#WIM HOF METHOD EXPLAINED SKIN#

“These allow for much shorter blasts at cooler temperatures (below -100 degrees Celsius), requiring you to be in there for between two and four minutes” wearing special gloves, slippers, a headband and a surgical mask.

#WIM HOF METHOD EXPLAINED SKIN#

It can also help to de-puff the face, and could help reduce inflammation from skin conditions like acne.”Ī controlled alternative is visiting a dry cryotherapy chamber, which can be found in specialist clinics and spas. Cold also causes contraction of pores, which results in a temporarily smoother look of the skin. “Improved circulation around the body also benefits skin, through enhanced delivery of oxygen and micronutrients, making the complexion appear more radiant and healthier. The cold can also have bonuses for skin, she adds. Plus, she notes anecdotal evidence that “cold therapy can improve circulation, deepen sleep, reduce inflammation in the body, improve energy levels and boost metabolic rate – and therefore aid weight loss”. “There is also emerging evidence that cold therapy could help ease symptoms of anxiety and depression and boost immunity,” she continues. It’s a great option for helping speed up recovery after exercise, which is why so many elite athletes are fans of doing ice baths.” “Perhaps the most well-known include aiding muscle recovery and joint pain, and to help healing after injuries. There are numerous potential benefits to gain from cold therapy, Dr Shotter feels, having investigated them for an episode on biohacking for her podcast, Age Well with Dr Sophie Shotter. Josh Shinner The health (and beauty) benefits of cold therapy “Anything from cold at the end of a hot shower, to swimming in a lake or doing a plunge at the gym.” Even 'grounding' – the therapeutic practice of having skin contact with the earth – by walking barefoot in winter counts, she adds, “because, let me tell you, when that grass is wet, that's also about cold therapy!”. “Just going outside and walking with slightly less clothing on than you would usually, or sitting outside having a cup of tea when it's a bit cold – that's a form of cold therapy.” Incorporating water is the version of it that Ferguson does the most, however.

So, when your body feels a bit chilly, it's good for resilience,” she says. “We live in heated houses everything's comfortable all the time.

While the likes of athletes and A-listers are keen to extol the virtues of cold-water therapy, know that it needn’t involve water at all, as functional medicine practitioner Rosemary Ferguson points out to us. While on the other hand, cold therapy can be as simple as how you shower (“even if it's just turning the temperature down at the end of your shower it really invigorates you,” Miranda Kerr – a picture of wellbeing – told us recently). Take the Wim Hof Method, “a very well-known method of cold-water immersion, which also encompasses breathwork techniques and meditation and has really brought cold therapy into the mainstream”. Indeed, at one end of the scale it can comprise a lifestyle protocol, as the award-winning Dr Sophie Shotter tells Bazaar. Cold therapy is one of them, and it can be experienced in myriad ways – whether you have Wim Hof-levels of enthusiasm or simply want to dip your toe (literally and figuratively). But, at their core, many rituals that can help you feel well needn’t be complicated or costly. Thanks to the constant commodification of self-care, and the romanticising of practices billed as such on social media, the world of wellness can feel overwhelming and unrelatable.

Wim hof method explained