Seaweed Wraps Feel Much Better Than They Smell

Ever since seaweed wraps became popular, I thought that getting one meant being wrapped in big, wet leaves. So when I showed up for mine at Chicago’s Wax On Wax Off (1039 W. Taylor St.), I was ready to be covered in kelp. It turned out that I was misinformed—and not just about the leaves. Here are five things I learned about seaweed wraps, all but one of which were pleasant surprises. 1. It’s not just a wrap. Sometimes, it’s a scrub and a massage, too! I’m all about a good body scrub (I even make my own at home!), so I was super excited when my aesthetician, Gosia, told me that a scrub would be the first step of my wrap. Exfoliation, she explained, would help the wrap penetrate my skin. As she began coating my legs with the spa’s seasonal mint-sugar mixture, I was in heaven. I had played basketball the day before, and my muscles were sore. She massaged the scrub into my skin with the perfect amount of pressure. The massage was also supposed to help with detoxification—Gosia said that by massaging in the direction that lymph flows, she was encouraging toxins to leave the body. 2. It can help minimize cellulite. Gosia went over my body with a dry brush, too. When I began experimenting with a dry brush at home, I had heard that it could help with cellulite. I asked Gosia about this, and sure enough, she told me that the brushing boosts circulation, which may help break up fat cells. Now, I didn’t really feel like my fat cells were dissolving … but the dry brushing was still good for an even deeper exfoliation. Plus, it felt amazing. Before I came in, my skin was dehydrated and itchy—Gosia scratched every single itch away. 3. You’re wrapped in more than seaweed. Okay, back to that seaweed. As I said before, it’s not actually seaweed leaves, but a blended mask that looks like seaweed soup! As Gosia painted it over my body with a brush, she explained that the minerals in the mask help with the detoxification process. To open my pores and really let the mask sink in, Gosia had to create some heat around my body. She wrapped me in a plastic sheet, followed by a foil blanket. I felt like I was cocooned inside a slip ’n’ slide that was wrapped in a burrito! Gosia admitted that this part of the service makes some people feel a little claustrophobic, but I liked being tucked in tight. (That’s how I sleep at home!) 4. Unlike the sea, this treatment is super warm. Maybe I’m just used to chilly Lake Michigan, but the word “seaweed” makes me think of something cold and clammy. This wrap was the opposite! Not only did Gosia prep my skin for the seaweed mask by wiping away the scrub with hot towels, but she also warmed up the mask before applying it. To top it all off, the bed was heated, and my foil blanket sucked up all that warmth. 5. Real talk—you will smell fishy. This mask smelled like a lake floor. By the time Gosia unwrapped the plastic and I headed to the shower, I was definitely over that part of it. Luckily, I was able to rinse the scent away, and the service’s final step made everything better: I snuggled back onto the treatment bed, and Gosia began rubbing an organic body butter into my skin. It had a bit of essential oil mixed into it, and it smelled great. Even with the seaweed-y smell, though, I would get this treatment again in a heartbeat. In fact, the smell doesn’t bother everyone—my friend who tagged along said that it reminded her of vacation! Shop Goods for skincare: Check out some of Favin's other beauty-treatment adventures:

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