LPG Endermologie – the salon treatment that can fix both your cellulite and your sleep
LPG Endermologie has been around for decades but it’s found a new following thanks to its proven stress-busting and sleep-promoting powers. We tried it out.
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In the 1990s, LPG Endermologie was simply a salon body-sculpting treatment. Beauty editors (me included) flocked to this rolling and pummelling massage machine to have our cellulite zapped, dressed in a delightful white bodystocking meant to enable the device to glide over the skin. It was painful and bruising but, back then, cellulite seemed to require a punishment beating.
These days, however, the tech has been upgraded, the pain is no more, and the now-relaxing experience boasts a host longevity and wellness-boosting benefits. It’s proven to help with a vast range of modern malaises: stress, gut health issues, injury recovery, sleep, excess, water retention, lax skin… you name it!
It can reduce cortisol by 19 per cent in a single session, give you 55 per cent fewer sleepless nights, and it may even have a mild Ozempic-like effect by boosting the ‘fullness’ hormone present in your body.
I was pleasantly surprised when I was lured back to test the latest iteration of the machine (the LPG Cellu M6 Infinity) for an entirely painless course of ten sessions of the ‘Vitality-Stress-Sleep’ protocol. The results? Less water retention in my legs and face, a reduction in my sky-high stress levels and an hour extra sleep per night.
There’s host of other protocols to choose from to deal with your specific issue, and your therapist can create a bespoke programme: you could have your muscle pain and lax skin tackled at the same time, for example.
EF Medispa founder Esther Fieldgrass, who has just brought the latest machine into her London clinics, has noted that patients soon get hooked on the machine’s feelgood-benefits: “They come in for vanity reasons, wanting to target fat or cellulite, but end up feeling so relaxed they come back for Endermologie as a wellness treatment,” she says.
What is LPG Endermologie?
Sometimes just called ‘LPG’ or ‘Endermologie’, this is a mechanical massage machine with patented technology that started life originally as a medical device to loosen and smooth scar tissue and improve skin regeneration in burns victims. It’s also long been used by surgeons to prepare skin for going under the knife, because it improves its resilience and quality.
The machine in action – and, yes, you do have to wear the body stocking (image: lpg-group.com)
It combines rollers, suction and vibration to mobilise your blood circulation and lymph, to help distribute nutrients and oxygen and dump waste and toxins. It ‘wakes up’ dormant cells in the skin, encouraging collagen and elastin regeneration; and it helps release stubborn clumps of fat while softening the hardened tissues that contribute to puckering and cellulite.
It originally gained traction as a slimming and anti-cellulite machine, owing to its bespoke combinations of different massage actions tackling the many pathways of orange-peel skin and bloating.
Does LPG Endermologie hurt?
There are no needles or burning lasers here and the treatment is entirely non-invasive, but early versions of the machine had a reputation for pinching badly, especially in areas of stagnant lymph drainage and hardened tissues. From memory, I wasn’t the only beauty editor who didn’t go back after her first session!
But all of that has changed. “The machine is calibrated to work deeply through a variety of massage techniques, but without hard squeezing or pinching,” says LPG UK trainer Esther Simon, who does my treatments. I’m encouraged to pipe up whenever anything feels sore (which invariably happens as I have overly tender lower legs), at which point Esther lowers the massage intensity immediately.
GTG’s Victoria Woodhall trying LPG Endermologie treatment
What can LPG Endermologie do?
A lot:
- Reduce cellulite and help release stubborn fat
A course of treatment improves contours (by helping to drain fluids and loosen clumps of fat cells) and the look of cellulite – but don’t expect a dramatic transformation.
- Treat oedema and water retention
It’s very effective at lymphatic drainage, so popular for ‘heavy legs’ and other areas of bloating. The NHS use it to relieve oedema and water retention in patients.
- Hydrate dry skin
The massage boosts circulation kneads the tissues just under the skin, helping to flood them with internal moisture in order to hydrate skin from within.
- Firm sagging skin
By stimulating collagen and elastin production, skin will get slightly firmer – but the treatments won’t fix advanced laxity.
- Smooth scar tissue
Consistent treatment can soften the look of scars by stimulating and loosening hardened tissues.
