We Tried One Of Selena Gomez s Beauty Secrets And It Was Hot AF Can t keep my sweat to myself. By Nina Mohan June 29, 2016 Hey guys! Lara and Nina here. We re big fans of trying things that celebs do. Nina Mohan for BuzzFeed 1
That s Lara trying a Kardashian-recommended pudding and Nina trying Kendall and Kylie Jenner s swimsuits! So when we heard that Selena Gomez was wrapping herself up like a burrito in a sweat bed, we just HAD to try it. Timothy A. Clary / Getty Images Selena said sweating in the bed for 45 minutes gets your heart rate up, and it gets everything flowing in your body. It s changed my skin, it s kind of changed my body as well, so it feels really good. We went to Shape House, an urban sweat lodge where Selena herself goes! This is where our sweat journey began. 2
Nina Mohan for BuzzFeed According to the Shape House website, they use FAR infrared as a nourishing heat that safely penetrates the skin to increase core-body temperature. This results in an intense, detoxifying, health-boosting sweat that helps you look and feel healthier, happier, and brighter. We checked in with dermatologist Ava Shamban to get her take on some of those supposed benefits. shapehouse / Via instagram.com 3
Shape House says that your pores open fully to allow sweating, which carries impurities and dead skin cells away and leaves your skin immaculately fresh. It sounds amazing, but Shamban says, Yes, if you heat up enough, your pores will open, but the impurities will only go away if you are hosed down after or manually exfoliated with a loofah. Shape House also claims that nutrient-rich blood is brought to the surface by increased circulation, which allows essential vitamins and minerals to help fill in the gaps between skin cells and plump up tiny wrinkles, but Shamban says that while blood is definitely brought to the surface bringing nutrients to the skin cells the claim that vitamins and minerals fill in the gaps between cells is unfounded. So, we won t be getting rid of wrinkles anytime soon. They served us fancy Kangen Alkaline water and had motivational chalkboards. Nina Mohan for BuzzFeed Nina Mohan for BuzzFeed 4
Lara s thoughts: Going into this I was kind of nervous, honestly. I m not a HUGE fan of sweating unless I am doing something to earn it. So just lying down sweating seemed like my worst nightmare. I assumed it would be experiencing pre-menopausal symptoms early. Nina s thoughts: I was pretty excited about this once I heard all the supposed benefits. Glowing skin? Burning calories while doing nothing? Sign me the fuck up. I don t really enjoy being warm but if I m going to come out looking like a new person, it s probably worth it. They recommend wearing an all-cotton getup, which they also provide in the form of orange T-shirts and gray sweatpants that we ~totally rocked~. 5
The entire atmosphere felt sacred. Everything was dark and orange-hued, the rooms smelled heavily of incense, and everyone whispered, even in the lobby. Maybe Selena whispers through all her songs because she s trying to recapture magic of Shape House! Lara s thoughts during the sweat session: I WAS SO DAMN HOT. They set me up in my burrito and within five minutes my back was soaked. I was so hot, I didn t know how I was going to last another 50 minutes. But I also felt incredibly relaxed. I mean, how can you not? You literally just lie in a blanket and watch TV. That s my dream. Nina s thoughts during the sweat session: OK, it starts out warm, but it s not craaazy hot. But then 15 or 20 minutes in, they really crank it up. This thing feels like a combination oven/body bag. I kept sticking my hand out to to get water so I could remember what cool air felt like. For the last five minutes, every time I heard someone walk by I prayed that they would release me from this agony. I 6
could feel my heart beating faster, but I m not sure if that was because the heat was making my body work harder or if I was scared I was gonna die. Here is a bonus pic of Nina, wrapped like a lil sweat burrito. Afterward we were DRENCHED. Nina Mohan for BuzzFeed 7
Lara Parker for BuzzFee They let us get our bearings in the Relax room with tea, orange slices, and Buddha. 8
Lara s thoughts afterward: I felt pretty awesome after sweating it out. I really did have endorphins. At first it s just extreme happiness at no longer being so damn hot, and then you start to feel incredibly relaxed yet energized. I was so ready to do things after I got out! I was going to clean my apartment and go through all my old clothes. I was going to grocery shop AND cook! I mean, I felt like I could conquer the world. As far as looks: I looked like I had just worked out, and I felt like it too. Nina s thoughts afterward: I wouldn t say I felt stoned on endorphins as one person said we might, but I did feel good. That may be because I was just glad that I wasn t being slowly cooked to death anymore. This treatment left me 10 times sweatier than a workout, but I didn t feel 10 times as tired. After eating some orange slices and drinking tea, I felt fresher, despite looking disgusting. The whole process is definitely stimulating, and I did feel better than when I went in, but that could be because I got to just relax and watch Netflix for a while. Are we glowing? Do you even recognize us? Are we Selena Gomez yet? 9
Lara s final thoughts: Honestly, if you re looking for a way to decompress and you aren t feeling up for a run or something, I would recommend it. I don t think I would ever use this to, like, change the way my body looks. It was more about relaxing and giving my body a break. I also was on my period during this experience and it was like lying with a giant heating pad. Very helpful. If you have the money and want to treat yourself, I say go for it. Nina s final thoughts: For the price, this little ritual isn t too bad. I don t think I d replace it with a workout, but it s nice if you just need to rest, feel rejuvenated, and break a sweat without putting in too much effort. I left the place feeling good, but not changed as a human. Then again, my life isn t as stressful as Selena Gomez s. https://www.buzzfeed.com/ninamohan/we-tried-sweating-like-selena-gomez-and-this-is-whathappene?utm_term=.bp6pwybmn#.pwao9aemr 10