I tried the infra-red sauna blankets credited as secret to Selena Gomez’s body
Selena Gomez has jumped on board a new trend that promises to burn 600 calories while you are lying down. So I tried it.
If you’re like me, you might be a sucker for clicking on the secrets to Miranda Kerr’s glowy skin or how Jessica Simpson dropped 45kg.
So when I found out the infra-red sauna blanket I was trying is among a trend that has celeb fans including Selena Gomez, I was sucked in again.
I’ve always been a fan of saunas – not just for the health and wellness results they’re said to bring – but also because, as someone who doesn’t do intense cardio, there’s something awfully satisfying about profusely sweating while sitting.
You always feel great afterwards too. And using the MiHIGH blanket for the second time, I certainly did (the first time I wasn’t really sure what I was doing).
The second time I popped it on the bed, set myself a 40 minute timer in case I fell asleep, put it on the best heat setting and tucked myself in like a burrito (as Selena says).
“I have a sweat bed, which looks like a burrito that I wrap myself up in, and I sweat for about 45 minutes,” Selena told Elle.
“Just little things to kind of keep me healthy and keep me focused.”
This time it was much hotter and once I eased myself in, I quickly became relaxed.
Before I knew it, I woke up to my alarm in a pool of burrito sweat – not thinking I’d ever actually fall asleep. Hot (literally) tip: Put a towel under your head if you don’t want said pool on your bed sheets. Oops.
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Aussie best friends Ed Hodge and Wyatt Westmoreland came up with the idea to create infra-red sauna blankets – which they sell for $649 – after working in the e-commerce space.
“It needed to be riding a wave of a trend and the whole infra-red industry as whole was booming with celebs and athletes,” they said.
They launched MiHIGH during lockdown, strangely while living separately in Queensland and Victoria, and have already sold 2500.
Infra-red heat is said to be seven times more detoxifying than regular heat and a 30-minute session in a MiHIGH blanket claims to burn up to 600 calories.
By comparison, a 30-minute jog burns about 300 calories.
“It’s taken off everywhere, particularly the UK where it’s colder and we find people are really enjoying the blankets over there,” the business partners said.
“This is an innovative product that allows people to get the benefits of a sauna at home and burn calories.”
Customers already include the England rugby team, NFL players and NHL professional athletes.
Other celebrities to get on board the infra-red sauna trend include Lady Gaga and Gwyneth Paltrow.
Selena said the process releases all the toxins in her body.
“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,” she said.
David Colbert, founder of New York Dermatology Group, said the long wave infra-red energy heated the skin in a different way than traditional saunas.
“It’s called radiant energy for a reason — it penetrates deep into joints and muscles and gives the skin a radiant glow,” he told Us.
I have to say, I agree with Selena – it does feel really good – and who doesn’t want a radiant glow from simply lying in bed?