Instead of crash dieting, try this widely-practised form of self-care before a big event: herbal steam bath.

A few weeks ago, my friend and I were locked in a discussion on how to lose weight quickly and painlessly. We wandered onto the topic of the herbal steam bath, which I had never heard of before our conversation. A few days later, another friend mentioned the practice and invited me to try it out with her. I wasn’t too keen on the idea, but two conversations about this specific topic within a week? It must be a sign.

A quick search on Google brings up lots of results on herbal steaming therapy, with multiple venues across Malaysia offering the service. If this supposedly effortless slimming concept has your interests piqued, well, I took one for the team and did the research for you.

Herbal steam bath or herbal steaming therapy is no new concept. It’s been practised as a part of Traditional Chinese Medicine for over 3,000 years and is one of the oldest forms of relaxation therapies. And it’s more than just stepping into a shared sauna room and cooking yourself silly for an hour or two — with herbal steaming therapy, you get your own little wooden box, where a customised mix of herbs is boiled in concentrated amounts for your body to soak up.

If you paid attention during biology class, you’ll know that heat — from the steam, in this case — triggers a thermoregulation response in the body. This means blood vessels dilate, leading to improved blood flow and more nutrients and oxygen delivered to the skin cells. After a steaming session, even without any herbal ingredients, you’ll walk out with a healthy glow thanks to all the sweating. I don’t know about you, but I love it when the results are immediately visible so I know I put my money to good use.

But wait, there’s more! The addition of medicinal herbs and oils takes the process to a whole new level. It provides targeted stimulation to the skin and muscles that a natural healing response; acts as a catalyst on specific joints to improve muscle and nerve functions; opens up the pores and flushes out gross stuff like sebum and blackheads; and reduces the body’s production of cortisol, a stress hormone, so you can chill out (much needed, literally and figuratively in this Malaysian heat). Oh, and most importantly — for me, at least — it helps increase metabolism to shed those pesky calories.

This story first appeared on Lifestyle Asia Hong Kong.

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