There are some face and body treatments offered by salons and spas. The idea is not to do them all regularly, but rather to try them out to see which ones you enjoy the most and want to incorporate into your program. These treatments include body sloughing, salt scrubs, herbal and seaweed wraps, mud baths, enzyme baths, body masks and hydrotherapy massage for exfoliation, detoxification and relaxation.
1. Body sloughing
The treatment is the same as we at home to remove dead skin and stimulate circulation. The only difference is that the back of your body receives full treatment. The practitioner may use more pressure than you would use on yourself, and the full treatment takes about 20 minutes instead of 5.
It’s very much like getting a Swedish body massage, except the masseuse uses a sloughing cream and a brush or rope mitt instead of her hands. The sloughing is followed by a shower and the application os a soothing lotion. Your entire body feels alive and tingles, and your skin will glow!
2. Salt Scrubs
The body is moistened, then massaged with either coarse Kosher salt or the Dead Sea. Although a salt scrub does a thorough job of removing dead skin and increasing circulation, this is not a treatment for everyone, because it can be painful.
3. Herbal and Seaweed Wraps
The primary purpose of wraps, the most gentle type of body sloughing, is to moisturise and detoxify the skin. But the active ingredients also dissolve dead skin cells, making wraps excellent exfoliates. A warm seaweed extract is either brushed or applied by hand, to the entire body; the body is then covered with a light plastic sheet or similar waterproof covering and wrapped in warm blankets or towels for 20 to 40 minutes.
Herbal wraps are identical except strips of cloth or sheets that have been soaked in herbs are used to wrap the body. As you lie wrapped, surface toxins are drawn from the skin, nutrients enter, and dead cells are dissolved. Excess water is also drawn of the pores, giving a “slimming” effect.
It can minimise the look of cellulite, creating a smoother appearance to the skin and taking inches off your body. Both herbal and seaweed wraps are often combined with somebody brushing or massage, making them extremely relaxing.
4. Mud Baths
One of the oldest types of body treatment known, mud baths were used by the Egyptian, Aztec, and Maya cultures. The mud is usually made from volcanic ash taken from various sources around the world. It is mixed with water, very often from a mineral pool or hot spring, to form a thick mud.
The mud is mixed in large tubs and is thick enough so that the body rests on the surface, rather than sinking. When you take a mud bath, you lie down on the mud, your head resting on a bath pillow. A cold cloth is usually placed on your forehead, and you are left for about 12 minutes. The mud is not uncomfortably hot, and the heat seems to penetrate very deeply into your body.
5. Enzymes Baths
Developed in Japan, this new treatment uses a wooden bin filled with a blend of cedar fibres and plant enzymes imported from Japan. When heated, the enzymes stimulate circulation and metabolism which are quite relaxing. Before bath, a special enzyme powder drink is given which serves as a digestive aid. After the bath, the fibre is brushed off your body outside the tub, and you shower before undergoing a blanket wrap for 20 minutes.
6. Body Masks
Also called Hot fangs, body masks use a mixture of either mud or seaweed and paraffin. The mud or seaweed is mixed into melted paraffin, then poured onto large metal pans that look like substantial cookie sheets. The mixtures solidify as it cools, then the slabs are reheated to about 102℉.
For a hot fango treatment, you lie face down on a massage table and cut a piece of fango large enough to cover the area of the body especially neck and shoulders. The particular type of heat generated by this combination of ingredients can penetrate deeply to relieve tense or sore muscles. The effect is very relaxing.
7. Hydrotherapy Massage
Hydromassage is done in a large tub filled with water that is slightly warmer than body temperature. The newer tubs have dozens of Jacuzzi jets built into their sides and bottom. During the first phase of a hydro massage, you lie comfortably in the tub for 5 to 10 minutes while the planes gently help your muscles relax.
In the second phase, a masseuse uses water from an underwater hose to massage every inch of your body. The water pressure of the hose is adjusted to your comfort level, and the overall effect is a deep-muscle massage without any pain. Treatment lasts from 20 to 30 minutes, varying from spa to spa.
