Stylish Athleisure that Promotes Bodily Detox and Hormonal Health

There is a clinically-backed reason that the niche luxury line of athleisure, Elastique, inspires genuine excitement within wellness devotees. The fact is that many brands have mastered the art of combining fashion with function, offering stylish, workout-ready garments that make it easy to fit gym time into your schedule. But Elastique made something revolutionary a reality when they combined clinically substantiated, lymph stimulating Microperle™ beads with a compression design that yields clinically substantiated results.

By recreating the effects of a lymphatic drainage massage within a compression garment, you can officially support bodily detox while you exercise, run errands, or lounge around the house. On September 12, their Fall Capsule collection dropped, offering leggings, bras, tops, and more in new, autumnal colorways. (Hint: the black with chestnut trim is truly chic!)

Learn more about Elastique, the brand devoted to lymphatic drainage, and the reasons that lymphatic drainage is so great for women’s health.

Emeline Stout, the Parisian founder of Elastique, began her search for a way to work lymphatic drainage into her life while postpartum. Like many new moms, she struggled both mentally and physically and, for the first time in her life, became a regular gym-goer. “While I was building muscle, I noticed that I was still retaining water and that my skin texture was not improving. My obsession with uncovering the reason why is what led me to learn of the lymph,” Stout explains. Yet, relatably, weekly visits to a lymphatic therapist or esthetician were not feasible in her schedule or budget. 

“So, I turned to what we all do when we need comfort and support: my mom and grandma,” Stout continues. Inspired by her grandmother’s past career as a pharmacist specializing in prosthesis, during which she regularly outfitted men and women in compression garments, she recalled the benefits of compression for swelling. This was the moment Stout decided to create fashionable athletic garments that combined the therapeutic effects of compression with a technology to simulate the effects of lymphatic drainage massage — what later became the brand’s proprietary Microperle™ beads. “To do so, I surrounded myself with lymphologists, dermatologists, lymphatic therapists, and textile engineers to come up with the best garment that would not sacrifice function for fit or style,” she says.

The result? Stylish pieces that you can work out in or wear out and whose results have been substantiated by a clinical study.

In case you need a refresher, the lymphatic system is critical for bodily detox. It breaks down pathogens, including germs and viruses, which are transported throughout the body via the lymph fluid. This fluid runs within pathways that flow between the body’s lymph nodes, which is where white blood cells called lymphocytes break down these toxins and filter them back into the bloodstream to be eliminated. The broken-down toxins then make their way to the liver, kidney, and out of the body as urine. 

The one catch is getting the lymph fluid flowing. “The lymphatic system is the main system through which the body cleanses itself, but it does not have a pump in the way that the circulatory system has the heart pumping it,” explains naturopathic doctor Nadia Musavvir. “Because of this, we need to move our bodies and find ways to stimulate lymph.”

Stimulating the lymph manually need not be a daunting task. In addition to simply moving — whether walking or working out — there are practices such as lymphatic drainage massage, breathwork, dry skin brushing, and castor oil packs, which can all make their way into your regimen. She is also a major fan of Elastique, noting that even when she is not working out, she loves pairing the legging and bra sets with virtually any outerwear — an oversized blazer, denim jacket, or trench coat — and reaches for the bodysuit regularly. “I can do what I need to do while moving my lymph, and I love that,” Musavvir says.

Considering the line’s initial conception in the postpartum phase of new motherhood, highlighting the connection between lymph and hormonal health seems apt. “There are a few ways that lymphatic health, or lack thereof, impacts hormone health,” Musavvir explains. “When the lymphatic system is stagnant, it can lead to inflammation. Chronic inflammation disrupts hormone balance, leading to increased insulin and insulin resistance.” She goes on to explain that hormonal imbalance creates a domino effect in that when one is disrupted or out of balance, the others become imbalanced.

Plus, there is the detoxification aspect. “We live in a world filled with endocrine-disrupting chemicals, so we need all of our emunctories, or detoxification organs, to be working efficiently to rid the body of the toxins and chemicals that disrupt hormones,” Musavvir adds. When the toxins are not eliminated, they are stored in fat cells – fueling the inflammatory cycle that disrupts hormone balance. This is also why Elastique is made using materials and dyes that do not contain PFAs (or forever chemicals) to ensure that they are not contributing to the body’s toxic load but truly supporting it via detox.

When it comes to women’s health, we already know it helps with postpartum water retention and skin texture. But it can help with symptoms of perimenopause and menopause, life phases when hormonal changes can seriously undermine a woman’s wellness of mind, body, and spirit. “I believe it can help with menopausal symptoms due to its detoxification of chemicals. Certain parasympathetic techniques also help put the body in parasympathetic mode, which improves rest and response to stress,” Musavvir says. She explains that less stress means less circulating cortisol (AKA the stress hormone), therefore, better HPA axis health and a better functioning thyroid. As you probably already know, the endocrine is responsible for secreting hormones responsible for metabolism, growth, and development, as well as heart, muscle, digestive function, and more.

While the lymphatic system is responsible for an array of health benefits, it is also worth noting that its contouring effects can help you feel better in your own body. You will love the way it reduces water retention (in fact, you pee more when your lymph is moving), reduces swelling and bloating, and promotes glowing skin. Whether you spring for a slimming and de-puffing lymphatic massage or work out in your Elastique garments to help firm and tone your physique, this brand represents a new class of ally in the desire to make wellness work within our busy lives.