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Oct. 14, 2014 - Skeptoid
14:26
Skeptoid #436: Ionithermie

Ionithermie is not effective for slimming or cellulite removal -- or, for anything, really. Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices

Transcriber: nvidia/parakeet-tdt-0.6b-v2, sat-12l-sm, and large-v3-turbo
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Ionothermy: A Skeptical Look 00:14:04
Want to instantly become skinny and flush your body of toxins all in one fell swoop?
Well, Ionothermy is on sale at your local spa, and it promises to do just that.
But can it really be true that such a miracle solution is so easily obtained?
Well, that right there should be enough of a red flag to at least make you a little skeptical.
Today we're going to find out what Ionothermy does and doesn't actually do.
That's up next on Skeptoid.
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Ionothermy.
You've had enough of the cold weather and you're rewarding yourself with a Caribbean cruise.
You've got a few days at sea, so why not pamper yourself with a spa treatment?
And what's this?
Some new treatment that will remove inches instantly.
Ionothermy.
Let's check it out.
If you've been to a spa or on a cruise lately, you've probably seen flyers, banners, TV ads, PA announcements, and perky young staff members touting this miracle treatment for slimming, skin toning, and the removal of cellulite.
Or is that cellulite?
What is it?
I asked that question of a spa therapist on a New England cruise in 2010.
I received the following answer.
They wrap your body in herbs and seaweed, and the seaweed acts like little pac-men that eat up the toxins and cellulite.
That's all cellulite is, toxins.
Ionothermy was developed in France in 1979 by Olivier Fouche, a French biochemist.
There is very little information about Fouch, but he is reported to have been working on a treatment for arthritis.
During the course of his trials, the claimed effects of ionothermy are supposed to have been observed.
The process starts with brushing the body with a dry brush, not unlike a hairbrush.
After a rinsing shower, the patron lays on a pad filled with an algae-infused clay.
The area they aim to treat, thighs, abdomen, face, is then covered in the same clay, which has a frosting-like consistency.
Electrodes are placed on the conductive clay, and for around an hour, current is applied that makes muscles twitch.
As the clay dries, it squeezes a bit.
Here's an explanation of what ionothermy is supposed to do from Shape Master Canberra, a spa that uses the product.
Just one session of the Ionothermy Body Melt Worldwide Established French instant slimming and anti-cellulite treatment, and voila, your favorite dress fits perfectly again.
Topped up with the amazing, pure, organic, 100% chemical-free facial, enriched by healing powers of natural amber and silver, can make your skin look delicious.
Odd grammar aside, I seriously doubt that anything that exists in the physical world is chemical-free, and I'm not sure what the organic powers of amber and silver could be.
But I have some idea as to what delicious skin should look like.
Moving on.
Ionothermy is the only cosmeceutical treatment to detoxify the body at the cellular level.
The treatment gives immediate sustainable inch loss of up to 8 inches per treatment.
Over 1 million treatments are performed annually worldwide, and it is offered on more than 100 cruise liners around the world.
Cosmeceutical is a made-up word, but it ostensibly means look better and be better.
Detoxifying the body at the cellular level seems to pander to the belief that the body is full of toxins that need to be removed through some elaborate diet or ceremony.
More on that later.
As for being on 100 cruise liners, I'd say that number is probably low.
Ionothermy's specialized product range, Les Complexes Biotechnique, includes active ingredients like ivy, seaweed, and amino acids to break down and disperse the wastes of cellulite.
They're claiming active ingredients, though I think such broad terms as ivy, seaweed, and amino acids could probably be further defined, but now we're told that the treatment will break down and disperse the wastes of cellulite.
There is a common belief that cellulite is a mixture of fat, water, and waste products that are introduced to the body through diet and environmental pollution.
The vast majority of doctors disagree with this sentiment and believe cellulite to be a perfectly natural form of fat storage that happens to be more visible in women than men due to physiological differences.
However, let's see if we can learn how the treatment will affect cellulite.
The treatment components are divided as follows.
1.
Galvanic ionization depolarizes and makes the cellular membrane more permeable, so aids penetration of active substances into the deeper layer of the skin.
Also aids and stimulates the lymphatic system.
The claim here is that through galvanism, a real electrical response of the body, chemical-free substances in the clay will be forced into the body where they can get to work on the toxins below.
