Dreaming of a spa wellness day out that won’t be arriving for some time given the times we live in? Then factor some home spa skincare into your life instead. Even pre the post-normal, it was often hard in our busy lives to get to a spa. But who doesn’t still long for the benefits of a day away with cares pushed aside as we enter inner sanctums to calming background music. The answer may be to bring that spa feel home. Don’t wait for that luxury awayday; do a minimum of planning and create a home spa to enjoy at a moment’s notice, any day. Here’s some advice to get some spa luxe into your life.
Rewarding Spa
Set aside time. This is the hardest part of all. And no, you don’t need to feel you deserve it. Self care is a hot trending phrase these days and for good reason, rather than fad. If you make time to do something totally pleasurable for yourself – ideally some pampering included too – then you will have the mental freshness to tackle the next irritation life throws at you. You’ll also feel more able to care for others and share your new-found energy and wellness with others.
Stress is a huge burden to skin health. Late nights, rushed days, food eaten out of necessity grabbed on the run and the giving of time to others come what may for our own body’s sake, all take a toll on our skin – where first and very visible signs of stress show. Then, we find ourselves in a vicious circle, looking for layers of skin-heavy make-up to cover the ravages. We need to realise that however limited our time, for our health’s sake, we need an hour (or more if possible) in the sanctuary of our bath or shower rooms to develop our inner and outer beautiful selves and to be the person we deserve to be.
It can be a Friday night or a Sunday morning. It may need the help of significant others to factor it in. Someone to take the kids out or walk the dog. Make the arrangements, not excuses. Many of us fail to ask for help and soldier on. You need to make a diary date with your inner sanctum, and do the prepping a week before.
The family bathroom might not seem idyllic and leave you wishing for a true spa outing. So, get a cleaner in or do the honours yourself to reap the rewards. Add a lick of brilliant white paint, light some scented candles, buy new, quality towels – white ones reserved for you alone. Buy flowers, whether blooms or long-lasting succulents. Plants will add to the home spa feel. Perhaps add some bamboo accessories or a slatted wooden bath mat. These don’t have to be expensive items but they will transform a less than ideal bathroom into somewhere you actually wish to spend time beyond the wash and go.
Now to some tips on what to do in that new home spa sanctuary you’ve created…
Rejuvenating Home Spa Skincare
If you feel your skin and soul is lifeless and dull and in need of an energizing experience, try these revitalising tips:
Dry Body Brush
Now, first up, let me say that there is no medical evidence that dry brushing stimulates circulation nor drains toxins and so on; or other of the many claims you see made for dry brushing before showering or taking a soak. However, it is a wonderful form of massage that’s easy for us to do ourselves, with the aid of a loofah or long-handled brush. Massage stimulates our souls and is a sensory experience to lift spirits. Just make sure you use a gentle brush or loofah and start at souls and palms, working in gentle sweeping motions in the direction of the heart. Don’t be over vigorous as you don’t wish to damage the skin. Our aim here is to relieve stress and settle ourselves in for the spa experience to come.
Orange Peel Face Scrub
Oranges are renowned for their vitamin C but what is less known is that their peel is a powerhouse of antioxidants as well as minerals like magnesium, calcium and potassium. Combined, these minerals and vitamin C help fight free radicals, work on hyperpigmentation spots, renew skin calls and help relieve flaky, red or irritated skin. Plus, orange scent is incredibly uplifting for the soul.
We suggest saving around 3-4 orange skins, scraping out the pith, rinsing the hulls, slicing them up coarsely and leaving them to either sun dry naturally (covered and protected from insects!) or gently oven dry on a low temperature for a few hours. Once they are hardened, grind them finely in a food processor or blender. You then have a heavenly scented fruit powder. Store this in an air-tight container ready for use.
