Sweat Out Holiday Indulgences in the SlimDome

by McLean Robbins (RSS feed)
Nov 27th 2010 at 8:00AM

Chances are, you've spend the past few weeks - and Thanksgiving weekend in particular - overindulging on your favorite foods. Prep for the next round of holiday festivities with a trip to your local SlimDome, an infrared sauna that promises up to a five percent reduction in body weight in just one 45-minute session.

We recently have become devoted to this treatment, which burns 400 to 600 calories per session and is safe enough to use daily. The process is easy - one simply lays inside the dome, a rather coffin-like device that slides up almost to the user's neck. A super-absorbent towel is placed on top of the dome's spongy padding ... because we guarantee you'll sweat ... profusely.

Unlike a regular sauna, the Dome only reaches temperatures of 110 - 140 degrees Farenheit, but it uses infrared technology to penetrate 1.5 to two inches beneath the skin's surface, generating a subcutaneous sweat that doesn't dehydrate but purges toxins from the body at a significantly higher rate than a regular sauna session.

And, because your head and face is outside the Dome, you won't feel nearly as hot.

The sauna may also have health benefits - D.C. area spa owner Amy Boyce of PureSkin (the only D.C. area spa to carry the Dome) says that her mother used the Dome daily after being diagnosed with unhealthy levels of mercury in her system. After a month of regular treatments, she was completely healed.

So here's to being both healthy - and happy with your weight - this holiday season.

Tags: pureskin bethesda, slimdome, spa treatment, washington dc, weight loss

Filed under: Spas

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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)

Loving Annie Nov 27th 2010 10:52AM

Oh My. I so want that. In my house. A 5% reduction in bodyweight with just one session? Really? And swets out toxins without dehydrating you? I WANT THIS.

Sigrid Nov 28th 2010 4:05AM

Oh, please! Don't repeat this nonsense of "toxins"! There are no toxins! There's no scientific proof of something like that. Read Ben Goldacre!

And please don't parrot every press information without at least questioning it a little bit. 5 % reduction in bodyweight? Sure, you will sweat like hell which will make you lose water. As soon as you rehydrate you're back up to your initial weight.

I know, Luxist is no science-blog. But please don't repeat all that bs that's out there. Tell us about nice things that we want to have and not about things produced by companies that just want to make a profit on the dullness of consumers.

Amy Boyce Dec 1st 2010 7:52PM

Sigrid,
Indeed water weight is regained with rehydration, the calories however are expended by the thermogenic process inherent to infrared sauna treatment and they are lost if not re-consumed. If you would like to read the white papers (2007) by Dr. Serge Morton (Research Director for the French Public Health Ministry) or the technical Japanese studies of FIR (far infrared) therapy and the sweat evaluations, I would be happy to provide them. Then perhaps you will feel better informed.
Toxins not real? I respectfully disagree, as I think many informed readers and health advocates would as well. Ben Goldacre is primarily an epidemiologist with a concentration on the MMR vaccine and autism. The toxins that are referenced in FIR treatment are those that are more environmental and consumer lifestyle in derivation. These are very different by any argument.
Infrared sauna treatment continues to impress its ever growing population of enthusiasts and I hope your holidays will include such an experience to holistically change your mind.

Amy Boyce
Pureskin LLC

MorticiaDeb Feb 8th 2011 8:40PM

Amy,
You are correct with what you say. I am a Slimdome owner. Unfortunately for people like Sigrid, they are not educated or ready for things like the Slimdome. I purchased a Slimdome for a small spa that I had opened mid recession. It is very hard to market because people like this are not open minded and won't even try it. They think they know so much. I had my clients stand on a scale that measures everything like weight, BMI, skeletal muscle, fat percentage, and visceral fat. Then after they got out of the Slimdome they measured again, and they were amazed at the results. To make things simple for people, the Slimdome targets your oil glands. You sweat oil mostly because of the low temperature, and not much water. Water comes out with a higher temp. By sweating out oil you are secreting fat and thats how you keep off the weight. It is a simple thing to understand. If you tried it you would like it. I lost 20 pounds my first month. I kept it off. It works great for arthritis sufferers too. I love looking at articles on the web to see people generating articles without even knowing the facts. There is a article on the web that says that you can buy one of these for at home use for 2,000. NOT! I paid 15,000 for mine and it is classified as a medical device, so you can't just purchase one for at home. They did have 3 units on auction on a medical device auction site. They were 2,000 starting bid and the reserve was set at 8,000. I know this because I called about purchasing another. I decided to wait out this recession because customers are not spending enough money to keep these machines operating.