I tried a head-to-toe lymphatic drainage massage—here’s how it worked

Ditching toxins is one of those wellness-y things that we hear about all the time. There are foods, workouts, supplements, and all kinds of other things that promise to help your body get rid of the nasties. While there’s a decent bit of healthy debate around whether or not this is totally possible (or necessary), trying out a buzzy treatment here or there is sometimes simply irresistible.

That’s why in the latest episode of Well+Good’s YouTube series, What the Wellness, our fearless treatment-tester-slash-senior-video-producer Ella Dove found herself at New York City’s IMD Spa for a magnesium body wrap and lymphatic drainage massage to see if it could help to reset her body.

A quick note on how it’s supposed to work: The lymphatic system carries a colorless fluid called “lymph,” which transports things like toxins and minerals we don’t need through our bodies. When that system gets blocked up, you hold onto things that your body doesn’t want. The lymphatic system works just fine on its own (especially if you’re doing things like moving your body and drinking water), but a lymphatic drainage can help speed up the toxin-ridding process along.

Now, obviously some treatments are better than others, but this one was a triple-whammy of toxin-trapping gusto: a “Halle Berry as Cat Woman meets trash bag woman” charcoal suit, an infrared sauna, and an intense massage. Does it actually work—and more importantly, is it worth spending your hard-earned wellness dollars on? Watch the video above to find out.

Lymphatic drainage massage is hardly the only wild wellness treatment Dove has tried this year. Be sure to check out the time she tried the crystal facial you’ve been seeing all over Instagram, and the freezing cold workout that left her sore for days.