The no-diet, no-exercise, get-slim-quick hack

Times

2 days ago

Ever wondered why celebrities always look so toned? Why their legs are free of cellulite and their cheekbones chiselled? It could be because they're getting regular lymphatic drainage massages, the beauty hack taking over Hollywood.
While lymphatic drainage has long been used for athletes nursing injuries as well as for those recovering from surgery, it can also be a helpful tool for achieving a firm body free of bloat. This treatment works to stimulate the lymphatic system, a network of vessels, tissues and organs under the skin that help your body to drain unnecessary fluids. These are mainly around your neck, groin and armpits. Regular lymphatic drainage massages can help to manage puffiness and decrease your body's inflammation overall.
One of the first formalised lymphatic drainage techniques was the Vodder method, initially developed by Dr Emil Vodder and his wife, Estrid, in France in the 1930s as a solution for swollen lymph nodes. The style of lymphatic drainage most commonly used today combines a light touch with pulsing and sweeping movements that can sometimes feel insignificant but done correctly can have a big impact. Other techniques apply deeper pressure, which can also help with getting rid of unwanted cellulite and loosening tight muscles. 'Using lymphatic drainage may have a temporary trimming effect because it helps move fluid through the body, like spreading a stack of papers from one end of the counter across the entire surface,' explains the website of the Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in LA.
Whichever method you choose, most experts will agree that the more frequently you have these massages, the longer the effects will last. They can also bolster the health and strength of your lymphatic system if done regularly.
When Gennari first arrived in the UK she noticed a gap in the market for beauty-focused lymphatic drainage massage, a practice that is popular in her native Italy. Over the course of 11 years the facialist developed her own method and last year opened her Notting Hill salon, The Skin Sculpter, where she offers full body lymphatic drainage massages as well as facials. Her skills are in high demand, particularly among celebrities including Anne Hathaway and Carey Mulligan before their red carpet outings.
Gennari uses firm pressure and is best known for her buccal facial massage, which can be booked as part of a bespoke facial or facial massage. For this Gennari puts on rubber gloves and massages the cheeks and jaw from the inside out, creating a lifting effect. She recommends ten sessions, once a week, for best results. She also offers treatments that can help to activate your lymphatic system from home, including gauze wraps with serums, sculpting tools and top-notch beauty products.Massage from £250, guendalinatheskinsculpter.com
Ooi is an aesthetician, aromatherapist and traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) practitioner operating out of Zen therapy rooms in Marylebone, London. Here, in addition to acupuncture and facials, the Meridian Circuit & Lymphatic Drainage treatment is offered. This combines gentle cupping along the spine and neck; soft brushing strokes around the tummy, and along knees and ankles where water retention can cause bloating; and gua sha stimulation of meridian points at the lower back, working in particular on warming the kidneys to activate unblocking.
Ooi, who has a devoted celebrity clientele including Rooney Mara and Emma Mackey, has developed her own range of gua sha tools and oils that are used in the treatment, in particular the Circulation Elixir to promote circulation, digestion and drainage, which includes mugwort, hydacheim, cinnamon bark, wintergreen and clementine. These can be bought and used at home (the tools come with excellent step-by-step guides) between the six treatments that are recommended to reboot the system.£185 for 60min, 001skincare.com
Lymphatic drainage runs in Trévalinet's family. Her mother is also a lymphatic massage therapist and both were trained in the Brazilian Renata França method. This technique uses firm pressure, fast movements and pumping motions to help to stimulate the lymphatic system and is largely focused on toning and shaping. It isn't for the faint of heart — the pressure is hearty and Trévalinet is strong, but she is also deft, making the motions feel like a release rather than painful.
This year Trévalinet and her mother, Emmanuelle, created their own method. The massage uses lymphatic drainage techniques alongside acupressure, helping to stimulate parts of the body that might also be hindering the successful functioning of the lymphatic system, and focuses on reducing inflammation.
