Last week I popped along to the Infra-red Dome at Alara health shop in Marchmont Street London thanks to My Detox Diet. I was interested in giving it a go as you lie back and relax on a comfortable wooden bed whilst the technology of the unique black carbon dome gradually heats up the body by emitting vibrations of far-infrared rays that are in line with the infra-red naturally produced within the body. The head remains uncovered during this process whilst the dome cocoons the rest of the body for a purifying, regenerating and slimming treatment.
The Infra-red domes ensures a loss of up to 600 kilocalories for every half hour session (even more in some cases). Moreover, the heat penetrates up till 40 mm under the skin, which is purifying, in depth cleansing, reduce cellulite and helps the anti aging effects. I don’t know about you but that all sounded fabulous, 600 cals in half an hour? Bring on the giant dairy milk bar!
I found the dome experience rather spa-like. You simply drink half a glass of water, slip out of your clothes and into the smexy paper pants and then get inside the dome (pictured) which looks a bit like a scanner. You have a towel draped over the top so the heat doesn’t escape and first of all you lay on your tummy face down. You have 15 minutes facing down then you will be told to flip over and lay on your back and the heat intensifies for the last 15 minutes. I only found myself profusely sweating for say the last 10 minutes of the treatment. Your head remains uncovered which I really like as I feel quite claustrophobic when mine is covered up.
Things to note are that you must refrain from alcohol and food prior to the dome session and not shower for at least two hours afterwards but apart from that there are no specific rules on what to do, I personally would recommend taking a comfy pair of yoga bottoms and a thin vest and cardie to wear afterwards just as I felt a bit hot to be putting on a suit but you should be fine to do so, if you needed to go on your lunch hour.
They do say that you will sweat a lot and while I did sweat I certainly didn’t sweat a massive amount, so perhaps I could go hotter next time as she did ask me how I was with saunas to gauge my heat response but I don’t have them so it was probably not on the hottest setting as I am sure she didn’t want me to faint (I didn’t want to either)! The session initiates a deep cleansing and toxins are eliminated from the body as it burns energy and starts to breakdown fats including cholesterol and accumulated toxins. This deeper level perspiration is equivalent to the same effect that might be achieved from a 20 Km run but without the negative side effects on the body.
I did not feel uncomfortable and enjoyed the experience. It was also nice to lie down in the middle of a hard day. Overall I really liked it and the best bit is I was toasty and warm all day since, whereas normally I am absolutely freezing cold and my joins sometimes hurt as they are so cold. I have decided to book myself a few more sessions for January as I can easily fit them around my working day and pop along at lunch time or before work as they are in a really convenient place.
If you like saunas and steams, want to tone your skin, reduce cellulite or detox then this is a great way to do it. I found the whole experience really relaxing and I probably could have fallen asleep if left in there any longer, I was snug as a bug in a rug. I couldn’t say whether I lost weight as they didn’t weigh me beforehand as they normally would (according to their website) which I am presuming was because they thought I wasn’t trying to lose weight as I am not overweight but maybe they just forgot, not too sure.
If you want to detox perhaps in the new year or if you have recently overindulged or want to fit in a specific dress for Christmas this is a great plan, they also offer food plans with juice diets or just healthy and nutritious plans that include the dome as well so you do both to get the maximum weight loss and detox.
This is where I went: www.mydetoxdiet.co.uk
Ground floor of the Alara
Health shop
58 – 60 Marchmont Street
London
WC1N 1AB
Tel: 020 88 58 58 77
Email: info@mydetoxdiet.co.uk
Session provided free for review purposes – I do intend in booking more sessions for the new year so I will update then