Cellulite Caffeine Wrap With An Argentinian Twist

"Tea-Coffee Wrap for Cellulite"

 According to ABC's 20/20, some 90 percent of women have some amount of cellulite, including thin and physically fit celebrities like Pamela Anderson, Britney Spears, Jennifer Lopez, Jennifer Love Hewitt, Lady Gaga, and Nicole Kidman.

 

Although there is no cure-all for cellulite, it's appearance can be reduced by eating a clean diet, drinking plenty of water, losing weight and building strong muscles underneath the fat tissue. Although I enjoy experimenting with different attempts at reducing cellulite, I couldn't agree more with Fitness Celebrity Jillian Michaels:

"Ninety-five percent of women suffer from cellulite, including me. Honestly, at some point we have to embrace our imperfections. They make us human. Who wants perfect? Perfect is boring!"

Nonetheless, this looks super messy and fun and I don't exactly have all the right ingredients, but it's a rainy day here in Argentina so here it goes =)...

STEP BY STEP INSTRUCTIONS:

La Toscana Aceite de Oliva

• STEP ONE: Put 2 Tbs of Extra Virgin Olive Oil into a mixing bowl. The one I used was a generic from the CarreFour Supermarket. In Spanish, Extra Virgin Olive Oil is translated to "Aceite Oliva Extra Virgen".

• STEP TWO: Mix in 1/4 cup of used tea leaves (black or green). Since I am on a budget and did not have used tea leaves in my host house, I decided make the ingredients a bit more Argentine by switching for Yerba Mate leaves instead (Yerba Mate is a highly popular South American herbal drink). Caffeine is a main ingredient in most topical cellulite creams and so I figured the added caffeine and antioxidants would be beneficial to the mix.The brand I used is called La Merced and can be found in most supermarkets around Argentina.

• STEP THREE: Add 1/2 cup of new or used coffee grounds to the mixture. I used Nescafe's Instant Coffee Grounds in the Classic flavor, also found at CarreFour.

• STEP FOUR: Stir all ingredients together (coffee, mate and olive oil) together and microwave for 10-20 seconds.

Nescafe Instant Coffee

• STEP FIVE: Use a dry body brush or dry loofah to exfoliate the problem area. Make sure that you brush in the direction of your heart, which will aid in maintaining good circulation and improve blood flow (poor circulation is one of the main causes of cellulite).

• STEP SIX: Cut open and lay a large plastic garbage bag underneath you (it will get messy!), begin applying the mixture generously to your problem area. Rub it in well so it sticks to your skin and tightly wrap the area in plastic wrap. Once finished, leave the wrap on for 30-50 minutes before cutting off the plastic and rinsing off in the shower with warm water.

Close-up of the resulting mixture

• STEP SEVEN: After your shower, it is recommended to apply a deep moisturizer, cellulite cream or tanning lotion. Be sure to drink plenty of water to keep your body hydrated and flush out excess salt (another cause of cellulite). 

• According to the original article, this wrap should show results anywhere from 6-8 hours or even up to 24 hours for some. Your skin should feel smooth and cellulite should be visibly reduced. It is acceptable to perform this wrap two times a week and you should set out 1-2 hours for the entire process.

Stay tuned to see if this wrap worked for me!

Sources:
'Lose Cellulite With This Tea-Coffee Wrap'
http://teapartygirl.com/2011/06/lose-cellulite-with-this-tea-coffee-wrap/
'Jillian Michaels Tells It Like It Is: Cellulite'
http://www.fitsugar.com/Jillian-Michaels-Tells-Like-Cellulite-978494
'Getting Rid of Cellulite: ABC News'
http://abcnews.go.com/2020/Health/story?id=1009707&page=1
'What is Yerba Mate?'
http://guayaki.com/mate/130/Yerba-Mate.html