Sounds more like torture than relaxation, but Cryo, the new Japanese health beauty and fitness trend is sweeping the world.
It’s called Cryo and it is a health treatment that helps with weight loss, muscle stress, is anti-ageing and gives you a huge energy burst. It can also help with your sleep. Cryo started in Japan, as a medical treatment to help patients with rheumatoid arthritis and has since been used as a drug-free treatment alternative.
What is it?
Cryotherapy (“cold therapy”) is a technique that uses extremely low temperatures, often around −110∘C to −170∘C using liquid nitrogen, to treat localized areas or the whole body. It is primarily used for reducing pain, decreasing inflammation, accelerating muscle recovery, and treating skin lesions.
Health and Beauty benefits of Cryo:
- Whole-Body Recovery (WBC): Individuals, particularly athletes, use specialized chambers to improve mental health, sleep, and speed up muscle recovery after training.
- Localised Pain Relief: Cryo is used to treat injuries, joint pain, and chronic conditions by reducing inflammation through localized freezing agents like ice, gel packs, or specialized probes.
- Dermatology and Medical Treatments: Doctors use localised cryotherapy (liquid nitrogen) to remove skin lesions, warts, or treat abnormal cervical cells.
Commonly known as:
- Cold Therapy: The general term for any therapeutic use of cold.
- Whole-Body Cryotherapy (WBC): Full body exposure to subzero air.
- Localized Cryotherapy: Targeting a specific body area.
- Cryoablation: A specific medical procedure to freeze and destroy diseased tissue.
The science behind whole body cryotherapy:
Whole body cryotherapy uses the principle of thermoregulation – the body’s response to cold temperatures – to stimulate various health benefits. When exposed to the extreme cold inside the °CRYO Arctic chamber, your body diverts blood to your core to preserve heat, and then sends it back out to your extremities when you step out of the chamber. This process flushes toxins and delivers oxygen and nutrients to the body, promoting recovery, reducing inflammation, boosting your immune system, and more.
I had my treatment done at the Stay Young Cryo Clinic Double Bay. Their signature whole body cryotherapy treatment is the safest and coldest fully immersive cryotherapy experience available today. In just a few minutes, the full body is exposed to 100% breathable air, and temperatures ranging from -110°C to -140°C in the world’s renowned and safest only certified chamber, the °CRYO Arctic. With the full body exposed to the sub-zero temperatures, the treatment stimulates the autonomous nervous system producing a multitude of physical and mental health benefits.
I road tested Cryo over 3 sessions, and this is what I found:
“I didn’t quite know what I was getting myself in for the first time I went to a Cryo session, but the whole setting is super professional and leaps ahead of a traditional beauty salon.
You are ushered into a white, clean private cubicle where the doors zoom open much like a spacecraft and a small TV screen pops up with a full explanation of the treatment you are about to have.
You strip off and into a robe, and after a few minutes the other side of the Cryo cubicle has remote doors that open and you step out to meet your therapist.
The Cryo unit itself is cylindrical with a door that pops open and cool nitrogen mist pouring out, again much like a space ship. It’s out there.
You wear gloves, warm socks and ugg boots, ( thank goodness) and any jewellery has to be taken off.
Once inside the Cryo “machine” it is confronting, as it is quite literally freezing ( for me it was -110 degrees), and you are recommended to stay in for 2 minutes the first time.
Like many things in life this is all about will power. You have to switch off your body’s reaction to scream and say ‘get me the heck out of here’ and just, well, go with it.
You can move around in the limited space, which helped me, and the therapist can count you down. You can also watch your body’s thermal reaction on a screen, as it works to keep the organs warm during the treatment and you can see the heat moving to the centre of your body.
Results?
Cryo seemed to relax my muscles, and my face definitely looked refreshed – maybe younger. I felt super energised and refreshed. I liked it, and it is really quick, easy and non-invasive – tick.
The treatment is effective with regular use, so please book an initial consultation with us to discuss your goals, what you can expect and a personalised treatment plan.
It costs $90 a session. For more info, click here: www.cryo.com.au
