3 Quick Home Remedies for Summer Bloat
If those shorts you wore two days ago won’t zip up or your face is looking more swollen than slim, you’re likely dealing with summer bloat from heat-related water retention. The good news? We found fast remedies to reverse the pesky problem so you look five pounds slimmer — in under 15 minutes.
Puffy face? Suck on an ‘iced tea’ cube.
Heat expands blood vessels in the face, making room for fluids to pool. But holding an ice cube made of dandelion tea against the roof of your mouth for 60 seconds can de-puff summer bloat from the inside out! The diuretic tea flushes fluids from the body, and ice’s chill shrinks nerves on the mouth’s roof that are connected to blood vessels in the face.
To do: Steep a bag of dandelion tea like Yogi Tea Roasted Dandelion Spice Detox ($15.36, Walmart) in 1 cup of hot water; freeze the brewed tea in an ice cube tray overnight. Use as needed.
Cankles? Soak them in tonic water.
When the temperature is high, prolonged periods of sitting or standing can cause fluids to accumulate in legs, resulting in swollen ankles, says Kansas City dermatologist Audrey Kunin, MD. Her tip: a tonic water foot soak. Quinine, the compound that gives the water its bitter flavor, has anti-inflammatory properties that absorb into skin to reduce swelling. Plus, the bubbles help soothe achy feet.
To do: Fill a basin with enough cool tonic water to cover ankles (about 2 liters). Soak feet for 15 minutes; rinse.
Bulging belly? Rub it with a body roller.
The lymphatic system is known to slow down on high-heat days, which can lead to fluid retention that makes our midsection look 5 pounds heavier. To the rescue: a jade belly roller. The stone’s cool-to-the touch, anti-inflammatory effect helps cut down on summer bloat, while the massage — like motions of rolling the stone around the belly help move stagnant fluids so they drain out through lymph nodes, says Dr. Kunin. To speed benefits, look for a roller like Pacifica Activation Crystal Serpentine Body Roller ($19, Ulta) that has a textured “wheel” that helps stimulate circulation even more.
To do: Rub a quarter-size amount of olive oil or body lotion on the stomach to reduce friction. Then make 10 brisk, horizontal strokes with the roller, starting from below the belly button, out toward the right side of the abdomen. Move up in 2” increments and repeat steps until you reach the bottom of the rib cage. Repeat on the left side.
A version of this article originally appeared in our print magazine, First for Women.
