La Vie en Rose – A day at the spa… right at home, naturally
Spa-like treatments are only an ooh and an ahh away with this simple home spa treatment.
Taking time for self-care needn’t involve depleting your bank account on store-bought body care products or an expensive trip to the local spa. Make self-care more regular and natural by trying simple at-home spa treatments with pure ingredients like the one I describe here. Besides being a thrifty alternative, you can rest easy knowing your body is not being exposed to any harmful chemical ingredients or perfumes.
You will only need six ingredients for the entire treatment, some of which you may already have in your kitchen cupboard!
- 6-12 fresh roses
- rose essential oil
- clay (see recommendations)
- brown sugar
- salt (see recommendations)
- sweet almond oil
You will also need about two hours of preferably uninterrupted time.
Plan to switch off your phone and other electronics and just allow yourself distraction-free peace and quiet. If you live in a home that’s not conducive to a quiet relaxing time for one reason or another, consider “borrowing” a friend’s bath for the occasion. Or maybe you want to really getaway and check into a bed & breakfast or hotel with an extra-deep bath in the room.
If you have young children who might not be able to give you a couple peaceful hours, consider hiring a sitter for the time or setting up a “play date” for the kids at a friend’s home. Enhance your self-care experience by really giving yourself all of the time and attention during your home spa treatment.
I highly recommend a bath and a shower for this treatment. If a bath is simply out of the question for you, a shower can be used instead.
Have several clean towels on hand for your spa experience. I recommend a towel for the face, a towel for the body, and also an couple old bath towels you might not mind getting a bit of mud on.
The next time you receive a dozen roses instead of letting them fade away in a vase why not make it an occasion for a day of self-pampering.
This home spa treatment will consist of four basic treatments:
Each of the treatments is described in detail below with tips and recommendations for making this the most blissful experience possible. The spa time begins with a full body mud mask to help draw out toxins, dirt, and excess oil from the skin.
Next, a brown sugar scrub is applied to the body, scrubbing off the mud mask and any dead or dull surface cells and leaving the skin clean and smooth. As a hot bath is drawn, a special treat, the rose petal facial, is applied.
The last step of the home spa treatment is to slip into a luxurious rose and salt bath soak for several minutes, followed by application of oil to moisturise and nourish the skin.
You may enjoy silence during your bath, but if you’d like to play some music, I recommend checking out tracks offered by sound researcher Dr. Jeffrey Thompson of the Center for Neuroacoustic Research (http://neuroacoustic.com/).
Dr. Thompson’s music is produced to specifically trigger desired brainwave activity. Sleepy Ocean is a favourite album of mine for anytime I want to relax, including helping me to fall asleep at night if that’s ever an issue. It is also available at Amazon.com: Sleepy Ocean & Rain
I also enjoy the albums Music for the Mindful Brain and Theta Meditation System 2.0. Any of these albums should help you slip away to a blissful place during your special spa time.
Are you ready? Let’s indulge…
Step 1. Prep your room (5 minutes)
Close the door to retain the steamy warmth in the room. You may even like to make the room even more sauna-like by bringing a portable heater into the room. However, be sure to exercise due caution with electric devices near water. Bring a portable music player into the bathroom and cue up your favourite relaxing tunes.
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