Lipo Wrap is a red light therapy device that’s attached to the waist and used for weight loss. It’s sold by a brand called Nushape and the brand claims that this product can “drain toxins from fat cells, burn calories, rev your metabolism and increase ATP production.”
But is red light therapy actually proven effective for weight loss or are these just marketing claims? Does Nushape’s device use the same red light wavelength as that used in clinical studies? How do real users respond to the treatment? And how does the price of Nushape Lipo Wrap compare to other red light therapy wrap devices?
In this article we’ll answer all of these questions and more as we review clinical studies to give our take on whether Nushape is likely to be effective for weight loss, or if it’s a waste of money.
We’ll feature unsponsored customer reviews of the product, highlight some questionable health claims on the Nushape website and provide a cost comparison to another red light therapy device to share our opinion on whether Nushape Lipo Wrap is overpriced.
Can Red Light Therapy Cause Weight Loss?
Nuface Lipo Wrap uses a technology called red light therapy.
This technology is legitimate and is well-studied, and while it’s typically used for anti-inflammatory effects rather than weight loss, we were able to locate some clinical trials on red light therapy for weight loss.
A clinical trial published in the Lasers in Medical Science journal found that red light therapy caused a waist reduction of 1.5 centimeters (cm) after 6 weeks of twice-weekly use.
Trial participants lost 2.2 pounds after 6 weeks. However, the light wavelength used was 532 nanometers (nm) which is significantly different from the 635 nm wavelength used by Nushape.
A 2013 medical review analyzed data from clinical trials on red light therapy and weight loss, and concluded that the technology is promising but that there’s not enough data to support its use as a standalone therapy.
Several of the studies reviewed in this paper used the exact same wavelength of red light as used in Nushape.
Based on the available research, we believe that Nushape Lipo Wrap is potentially effective for weight loss; however, we cannot say so conclusively because while the underlying technology may be effective, we can't identify any clinical trials showing red light therapy to be effective for weight loss at the wavelength used by Nushape.
We don’t currently recommend this product because we believe that there needs to be more safety studies on red light therapy, but we do consider it to be a safer alternative to invasive weight loss procedures like liposuction.
Real People Try Nushape Lipo Wrap
A YouTube creator named “Little Kansas Kitty” tried the Nushape Lipo Wrap for 14 days and explains whether or not she lost weight.
The video includes a product unboxing and a product demonstration:
A TikTok creator named Kristiann claims that the device helped with bloating:
@kristiannityc @NuShape | Red Light Therapy has helped my chronic IBS inflammation daily, my skin on my face, helped my hair grow a bit too and its travel friendly which is a must for me! (Not getting paid this is an honest assessment!) #health #guthealth #inflammationrelief #debloat #ledlighttherapy #skincare ♬ original sound - Kristiann
Are Waist Wraps Pointless?
One of the issues we have with the Nushape device is that the brand fails to explain why the device needs to be applied specifically to the waist.
If red light therapy is effective based on the power and wavelength of the light, then it should be effective regardless of placement on the body. A waist wrap also may be uncomfortable to use.
Most red light devices on the market are simple hanging or wall-mounted panels that users stand or sit in front of. This seems to be a much more user-friendly setting, and may reduce the risk of skin irritation or burns.
We haven’t come across any medical studies suggesting that red light therapy is effective when used as targeted contouring to one specific part of the body.
Red light therapy appears to work for weight loss (based on the trials we've reviewed) by increasing energy metabolism, so it seems illogical to use a device pointed only to the belly and not to the whole body.
Questionable Health Claims on Nushape Website
Nushape’s website claims that “poor blood flow can be responsible” for struggles with obesity. This claim is uncited and we consider it to be unscientific.
We have not come across any medical research suggesting that poor blood flow is a cause of obesity.
Weight loss is a simple thermodynamic process: calories in versus calories out. Consuming more calories than are expended causes weight gain. Burning more calories than are consumed causes weight loss.
The brand's website also claims that their product can reduce cellulite, and again this claim is uncited. We have not come across any medical studies suggesting that red light therapy reduces the appearance of cellulite, nor does Nushape cite any on their product page.
We urge Nushape to either cite these claims or remove them from their website, and we suggest that consumers entirely disregard health claims without any proof made by wellness brands.
Is Nushape Overpriced?
Nushape’s Lipo Wrap is relatively expensive at $499 at the time of updating this article.
The brand's website (accessible here) appears to be the only official retailer, as it's not currently sold at Amazon or Walmart or other major online retailers.
The brand claims to have 600 clinical-strength diodes (lights) which is a large number, but we haven’t seen any medical evidence that more red lights equals greater efficacy.
We found a device called the Wolezek Red Light Therapy Lamp on Amazon that only costs $42.99.
The Wolezek device only appears to have 18 diodes, but until medical studies emerge proving an optimal diode number, it seems illogical to pay more for a higher diode count in our opinion.
Interested consumers can check out the Wolezek Red Light Therapy Lamp at this link.
There are a number of other red light therapy devices online that cost under $100 that we came across while researching this article; we have no particular affinity for the Wolezek device, it was just an example of a relatively cheap red light therapy device.
Our Clean Weight Loss Picks
There are food-based nutrients which have been shown in medical studies to be effective for weight loss.
Dietary fiber was shown in a medical review published in The Journal of Nutrition to cause 16 pounds of weight loss in 6 months when combined with moderate caloric restriction (750 calories per day below baseline).
Supergut Fiber Mix is our top fiber supplement, because it contains three different types of fiber powder, and retails for only $1.75 per serving at a subscription rate.
MCT oil was shown in a meta-study to cause more than one pound of weight loss over 10 weeks. This equates to potential annualized weight loss of 6 pounds per year with less than one tablespoon's worth of MCT oil per day.
Bulletproof MCT Oil is our top MCT oil product, because the only ingredient is MCT oil derived from coconuts. and it currently costs only $15.50 for over a month's worth of product.
Ginger intake "significantly decreased body weight" according to a 2019 meta-study on ginger and weight loss that analyzed data from 14 clinical trials.
Pique La Ginger is our top ginger product, because it's an organic tea in convenient crystallized form, and all that's needed is to pour the powder into a glass and add hot water.
All three of the products mentioned in this section are entirely free of additive ingredients that we consider to be unhealthy or unsafe.
Real Customers Review Nushape
We generally consider Amazon to be a better resource for honest customer reviews than a brand's website, but Nushape isn't currently sold on Amazon.
The brand currently has a 4.8 out of 5 star rating on their website with over 350 customer reviews.
A customer named "Dione R." claims to have lost fat in different parts of the body:
"Such an innovative piece!I got this to help with trimming my waist, but it also helps with thighs and back as well"
Nushape currently has an average review rating of 4.9 out of 5 stars on Trustpilot.
Pros and Cons of Nushape Lipo Wrap
Here are the pros and cons of Nushape Lipo Wrap in our opinion:
Pros:
- Red light therapy has promising early research for weight loss
- Should be safer than more invasive therapies like lipo
- Can be used passively (convenient)
- Red light therapy may have secondary benefits like reduced inflammation
- Positive online customer reviews
Cons:
- This device doesn't appear to be clinically tested
- Relatively expensive without proven superiority over cheaper options
- Brand website contains uncited health claims
- We can't find evidence that waist wraps are better than whole-body red light devices for weight loss
- We can't find evidence of an optimal diode count for red light therapy
- Nushape Lipo Wrap uses a different wavelength of red light than the clinical trial we could find showing red light therapy to be effective for weight loss
