Vinegar wrap

Both ordinary table vinegar (3-9% solution of acetic acid) and natural apple cider vinegar (a product of fermentation of the juice of these fruits) can be used in cosmetology, but can vinegar wrapping contribute to weight loss or get rid of cellulite?

Indications for the procedure

Wraps with vinegar, in fact, have no indications, since such procedures are not medical, but cosmetological, that is, they are carried out in cosmetic salons (or at home) not by appointment of a doctor, but when you want to correct an external defect or get rid of it.

The development of cosmetology services has led to the fact that advertising of various procedures often presents them as an effective way to solve appearance problems. According to research (the results of which were published in 2015 in the Journal of Global Fashion and Marketing), at least 82% of advertising for cosmetic products and procedures misleads potential customers and clients through scientifically unsubstantiated (i.e., medically unreliable) or subjective claims.

Adds fuel to the fire and the myriad of beauty bloggers on the Internet, who give "advice" and conduct "master classes", for example, to fight cellulite or lose belly weight....

In fact, vinegar wrapping for weight loss (even using natural apple cider vinegar) will not help to lose weight, although a slight weight reduction occurs: due to the loss of fluid released by eccrine sweat glands on the surface of the skin in the form of sweat.

However, this effect is very short-lived, and as soon as food and water enter the body, the body weight indicators (and centimeters on the waist) almost instantly return to the original figures.

When vinegar wraps for belly slimming are done, the same thing happens: temporary water weight loss, not fat. Regular vinegar helps to open clogged skin pores, and if apple cider vinegar, which contains not only acetic acid but also malic acid (related to alpha-hydroxy acids, often referred to as fruit acids, is used, it is noted to even out skin texture and increase skin turgor. The ability of malic acid to act as a toner on sagging skin is what gives a slight "tummy tuck" effect. But neither the breakdown of fat (adipose tissue cells - lipocytes), nor the burning of calories occurs.

The same temporary improvement in the skin of thighs and buttocks can be observed if vinegar wraps from cellulite, which develops as a result of dystrophic changes in the structure of subcutaneous tissues - fat and connective tissue - with stagnation of intercellular fluid and loss of elasticity of collagen fibers of the extracellular matrix of the dermis.

In diseases accompanied by pronounced hyperthermia, not vinegar wrapping from temperature, but rubbing with vinegar at high temperature.

Vinegar baby wraps are not performed.

Preparation

Preparation for any wrap consists of cleaning the skin under a warm shower. You should not follow the advice to use scrubs or take a hot bath (to steam the skin). Why?

Because there is a temporary disruption of the thin protective layer on the surface of the skin - acid (hydrolipid) mantle, which provides a weak acidity of the epidermis (skin pH is in the range from 4.5-4.7 to 5.75-6.2) and the natural protection of the skin from bacterial infections and harmful environmental factors.

It is easy to guess what can happen to the skin without a protective barrier if you apply 5% table vinegar (pH 2.5-2.7) or apple cider vinegar of the same concentration (pH 3.3-3.5).

It is for this reason that vinegar is used only in diluted form: either half and half with water, or one part of vinegar for three parts of water.

Technique of the vinegar wrap

The technique of wraps in cosmetic salons and vinegar wraps at home consists of covering body parts with strips of cloth soaked in vinegar solution, on top of which - to create the effect of a greenhouse - wrapped food polyethylene film.

Next comes insulation: with clothing or a blanket.

The duration of the procedure is 30-40 minutes. You should not do the wrapping more than twice a week.

The main recipes for vinegar wrapping - with the addition of salt or honey. Vinegar-honey wrapping differs only in the fact that honey is added to the solution (one tablespoon per liter).

And cold vinegar-salt wraps, as stated in his book "Healing Salt" adherent of alternative medicine phytotherapist Nikolai Danikov, help in the treatment of not only flu and bronchitis, but also in inflammation of the joints and kidneys. The proportions of water and table vinegar (9%) - 2:1, and salt should be put one tablespoon for each liter of the resulting solution. The patient should be completely and tightly wrapped in a sheet moistened with vinegar-salt solution and wrapped in a warm (woolen) blanket for at least three hours.

Contraindications to the procedure

Contraindications to vinegar wraps include:

• infectious diseases;
• presence of skin and subcutaneous tissue lesions, as well as dermatologic inflammatory and fungal diseases;
• arterial hypertension;
• lymphangitis;
• varicose veins and/or thrombophlebitis;
• cardiologic and nephrologic diseases;
• any gynecological diseases;
• oncology of any localization;
• pregnancy and lactation period.

Consequences after the procedure

After vinegar wraps, you may experience both skin irritation with redness and itching (especially with sensitive skin), as well as vascular spasms.

Care after the procedure

Care after vinegar wrap, as well as preparation for it, is to take a warm shower.

Testimonials

While many reviews of this procedure are positive, it should be borne in mind that wraps with vinegar give a short-term effect - due to water loss, but they, as experts say, do not provide long-term reduction of fat deposits or improvement of skin condition with cellulite.

The only proven way to get rid of extra pounds is proper nutrition and adequate exercise. And if you have cellulite, you should not only fight excess weight, but also drink enough water for normal lymphatic circulation.

Literature used

Genrikh Zeligov: Folk Medicine. 10000 recipes for 500 diseases. 2015.