For best results Trévalinet recommends weekly sessions, for five weeks, and one session a month thereafter. She occasionally does house calls in west London and can also be found at the French Pharmacy in Marylebone, where you can stock up on cult beauty products from France as well.Renata França massage from £150; Trevalinet method from £180. To book email [e-mail] or follow on Instagram @rebecca.trevalinet
Tucked away in Marylebone is one of London's newest optimisation hotspots. Rebase offers just about every hyped wellness trend — including hyperbaric oxygen chambers, red light therapy, infrared saunas, and cryo chambers. It is also home to one of the capital's most effective lymphatic drainage masseuses. Therapist Deodata Semionovaite, Rebase's lymphatic specialist, employs a relaxing but highly effective technique using pumping rhythms which feel hearty but not painful, as well as muscle tension release. The therapist is passionate about the mind-body connection and incorporates affirmations, so you will finish the hour long full body session by saying phrases like 'I am loved' and 'I let go of worry'. Semionovaite says these affirmations can, 'help calm the mind and create a sense of emotional and physical release' which she believes makes the massage more effective.
This treatment is the perfect preamble to a trip to one of Rebase's many hot and cold therapy rooms, which also help rev up your body's lymphatic system. There is the ice bath and sauna room, which has eight ice baths and a sizeable traditional sauna, or for those hoping for a more private experience you can book in for one the private infrared sauna rooms, which fit up to three people. Each private room has two ice baths, a couch, and an infrared sauna fitted with a red light panel and bluetooth enabled speakers so you can listen to a podcast or your favourite song while you sweat it out. The red light panel will also do wonders for your sleep, mood, and inflammation. Rebase also offers guided breath-work classes conducted in tandem with ice baths in thelarger room, which teach you breathing tools for in and out of the cold water to make the most of your time (and increase your pain tolerance).
Deo's Lymphatic Drainage Method at Rebase, 60min, £185. Private infrared and cold plunge suite, 45min, £150. Book at rebaserecovery.com
Whenever Amani got ill as a child, her Indian grandmother would use ayurvedic oils and massage to relieve her symptoms. Today she describes herself as 'a bit like a plumber, trying to get your body's drains unblocked' and is one of London's leading ayurvedic therapists, with salons in Pimlico and at Harrods in which she combines Indian and Brazilian methods to stimulate lymph flow.
During a double-handed treatment, she and one of her practitioners work on their client from head to toe. First, warm oil is poured onto your belly 'to get the system moving'. Then while one of them vigorously rubs your body, pressing lymph points from the ears to behind the knees, the other pinches and presses and massages your face, using ayurvedic oils and warm flannels to stimulate, and finally a cold copper-ended 'wand' to sculpt the plumped cells.
In addition to this whole body treatment, on the menu at Amani's salon you'll find options to book a manual Brazilian Bum Lift or ab sculpting. Amani also sells tools so you can continue to work on your lymphatic system from home.Massages with Dimple Amani at Harrods from £370 (or £520 for Amani and another massage therapist), dimple-amani.com
Tucked away in a discreet Georgian building behind Selfridges in London you will find Chelseé Lewis's treatment rooms. Her lymphatic facial promises to restore moisture to your skin and eliminate toxins. Using her own oil blend that contains vitamin A-rich cacay oil, Tunisian date seed as well as camomile and sandalwood, Lewis works on your face's contours and its glow. She has a gentle touch, but knows when to incorporate the firm pressure. The best part is you can purchase your own bottle of Lewis's oil to take home with you at the end of your visit to keep working on your cheekbones and jawline.Treatments from £180, chelseelewis.co.uk
A cult favourite, this machine-based lymphatic drainage and body contouring program gets results fast. It uses a device called the Icoone which 'mimics thousands of miniature massage actions, delivering 21,600 micro simulations per minute' using rollers that deliver a gentle suction which promotes circulation and combats water retention. This is coupled with Balancer Pro Technology which uses air compressions that go between compression and decompression which supports circulation and lymphatic drainage. There are different treatments and packages which target your face and body, and you can also opt for bookings that focus on individual areas of concern.On arrival at Ricari's cosy knightsbridge studio you will be provided with a neck-to-toe white leotard: this allows the machine to move more smoothly along your body and keeps it from tugging on your skin. Plus it's yours to keep for future appointments and can also be used if you feel like staging a ballet performance at home. For the appointment you are instructed to lie flat on a bed while the hand-held machine is moved over sections of your body by the practitioner. The effect is a very soothing massage feeling, and though certain areas can feel a bit tender it's not painful, rather more just like a deep pressure treatment. Appointments can last anywhere from 60-90 minutes. The effect is immediate — taught skin and diminished bloating. You might also find that the treatment helps support a sluggish digestive system. As in most lymphatic drainage treatments, the more frequently you go, the better the results.
