Y’all know I love unique treatments with a long list of benefits, so of course I had to check out Shrink Wrap, the new sweat lounge in Yaletown.
The lounge has several infrared solopods and a body roller that looks like a roller on steroids. Both have benefits for detoxification, muscle tension relief but the treatment I was most curious about was these solopods, designed to make you sweat BUCKETS.
The duo behind Shrink Wrap, Jenny and Carly, recently invited me to get my sweat on and I just wanted to share my thoughts with y’all PLUS I have a code to save you $ if you want to try it for yourself!
The Claims
It’s a solo infrared sauna pod designed to make you sweat. It feels like a lay-down tanning bed, but without the crisping of your skin, just intense heat – more than you would get from a tanning bed. There are some minor weight loss claims, but I appreciate that they don’t sell the treatment as a weight loss treatment because at the end of the day, any weight loss during the treatment is water weight loss due to sweat – although the heat will help kickstart a sweat sesh it will never be able to completely replace working out.
It has so many claims that you can read more about here, but here’s the gist: the sauna offers 3 layers worth of infrared; near, mid and far. This is what infrared does for each layer:
- Near: skin renewal, cell health, wound healing, and tissue growth.
- Mid: helps expand blood vessels and increase circulation, so more oxygen can reach injured areas of the body.
- Far: reaches deepest into the body, raises your core body temperature, stimulates the sweat glands. Plus, since sweating increases heart rate, cardiac output, and metabolic rate, you’re also burning calories.
The Experience
Any of you who have the extreme privilege of knowing me IRL will know that your girl is a sweaty one. I run hot and I often joke that if I feel cold everyone else is already dead. The entire session is meant to last 30-45 minutes and within 10 minutes my entire body was DRENCHED. I was grateful for the fact that the pod slides down easily so when I felt a bit over heated I could slide the pod down and let the girls breath for a minute or just pull my arms out to scroll on the ‘gram. It was toasty AF. It never got unbearably hot but I could tell if I had to lay there for more than 45 minutes I would probably get uncomfortable.
Unlike tanning beds, you don’t have the claustrophobic nature since you’re not sealed into anything. It is essentially a tube you lay in and extended over your body while leaving your head exposed. If you’ve ever been to Jaybird, you’ll know that it’s a similar type of lamp, but this is next level shit. At Jaybird you can still work out in that heat. I couldn’t even imagine trying to workout in the Shrink Wrap type of heat.
The Cost (AKA: Where the discount code at?)
Listen, like most newer and high-end treatments, this shit at cheap. With the cost of how fancy and legit those pods are it’s no wonder why single sessions start at $59 a session. The best value is for sure the monthly unlimited for $550 if you go as often as they recommend (3 times a week for optimal results). They do have an intro for your first two sessions for $100. That can be used on the solopods or the body roller.
You can use my code Vicki15 for 15% off your first and second single sessions or off of any of the packages. This is just a code to save you dolla, dolla, bills and does not earn me any commission. Cross my heart.
The Verdict
It’s hard to say how much of a difference you’ll experience only attending once, other than getting super sweaty. I do think anyone who can attend regularly would see a noticeable difference since sweat is your body’s way of getting rid of toxins and combined with an intense workout routine I would imagine that Shrink Wrap will speed up results. I asked about working out while also visiting Shrink Wrap and there is a lot of research that points to the benefits of attending before or after a workout depending on each individual person. As a pre-workout treatment the heat can help ease muscle tension and help get your heart rate and sweat already going. As a post-workout treatment, some people may find themselves extremely dehydrated (I guzzled up an entire litre of water immediately after) and sleepy – think of it as how you might feel laying out in the sun all day.
I would be curious to see how other member feel and what changes they notice with consistently visiting Shrink Wrap. What do y’all think? Worth a try? I would love to know if anyone else goes because I need more people to talk to about this whole experience. Get your sweat on and report back, please and thanks.
