Sacha Walters, Staff Reporter

Shelley Hendrickson, a trained technician from Très Joli, demonstrates how a lipomassage treatment is done

Cellulite and stubborn body fat can plague even those who eat right and exercise regularly. Lipomassage helps those hard workers reduce the appearance of the cottage cheese look and allows them to lose inches.

Shelley Hendrickson, who has seven years' experience using endermologie, says lipomassage is a new technique designed for clients to see results quicker.

Like endermologie, it's a non-invasive procedure which feels like a deep-tissue massage performed with a machine called a Cellu M6 Keymodule, or a Lipo M6. Clients go through consultation and are photographed to help gauge their future progress. The problem areas are identified through a reclining examination.

The client wears a lipomassage body stocking and the problem areas are drawn on it, to guide the technician during the procedure. The technician holds an instrument consisting mainly of two rollers which hold and release the skin in an undulating motion.

The key to the process are the various directions in which the technician moves the skin.

Target key problem areas

It's effective on both men and women who are up to 30 lb above their recommended body weight and can target key problem areas like the stomach, back, hips, thighs and buttocks.

"With endermologie, you had to do a series of 14 treatments, and after eight sessions, you would see the results. But with lipomassage, you can see the results after the first or second treatment," notes Hendrickson.

She emphasised that clients should understand that the procedure is not a weight-loss tool.

"You're not losing weight, you're only losing inches. It's more like physical sculpting," she said. She explains that cellulite results from genetics, a build-up of toxins in the skin, or a lack of water. It will never go away but its appearance can be reduced.

"The treatments are (usually) twice per week and last between 15 and 35 minutes depending on the area you want to work and the amount of fat being worked on." The number of sessions will also be determined by height, age and how long the person has had cellulite.

Once a client does a consultation with the technician and is cleared for the procedure, he or she will have to drink eight glasses of water per day. This is part of the process, which Hendrickson emphasised is all about consistency.

"This is something you to have to maintain," she said, or the problem will return.

Women who are pregnant, or who have thyroid problems, hypotensive or have had cancer in the past, cannot do the procedure.

The machine used to perform endermologie and lipomassage at Très Joli Ltd, located at 27 Upper Waterloo Road, St Andrew. - photos by Sacha Walters

sacha.walters@gleanerjm.com