For optimal benefits, the studio recommends a course of 8-12 treatments over a period of 3-6 weeks, and then monthly appointments for maintenance. If you're prepping for an event, you can up this to two treatments per week for accelerated results. The good news is, Ricari has studios in New York, LA, London, St. Mortiz and the Cayman Islands, so you can keep up your routine going wherever you find yourself in the world.
Signature body treatments from £245. Book at ricaristudios.com
England, who operates at the NoMad hotel in London, is famous for her facial sculpting using flowing strokes for a neater jaw and sharper cheekbones. Lymphatic drainage has always been an important part of her approach, and now she has developed a new treatment focusing on this. The 75-minute Byonik Flow treatment combines lymph brushing and massage with the Byonik pulse-triggered laser, microcurrent and cryo-carboxytherapy to sculpt the face, reduce puffiness, eliminate toxins and restore luminosity. Slimyonik lymphatic drainage 'trousers', which come up right over the tummy and help to activate the lymphatic system, are an optional add-on.
England has recently begun selling Cecily Braden's lymphatic brushes and can give her clients instructions on how to use these at home to keep the lymphatic system working between appointments.Byonik Flow, £290, katie-england.com
Morellato is a celebrated physiotherapist (she counts Ellie Goulding and Sara Sampaio among her celebrity clientele), but the Brazilian is an expert in post-op care too. According to Morellato, a lymphatic drainage massage can be especially beneficial post surgical treatments, during pregnancy and for those suffering from lymphoedema and lipoedema. 'The lymphatic system is the body's first line of defence,' she explains. 'It plays an important role in our immune system.'
She has a clinic in Belgravia and a residency at Harvey Nichols in London, where she offers her hero lymphatic drainage treatment. This is a gentle full-body massage consisting of rhythmic strokes and compression that can be tailored to individual needs.
For anyone seeking regular support with a health condition, Morellato has developed a holistic Recovery Expert programme consisting of multiple sessions strategically distributed between pre and post-surgery phases. In addition to home visits within London, appointments are available at her clinic in Belgravia and at Harvey Nichols. Classic lymphatic drainage treatment from £280, flaviamorellato.co.uk
An expert in both lymphatic drainage and its more hardcore sibling manual body remodelling, Bagnara is one of the wellness gurus now setting up shop at the Claridge's Spa in London. Every Wednesday he offers 90-minute treatments that cover everything from lifestyle, exercise and diet tips alongside a hearty lymphatic drainage massage. While the massage is full body, the therapist makes every treatment bespoke, with a special focus on specific areas in need of extra help with drainage. The remodelling element works to tone and lift the body, as well as helping to combat cellulite and water retention.Treatments from £350, claridges.co.uk
Sana Kirse isn't a miracle worker but she is very enthusiastic and realistic about what can be achieved with body sculpting and lymphatic drainage (alongside good hydration, diet and exercise). She's been working with lymphatic drainage for more than 20 years, honing her skills as a body-contouring specialist with various devices to ensure the most effective toning result. Using a combination of devices that employ radio frequency and magnetic pulses, she massages and manipulates the body into shape. This kick-starts the lymphatic system to move toxins and excess water, leaving behind smoother, more toned skin (it can be used to budge stubborn cellulite too).
The treatments are non-invasive and while they can be a little uncomfortable at times, it's not painful when the machines glide around your problem areas. Kirse recommends ten sessions for significant body-sculpting results, but one treatment is effective if you want to look your best for a special occasion.Endo Freeze from £185, nevillehairandbeauty.net
Marylebone clinic The Ardour opened in early 2024 with a focus on science-based treatments, underpinned by the founding team's medical background. The Ardour aims to take a 360 approach, thinking about aesthetics in the context of a wider conversation about wellness which might include looking at how possible hormone imbalances can affect your skin and body and finding ways to support your skin from outside in. They even offer life coaching and have bespoke treatment plans with names like 'Stress Management Solutions, Harmonizing Change During Menopause and Thriving Post Divorce'.
