What's really going on in lymphatic drainage beauty videos?

What's really going on in lymphatic drainage beauty trend videos? - BBC News

If she's ever feeling bloated, Abbey Alexandra has a go-to routine, using body oil and a wooden roller to perform stomach massages.

She shares before-and-after videos on TikTok, saying she feels the process leaves her depuffed and defined: "You definitely feel a lot better after, they are relaxing."

The technique is a form of lymphatic drainage massage, adapted from a medical treatment and shared as a beauty trend. Celebrity fans include Maya Jama, who shares her clinic sessions, and actress Hailey Bieber, who told Time magazine: "I swear by them."

Whether there is a physical change - or any need for one - is debatable, but fans of the massages claim they help "flatten" and "debloat" and give a "snatched waist" and "sculpted abs". But what's actually happening to their bodies?

Many videos on social media promoting lymphatic massage show a woman either standing sideways, facing the front or perhaps lying down with her stomach showing a slight - and very normal - curve outwards.

Then begins the methodical massage in circular motions seemingly draining fluid away. By the end, her stomach appears flatter - if a little red.

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