Rediscover your waist

It's true – new targeted treatments can help you claim back your curves. Three readers try some new moves on the salon menu and we test a few smart at home alternatives

When the accessory of the moment is a wide and sexily cinched belt, it doesn't take a genius to know that the next beauty treatment hotspot has to be your waist. To say we're bothered by our spreading waistline is an understatement – in truth we're obsessed by it! Look at any survey about the body and our fast disappearing hourglass shape rates higher than lined necks, underarm swoop and cellulite. Beauty pros are hip to the moment and their collective antenna have been twitching over new moves for that area for ages. So what's new?
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1 Tone it with a tingle
Ionithermie Arm and Tummy Trim – tested by Sarah Johnson, 40, from Surrey
The Promise
The experts at Ionithermie reckon that to firm up arms and abs you'd need to do 600 tricep curls and 600 ab crunches and this can be done without you getting off the treatment couch!
The Pampering A mix of wet clay and electrical impulses didn't sound too glamorous, but the thought of tightening my tummy and upper arms in one hit pushed me into having a try. I'm a nervous type, but my therapist talked me through it and made me feel at ease as she went through a great body scrub and soothing massage using firming cream and gel – nice and relaxing. Then came the different bit. A clay mix, held in place by gauze, was spread over my waist, stomach and upper arms. Little wires were attached and an electric current passed over the area which tingled slightly to start, then increased until I felt my muscles contract slightly. Did I mention that I was a nervous type? Well, I stayed at the lower end of the impulse range, which felt as though it was doing something, but was well within my comfort zone. My friend, who's had a whole series, loves it right at the top end where you can literally see your muscles jump. After
30 minutes of gentle tingling and a facial massage to take my mind off things, the masks were taken off and my skin was treated to buffing and smoothing with a rich and ultra-luxurious body lotion.
The Performance
I noticed a difference at once, as my waistline felt firmer and smoother and my tum less soft. As an unexpected bonus, it did all that for my upper arms too and a dry skin problem I have there was smoothed out. Not a drift off and dream therapy, but definitely a hit with me.
Ionithermie Arm and Tummy Trim. From £50-65 per session for 1 hour 15 minutes. Call 01753-833900 for salons. For a superb three-day face-lift diet, click here

2 Smooth It with massage
Clarins Pro-Active Redefining Body Treatment – Tested by Erica Knight, 54, from Yorkshire
The Promise A bespoke treatment that helps shape your body and firms contours.Creams and oils are prescribed for you and could include Clarins' new Super Restorative Redefining Body Care cream gel.
The Pampering After slipping into disposable undies and under some soft towels on the salon bed, my therapist eased me into the treatment by gently rocking rather than massaging my muscles to release tension – so needed after rushing there! Lying on my back, she massaged from toes to waist to get rid of excess fluids and work on cellulite. Using long sweeping movements she worked up to the décolleté and arms. I was turned on my side and given a towel bolster to hug, while she worked on my legs from ankles right up to my bottom and waist, plus the sides of my back and waist. Then I was turned and the moves repeated. Lying on my tummy, she worked on my back, halfway down onto my bottom and love handle area. At times during the treatment I was asked to tense my muscles, which makes fat and fluid stand out to be worked on. Finishing with a fabulous back massage, she then repeated the rocking movements from the beginning of the treatment. Bliss! For a waist-cinching diet, click here
The Performance Not deeply relaxing – there's lots of movement – but my body felt smooth and toned, especially my waist.
Clarins Pro-active Redefining Body Care Treatment. From £53 for 1 hour 20 minutes. Call 0800-0363558.

3 Throw water at it
Spa Find Aquablitz Spa Body Programme – tested by Kate Smith, 45, from Kent
The Promise Designed to break down fatty cells and drain toxic waste by lymph drainage, this unique massage head sucks and massages, while it pumps warm, mineral-rich Dead Sea water and essential oils over your receptive skin.
The Pampering This sounded like one of those treatments where they blast you with water and leave you bruised and soaked, but how wrong could I be? No hugging the walls as you're hosed down for this, you lie on what they call a wet treatment couch, which drains water away, so you stay relatively dry. After a skin analysis and consultation to decide just which areas to focus on, I stretched out on the couch for the first part of the treatment. Using a clever treatment head attached to a hose that sucked as it pumped water and oil over my body, my therapist Charlene massaged my troublesome areas. What sounds potentially agonising is in fact rather nice – not painful and fairly comfortable – probably thanks to an essential oil and water mix that keeps the suction head moving without pulling skin too hard. After a while she switched suction heads to something that would give me more of a lymphatic drainage-style massage and went over those less than lovely areas again.
The Performance I really noticed a decrease in fluid retention after just one treatment and after five there was such an improvement that I'm going to carry on and have the recommended 15.
Spa Find Aquablitz Spa Body Programme. £60 for 1 hour. Call 01580-211055 or visit www.spafindskincare.com.

Waisting away Too shy to hit the salon or maybe you want to top up the re-curving process at home? Try these new toners and shapers.
o Clarins Super ResTorative Redefining Body Care For Abdomen And Waist, £45 for 200ml. Don't get huffy at the thought of an extra step in your bodycare. This one has had great test results with waist measurements reduced by up to an inch in a month and a flatter stomach. Call 0800-0363558.
o Ionithermie Instant Body Trim, £55 for four easy applications. At last, an at home body wrap that works. A no-fuss, no-mess experience. Mix the mask, smooth it over thighs, bottom or waist, wrap with the gauze and relax for
30 minutes. Unwrap for firmer, slimmer, tighter contours. Call 01753-833900.
o Spa Find Inchwrap Firming Gel and Firming Moisturiser, £24 and £19 for 250ml each. Another firming/smoothing duo? Hold on, testers really rated the gel, with some saying it felt like wearing a body stocking! Call 01580-211055.

Need to get a waist by tonight? Book in for an Inchwrap treatment. After being wrapped in mineral-rich gel and what looks like clingfilm, you could lose up to 17 inches all over your body. £40 for 11⁄2 hours. Call 01580-211055 for salons.

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