Whatever stage of life you are at, the clinic's Glow & Sculpt treatment is a winner. It uses a PowerSculpt machine, which looks a bit like a paddle and is strapped onto your body, emitting electromagnetic energy to stimulate underlying muscles, which can help with lymphatic drainage and reduces water retention by boosting circulation. When used in the stomach area it's the equivalent of 20,000 crunches in one 30 minute session, but less painful — the sensation is a bit like a deep pressure massage.
Meanwhile a Dermalux LED Mask will be doing its thing on your face. This emits red, blue and infrared lights and can be adjusted according to your requirements, whether that is helping to manage redness, acne, or just giving you a healthy glow. Settings can help tackle acne and skin texture, but it will also increase circulation in your face, and help to manage inflammation and wrinkles.
Six to eight treatments are recommended over the course of 4 weeks for best results.Glow and Sculpt, £350 per treatment. Book at theardourclinic.com
Emily Lansley, one of Kylie Jenner's favourite beauty specialists, offers a two-part pamper in the form of her 'Signature Sculpt & Glow Facial' at the Linnean Hotel in Nine Elms. The 75-minute treatment involves a bespoke facial treatment, alongside the Slimyonik Air Bodystyler and LED light therapy.
The Slimyonik is a pair of pressure trousers that stimulates and activates the lymphatic system. While these do their thing, Emily works on your face, cleansing and exfoliating, along with a blast of LED and using a range of products depending on skin type, although one of her favourites is 'Acqua Di Rose' rose water by Santa Maria Novella. The central element of the treatment is Emily's expert deep tissue facial and buccal massage, which involves releasing jaw tension and inflammation by massaging inside the mouth. Fans report a more sculpted visage and a reduction in general bloating. Monthly appointments are recommended for maintaining results.Treatment from £250. Book at emilyroselansley.com or call the Linnean at 0203 971 0805
Vidavii is London's first 'longevity circuit'. Founded by the duo Michal Cohen-Sagi and Noam Sagi, it uses three biohacking machines over the course of 30 minutes. The first stop is called Breathe. Here you step into a box fitted with Far Infrared lights which can promote cell regeneration, as well as blue and green lights which Vidavii say have various benefits, including helping to boost melatonin and serotonin. The room is also pumped with ionised oxygen which the brand claim can enhance cellular function and boost immunity over the course of the 8-minute session.
After this portion of the circuit is finished you're escorted to the room right next door for Freeze, a cryotherapy session, where pain relief and anti-inflammatory and endorphin boosting benefits can be found. This room is extremely cold (minus 85C to be exact), but the Vidavii experts are on hand to help, giving you gloves, a face mask and a hat as well as headphones. The headphones are connected to songs which last the length of the time in the chamber so you can dance it out to Coldplay's Sky Full of Stars for example, while actual snow falls on you. This is definitely a helpful and welcome distraction.
As soon as you're done, the lymphatic drainage magic starts in Squeeze,where you lay inside a metal tube called the Flow System made by a company called Art of Cryo. Your head and shoulders sticking out, and a wheel of thick plastic is fitted around your waist to keep the air in one place so your body experiences a 'continuous alternating pressure wave treatment'. It feels as though there is air squeezing and tightening around you and then loosening over the course of the 8-minute session.
The best part is the benefits of Vidavii are not hypothetical. Upon arrival, all first-timers will receive a scan with the studio's Scaneca machine. It takes a 360, 3D scan of your body which looks at everything from your BMI to your waist-hip ratio, lean muscle mass and basal metabolic rate. All of these elements help give you a much more holistic understanding of your body and help the team at Vidavii personalise your time and settings in the machines so you can make the most of your circuits. This also helps you to track your progress over time. According to the brand, after the first two to four weeks of visiting two-three times a week you will begin to see a shift in your mental wellbeing, after three-four weeks you see a body change thanks to the loss of excess water retention, and after six-eight weeks you will begin to see more toned muscle. After a few months, they often see their clients decrease body weight and increase muscle mass, all of which can be tracked via the numbers on the scan, as well as the digital avatar it makes of your body. While the studio says that clients who increase their exercise while doing the circuits tend to achieve faster results, they see body composition changes in clients who keep their routines the same and simply add in Vidavii to their weekly routine.
