Celebrities go all out to look their best for the annual Met Gala in NYC, but there’s more to their flawless looks than a good haircut and a strict workout routine.
One of the newer wellness trends embraced by A-listers are lymphatic drainage massages, a technique that was first used for medical purposes for those suffering from conditions like lymphedema.
What Is Lymphedema?
Lymphatic drainage massages are a go-to for celebrities before big red carpet events.mega
According to Health Direct, Lymphedema is “a type of chronic swelling that affects the soft tissues in your body.”
“It occurs when your lymph nodes or vessels, which make up your lymphatic system, become blocked or damaged,” the description continued. “This damage or blockage causes a build-up of fluid in your body’s soft tissues.”
Jessica Alba recently filmed herself getting a massage — though it’s unclear if it was a lymphatic one.@jessicaalba/instagram
Unlike a regular massage, lymphatic massage uses light pumping and circular motions in areas where there are lymph nodes. This helps to target excessive fluid retention in your body’s tissue.
ProfessorElizabeth Dylke, the head of physiotherapy at the University of Sydney School of Health Sciences, explained in an interview that the practice for people with the condition is used to address “swelling rather than that word ‘puffiness’ which often comes up with people who feel better after a lymphatic massage.”
Beverly Hills-based practitioner Rebecca Faria, whose clients include Jennifer Aniston and Hailey Bieber, used a simple comparison to explain the technique.
“Imagine that you are a sink. The pipes of the sink would be your lymphatic system, and the drains would be your lymph nodes,” she told WWD. “Every time the sink gets clogged, it gets full of water and trash, and nothing can flow. The same thing happens with our lymphatic system.”
Hailey Bieber Called Lymphatic Drainage Massages ‘Totally Underrated’
Hailey Bieber admitted she’s ‘obsessed with lymphatic drainage anything.’mega
Bieber — who stunned at the 2026 Met Gala in a gold and blue ensemble — recently called the practice “totally underrated.”
“I swear by them, live by them,” the star, 29, gushed to TIME. “I’m obsessed with lymphatic drainage anything, but the massages specifically. It is really crazy how much water we hold onto in our bodies.”
Model Olivia Culpo, 34, revealed she gets them about twice a month.
“I’m on a plane pretty much once a week, so I’m constantly trying to combat jet lag and inflammation. The treatment is like hitting a reset button for me,” she explained in a past interview. “I feel lighter.”
A health professor said your body detoxifies on its own.mega
Professor Dylke warned that despite they hype, products that claim to promote “lymphatic drainage” don’t actually detoxify the body.
“That’s what your kidneys and liver do. The lymphatic system’s job is to move fluid from the peripherals as well as support immune function and the removal of some of the other things that your cells break down into,” she said. “The lymphatic system does that really, really well on its own.”
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