, the removal of cellulite-incurring toxins in your body. To give these lifestyle choices an extra boost, use a skin-toning and circulation-stimulating cellulite cream such as DMK Body Sculpting Crème (£40).
For a more complicated approach, try Skeyndor Body Sculpt (£66 per session, a series of up to 10 treatments is required for best results). This one-hour treatment combines massage techniques, body wraps and potent ingredients including Japanese parsley (to inhibit fat cell growth), Brazilian pepper (to help prevent clumping of fat), dandelion, caffeine (to help drain fluid) and capillary-strengthening goldenrod, lemon and butcher’s broom. And, if you’ve really got the money to spend, Liposoft (from £2705) is a less invasive form of liposuction that uses a fine stream of water to dislodge fat globules.