If you've spent time scrolling on social media recently, you'll likely have noticed celebrities such as Louise Redknapp, Denise Van Outen, Frankie Bridge, Zoe Ball and Mollie King sharing photos of themselves wearing lymphatic drainage trousers.
MORE: Louise Redknapp 'gets ready for summer' with 30-minute toning treatment
Also known as compression trousers, these funny-looking, but undeniably effective trousers, are filled with air chambers that inflate and deflate, mimicking a lymphatic drainage massage.
WATCH: Frankie and Wayne Bridge share their bizarre bedtime routine
How do lymphatic drainage trousers work?
According to Body Ballancer, who create Zoe Ball's compression trousers of choice, the massage action of the chambers inflating and deflating increases circulation to rid the body of waste
MORE: Zoe Ball and her mum both suffer from this secret health condition
RELATED: Denise Van Outen shares 'odd' secret for toned legs – and it only takes 45 minutes
What are the benefits of compression trousers?
1. Ease water retention
Compression trousers are designed to boost circulation, which helps to ease water retention. Presenter Zoe Ball said she and her mum both love them for easing their tired legs, which they suffer from as a result of water retention.
© Photo: InstagramZoe Ball posted about her love of lymphatic drainage trousers
Lipoedema is a more serious heavy leg condition, suffered by Love Island star Shaughna Phillips, and compression trousers are often used to treat the condition.
2. Leg toning
A happy side effect of boosting your circulation and easing water retention is that swelling is decreasing, making legs look toned and slim, with the appearance of cellulite reduced too. It's this reason that many celebs indulge in a session with the trousers ahead of awards ceremonies – Vanessa Hudgens included.
© Photo: InstagramVanessa Hudgens wore lymphatic drainage trousers ahead of the 2022 Oscars
3. Exercise recovery
Lymphatic drainage trousers support the body’s natural circulation to accelerate recovery, reducing muscle soreness and relieving fatigued muscles. Mollie King's professional cricketer fiancé Stuart Broad wears them after training, while Mollie said she loves to slip them on after wearing heels – each to their own!
© Photo: InstagramMollie King and Stuart Broad use their compression trousers for different reasons
4. Reduce tension
If you find you get tight in your hips, thighs or buttocks, compression trousers can ease the tension, often caused by our increasingly sedentary lifestyles.
MORE: Frankie Bridge gives rare insight into her unusual bedtime routine with husband Wayne
5. Clearer skin
Yes, really! Many clinics add lymphatic drainage to facial treatments, including A-list facialist Joanna Vargas, who uses the high-tech trousers in her Body Booster treatment.
On her website, the facialist writes of the procedure: "The Body Booster is a full leg compression device that helps improve circulation throughout the body, and worn during your facial. This action delivers fresh nutrients to our deepest tissues and moves stagnated fluids, thus detoxing the body. Regular treatment of the lymphatic system will boost immunity, reduce inflammation, and speed the body’s healing process. This add-on service will improve the results of your facial."
6. Relaxing
The rhythmic motion of the trousers is ultra-relaxing when you get used to it – Frankie Bridge wears hers in bed as a testament to how chilled they make you feel.
READ: Vanessa Hudgens shares secret to her super toned legs - and it only takes 30 minutes
How long do lymphatic drainage trousers take to work?
Heavy legs, tightness, water retention muscle soreness can be relieved with just one session in the trousers.
To reduce the appearance of cellulite, about 12 sessions are needed, according to Body Ballancer.
The trousers all have different settings – Mollie King's Therabody trousers have a ten-minute session, perfect to use every day for muscle tension.
Tempted? Lymphatic drainage trousers are quite the investment, but with all those incredible benefits, we think it's a justified splurge
Therabody RecoveryAir JetBoots, £799, Therabody
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Therabody's RecoveryAir JetBoots are Mollie King and Stuart Broad's lymphatic drainage tool of choice. They're wireless, have four different treatment session lengths (20 min, 40 min, 60 min, and continuous), with four pressure settings depending on how intense you want your treatment.
You might recognise the Therabody name - they also make the cult Theragun home massage gun for exercise recovery, so you just know these will work wonders when it comes to ease muscle soreness post-exercise.
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