Slim pickings
Finally, Christmas is over. So start the New Year right by shedding off the holiday’s overindulgence like the excessive calorie intake and champagne supernovas. Since exercising and crash diets can be a drag, some resort to liposuction in order to remove that awful-looking beer belly.
If you’re scared of invasive treatments, learn from the BBC show Say No to the Knife, in which a psychotherapist and stylist dissuade people from undergoing plastic surgery. Actually, it’s all about loving your body. But if you want an instant slim fix to fit in your sexy little black dress, try Ultraslim, a non-invasive slimming treatment from Philosophy By Mikaela.
“I have done my rounds of inch-loss and slimming treatments and combined those I found to be effective under Ultraslim,” says Mikaela Bilbao, owner of Philosophy Salon and Spa. “One session is enough to make sure you fit better into that important dress for that evening.”
Since I had three hours to spare, I had the chance to try the Ultraslim treatment. Dolly, the therapist assigned to me, started measuring my arm, bra line, waistline, belly and leg. (Note to self: stop drinking beer and eating potato chips before snooze mode.)
To start off, I had to take a bath (you can’t shower or get wet after the treatment) then take a 10-minute sauna to open the pores. I really enjoyed the clean steam shower, which came with a remote to control the temperature. Oh, there was also an integrated stereo and CD player to relax you more while you’re sweating out toxins.
The therapist gave me a body scrub using a body exfoliator. I had to take a second bath before Dolly and another therapist named Lenny applied lymphatic drainage oil on my buttocks, thighs and arms.
Perhaps the most interesting part of the Ultraslim treatment was the Cyro solution wrap or cold wrap. Bandages are soaked in menthol, liniment-like solution and tightly wrapped around the body for 45 minutes. Even if I felt like suman sa ibus and couldn’t sit or lie down for a while, I was able to watch The Devil Wears Prada again on DVD. The great thing about this wrap is that it targets water weight gain and bloating.
As the bandages were unwrapped, the therapists gave me an anti-cellulite massage in synchronized strokes. The massage oils were blended to target cellulite-prone areas like the buttocks, thighs and arms and to prepare for the next treatment.
A thermogenic gel that stimulates the body’s burning of fat was applied again before the motorized Body Sculpting machine with various attachments was used. This breaks down stubborn trapped fat on different body parts like under the bra line, stomach, curve of the hip and contour of the thigh.
In order to relax me, the therapists gave me a lymphatic drainage massage to stimulate my lymph glands and release toxins that cause bloating. I was sure that my clothes would fit perfectly well after the treatment.
To burn body fat even more, a Thermal Slendering Body Mask was applied on my body. This white powder is made with fat-burning ingredients that are mixed with KY Jelly to form a paste that is painted on the arms, thighs, hips and stomach, which are then covered with a gauge and clear plastic wrap. I was able to take a nap under the Thermo blanket.
The last two steps include the Lipomelt (electrodes are attached to several body parts to tone the muscles) and the Tissue Firming massage (massage oil stimulates the skin firming).
You might think that this procedure takes forever. But with just 12 steps in two hours, there is no down time at all. Dolly measured my arms, bra line, waist line, belly and leg again. Believe it or not, I lost two centimeters. And when I wore my clothes, I felt fabulous and free of flab.
Because you can’t hide under a tunic every day of the week, you can finally start tackling all those other resolutions for ’08. You know, like wearing more micro miniskirts, super short shorts and seductive-looking dresses.
Well, there’s nothing like bringing sexy back.
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Philosophy Salon and Spa by Mikaela is located at Penthouse 832 A. Arnaiz Avenue (formerly