For those with more than 30 minutes to spare you can also hop onto the studio's Hydrobed, which gives you a circulation boosting water jet massage (though don't worry you don't get wet as the jets come up from within the water bed) as your face sits under an LED light panel which helps with cell turn over as well as aiding circadian rhythm modulation. Full circuit begins at £95. Book at vidavii.com
Lymphatic drainage is just one part of the heavenly 90 minutes you'll spend enjoying the Bamford Tonifying Treatment, and as you lay — rose quartz eye mask in place — being gently brushed — yes, brushed — from head to toe, an act which promises to stimulate circulation, but may also encourage a nap, you may wonder if it is possible to be more relaxed. Answer: not likely.
It gets better, by way of a full body exfoliant and massage using scrub made with cast-off organic Daylesford coffee grinds; a warm shower — and then more massage with warm oil. This preps skin for the hard graft: cupping therapy. Silicone cups designed to shift fluid in the muscle are glided across the legs, arms and, if you are comfortable, abdomen, to drain toxins and tone.
It's all executed with Bamford's signature brand of bliss and wrapped up with a mini facial. Heaven — ask for Deidra.£220 for 90min, bamford.com.
Billing itself as 'London's premier wellness and longevity clinic', The HVN offers a new Body Contour Massage designed to target puffiness, poor circulation and water retention. Tucked just off a busy Knightsbridge street, the space lives up to its name (HVN stands for haven) — a calm, understated space where you're greeted with herbal tea and soft, ambient sounds. The treatment itself is an hour-long deeply focused massage that blends lymphatic drainage with firmer, sculpting strokes.
The holistic therapist Catia draws on more than a decade of experience in five-star spas across Europe, combining eastern traditions like Shiatsu and Ayurveda with western methods. Her approach is tailored and intuitive, but also impressively firm. This isn't the feather-light lymphatic massage some might give. At times intense, it's not always relaxing in the traditional sense, but it's highly effective.
Designed to improve skin firmness and elasticity, enhance lymphatic flow and relieve postural tension, the massage offers a non-invasive way to reshape the body and restore vitality. The combination of techniques — think dry-brushing, cupping and a firm massage among other things — helps stimulate circulation, encourages detoxification and leaves you visibly more sculpted. Limbs feel lighter, skin smoother, and you walk out straighter.
A course of five weekly treatments are recommended with two visits per month following this for maintenance. Body Contour Massage, 60min, from £210, treatment.the-hvn.com
It's hard to miss the prominent location of Repose Space on Kensington High Street. It's turned into one of west London's favourite biohacking bars, complete with everything from saunas and cryotherapy to aerial yoga and nutrition workshops. It is also home to an extensive lymphatic drainage offering provided by one of the three lymphatic drainage experts on hand, as well as a variety of other massage techniques from cupping to myofascial release, which can also be incorporated into the massage. This also includes a lymphatic drainage facial with buccal release. This massage works to drain and de-puff your face by targeting the main lymph drainage points, and in the process also helps to sculpt and release muscles thanks to its firmer pressure. The buccal massage, during which the therapist, wearing rubber gloves, massages your jaw from the inside, helping to release the jaw, can give a more chiselled look as jaw tension subsides.
You will notice a change from the first session, but for best results the studio recommends at least three weekly sessions in a row before transitioning to monthly upkeep. Buccal massage and face sculpting, 60min, £150. Book at repose-space.co.uk
Su-Man has been training in the craft of massage for years, honing her skills and developing the ultimate 'no-Botox' lift through her targeted massage. For those keen to not go down the needles route but who are still eager to look more sculpted and toned, her Digital Damage Resculpt Facial is ideal. Su-Man created it to combat the side-effects of staring at a screen for too long and the associated sagging which can come from bad posture.
Su-Man is no-nonsense while still bringing a deep care and kindness to the treatment. The bespoke session starts with a facial steam and skin assessment during which she will do everything from exfoliation and electrical muscle stimulation to blemish extraction. The massage then uses deep pressure, moving between face, chest, shoulders and neck, stimulating the lymphatic system. A foot and calf massage are also included. The end result is defined cheekbones and a more sculpted jaw, which, if you take Su-Man's advice and visit every six weeks, you will be able to maintain, despite all the doom scrolling. Digital Damage Resculpt Facial, 70min, £350. Book at sofitelstjames.com