This is almost certainly false as the dermis is quite good at keeping substances from entering the body.
Any clay that comes in contact with the skin is going to stay on the outside of the skin, regardless of the galvanic response.
A galvanic response could possibly tighten the skin a bit though.
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2.
Thoratic stimulation contracts the muscles by creating a pumping effect, hence increasing circulation in the blood and lymphatic system.
also copies and reinforces natural exercise, thus improving muscle tone and posture.
The electrodes pulse with electricity, and depending on how they're placed, this will cause muscles to contract.
It's likely that you'd twitch and even feel sore as though you'd had a workout after the treatment.
This claim, though oddly worded, is for the most part true.
3.
Heat therapy clay mask increases circulation and aids in the penetration of the active ingredients.
This claim seems to be a duplicate of the first claim.
Wrapping yourself in hot clay will cause you to sweat a lot, however.
4.
Aromatherapy clay mask stimulates the circulation, tones the skin, balances the hormones.
It's a natural diuretic and has anti-inflammatory benefits.
Suddenly, aromatherapy is introduced, though this doesn't seem to be a part of ionothermy, but rather some scents added to the clay mixture.
Circulation will be stimulated and diuresis will occur through that exotic process known as sweating.
If you had a skin inflammation, it's possible that a clay wrap might help reduce the redness, but it could also increase the redness if you had a reaction to any of the non-chemicals used in the process.
As for balancing hormones, that is a very strong claim for something that can't actually enter the body.
The pituitary balances hormones according to what the body senses it needs.
If we're being generous, though, we could concede that this could be a relaxing procedure, especially when performed in a quiet room with soft music and candles, as it often is.
Balancing hormones could be a synonym for relaxing, but perhaps that is overgenerous.
5.
Micronized algae stimulates metabolism, eliminates excess fluid, aids lymphatic drainage, remineralizes and slims and detoxifies.
Micronize just means that the algae was ground into a fine powder.
It could stimulate metabolism if you ate it, but when applied to the skin, it's unlikely to have any results unless temperature is counted.
A higher core body temperature will increase metabolism.
Remineralization seems to suggest that some minerals have been lost.
But from where?
You're applying minerals to your skin, so if that's what they're referring to, yes, you'll have more minerals on your skin than when you started.
Slimming and detoxification are the last and most oft-cited claims.
Detoxification is a new age myth.
If your liver and kidneys are functioning normally, your body is quite good at detoxifying itself.
The idea that toxins build up in a body over time is likely related to reports of heavy metal poisoning or some such, but a healthy person has no need to detox.
Even if they did, this procedure would do nothing to remove anything from your body mix sweat.
As for slimming, this part actually works, at least a little bit, and that's the problem.
It makes it look like all the claims for the treatment are true.
If you wrap any part of your body and then sweat for an hour, that body part will shrink in diameter.
You can see this for yourself if you've ever worn an ACE bandage or had a rubber band wrapped tightly around your wrist.
It's a very temporary effect that will likely last less than a day, though ionothermy claims it can last for months.
However, this is only true if you continue having treatments and follow a strict regimen of exercise and diet.
If you don't get the results you want, it's implied that it's your fault since you undoubtedly didn't exercise enough.
Or did you have a cookie once?
That would explain it.
Why not come in for another treatment?
There's also an issue with the inches lost claim.
Most sources indicate that you can lose up to eight inches in one treatment.
But that's not inches around your waist.
It's total inches around every treated area.
And it could include waist plus arms plus legs and even neck.
Not only that, one news crew caught the practitioner measuring different places during the before and after phases and even padding the measurements by placing a finger under the tape.
These tactics are not inherent to the ionothermy process, but they are something to watch for.
Reviews on ionothermy are not very flattering.
People report being badgered into buying more treatments and more products while they're immobilized on a table.
They're nearly always disappointed at the results.
At upwards of $150 a treatment, you can see the benefit to the spa for recommending it.
There have been a couple of reports of burns from the electrodes, but ionothermy is likely safe, if not frugal.
If you're looking for an intensive spa treatment, smoother skin that smells nice, and a relaxing afternoon in a pleasant environment, you may receive some benefit from ionothermy.
However, know what you're paying for.
Any slimming will be temporary, any health effect negligible, and any medical advice suspect.
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