- Relieve muscle soreness
By helping to carry off lactic acid and improve blood flow, muscle soreness can be reduced.
- Help heal injuries
GTG’s Victoria Woodhall had a lower back injury and stiff neck treated with Endermologie: the massage will increase tissue elasticity, increase circulation and lymph drainage, and reduce swelling to increase healing and reduce pain.
- Settle stress and anxiety
It’s proven to be able to reduce cortisol (the stress hormone) in the body by 19 per cent in a single session and up to 45 per cent over a course of treatments, helping to relax your system and ease stress.
- Improve your sleep
By the same token, it improves sleep: a clinical trial showed participants had 55 per cent fewer sleepless nights.
- Beat fatigue and lack of vitality
Endermologie helps re-energise the system in a number of ways; the NHS uses the machine to treat the pain and fatigue of fibromyalgia. Apart from a 15 per cent improvement of nutrient and oxygen intake, trials showed treatment can bring about a 9 per cent increase in T lymphocytes (white blood cells that are part of your immune defence). Heart rate variability, meanwhile, can increase by 77 per cent. A high HRV means the body can adapt better to stressors, which means better overall health.
- Treat gut issues, digestion and overeating
The detoxifying effects of lymph drainage reduce inflammation and improve gut health and digestion. And there is clinical proof Endermologie increases leptin, the hormone that makes you feel full, by 4.3 per cent. So that’s a mild Ozempic-like effect – without any jabs.
What is an Endermologie treatment like?
There are many different programmes. I opted for a course of the ‘Vitality-Stress-Sleep’ protocol (10 are recommended, twice a week for five weeks) to help regulate my stress levels and sleep pattern.
After donning the white skin-tight bodysuit (there’s no getting around this as without it, the handset will stall and pinch the skin), I submitted to the bespoke plethora of massage sensations: alongside pummelling, suction, squeezing and rolling, the handpiece dispenses pulses and massage ‘flap’ manipulation. All of it is painless and quite pleasant, taking in the front and back of the body and reaching your skin, lymph, fascia, muscles and even organs.
You can definitely feel a release of physical and psychological tension as you undergo treatment; I fell into a semi-sleep for part of most of my sessions. There was a lot of emphasis on the spine and back to bring this about, impacting, presumably, the vagus nerve and so promoting a state a of calm.
I‘m a great believer in lymphatic drainage for long-term health (we have previously sung the praises of the Body Ballancer aka lymph drainage trousers), and have also benefited from deep tissue massage as a proven sleep-promoter. So it’s been no surprise that the soothing VSS sessions have left me feeling calmer and more in control of the daily stress-fest. I am also more able to fall asleep again after I invariably wake up at 4am.
GTG’s Ingeborg (left) and Victoria Woodhall rocking their body stockings
How long do results last?
To maintain results, you have to keep having treatments. A clinical test shows that results are maintained and improve for about a month after the last treatment of your initial course, so once-monthly top-ups are advised.
Is there downtime?
No, Endermologie involves no downtime and is safe for most. Only people with cancer in progress, blood diseases, infections or undergoing anticoagulant treatment are not advised to have it. Pregnant or breastfeeding women may require modified protocols.
Is Endermologie better than manual massage? Our verdict
It’s likely any good manual massage has similar relaxing, energising, fluid-draining and muscle tension-relieving benefits to Endermologie; they just haven’t been subjected to the clinical research that LPG has done on its machine.
A benefit of Endermologie treatments, however, is that it can do multiple types of massage at once, potentially achieving more holistic results for your money than your choice of manual massage can. There are no oils involved, making the process less messy and more time-efficient than manual massage. Both Victoria and I would consider having regular Endermologie massages in place of manual ones.
What does Endermologie cost?
It depends on the protocol and the length of the session (the shortest sessions, for facial drainage, are 10 minutes). A Vitality-Stress-Sleep treatment, which is 40 minutes, costs £95 on average around the UK, with discounts for multiple treatments
Where to go for LPG Endermologie
It’s widely available around the country: for your nearest salon, visit LPG Endermologie. GTG-approved ones include EF Medispa, Dr Galyna’s Wellness Hub, The French Pharmacy, and Wessex Skin Clinic.