For a revitalising facial scrub, whisk up 2 teaspoons of orange peel powder with 1 tsp fine oatmeal, 1 teaspoon of organic thick-set yoghurt and 1 teaspoon of honey (Manuka is ideal). This exfoliator is antibacterial, cleansing and gently exfoliating and does wonders for boosting skin health as its slews off dull, dead cells leaving a brighter, glowing complexion. Mix only enough for each cleanse as it won’t keep. It is also ideal for all skin types as the honey is a natural humectant and will counteract the cleansing effect of other ingredients.
Sensuous Chocolate Salt Body Scrub
I particularly love a good overall body scrub to get the revitalising wheels in motion. In contrast to the gentler facial cleanse above, this Dark Chocolate Salt Scrub is a bit more vigorous and wonderful at slewing off dead cells, working its magic on thighs, calves and souls of the feet. Cocoa contains caffeine in the form of theobromine which acts as a stimulant to outer skin. Use together with some natural Dead Sea or Himalyan Pink salts – ground to medium-to-fine granules – mixed with a couple of tablespoons of a neutral oil like sunflower or Jojoba and you have a great easy DIY body scrub to prime the skin and shrug of its sluggishness. Again, don’t be harsh in rubbing it on. Gently does it. The full recipe and more on the benefits of our Chocolate Salt Scrub here.
Relaxing Home Spa Skincare
Most of us just about manage a quick shower all week, so a bath is a bit more effort and needs thinking about if it’s to be worthwhile for body and soul. In my childhood, I’d give a giant squeeze of bath oil or bubble bath and think that was doing me good. How wrong I was! Now, the thought of wallowing in a potentially harmful chemical soup is the last thing I’d do. So what can we add to our bathtime home spa skincare ritual to create a luxe relaxing moment? Here are just some way to make that warm water ooze benefits for body and soul.
Relaxing Essential Oil Bath Oil Blends
It is not recommended to add drops of essential oils neat to bath water. First, they will simply sit on the water undispersed. This means that areas of your body will encounter them neat, and this might cause skin irritation. I recommend mixing them with a suitable carrier oil like sweet almond oil or in combination with grapeseed oil and Jojoba, all of which are fairly neutral in scent and are gentle to the skin, mirroring in the case of Jojoba the body’s own sebum. Here are two recipes to try: one more ideal before sleep or for winter; the other more a morning wake-up indulgence or for spring and summer. Just blend all ingredients together and shake again for decanting 5ml per bath. Stir into your bathing water. Use all the oil within three months.
Sensuous Winter Bath Oil
Use: one teaspoon (5 ml) per bath
100ml oil – Sweet Almond, Jojoba, Sunflower, Grapeseed (single or in combination)
5 drops lavender essential oil
5 drops Roman chamomile essential oil
Scintillating Spring & Summer Bath Oil
Use: one teaspoon (5 ml) per bath
100ml oil – Sweet Almond, Jojoba, Sunflower, Grapeseed (single or in combination)
5 drops lemon peel essential oil
5 drops bitter orange (neroli) essential oil
5 drops ginger essential oil
Nurturing Home Spa Skincare
Now, we move on to some spa after care in the form of moisturizing after the indulgent soak. As we’ve already used oils in the bathing, we’ll opt for a simple, but luxurious whipped body butter that both acts as an occlusive – keeping your skin’s natural moisture in – and add vital elements that can penetrate the skin’s epidermis to add age-defying repair.
A body butter is quite simple to create at home. Just make a minimum of a day in advance of your home spa session so it has time to settle and cool to an ideal consistency, as you need to heat the core ingredients before whipping them. Our body butter recipe here continues our orange theme, but if you opt for other essential oils, you will need to research the percentage you can use safely. Ideally, keep essential oils to about 1 per cent of the total. As a rule of thumb, 20 drops of essential oil is 1g. If you can’t weigh to one decimal point, I recommend using only 10 drops (0.5%) in a final total of 100g body butter.
Sicilian Whipped Body Butter
Ingredients:
30g Sweet Almond Oil
35g Shea Butter
34g Cocoa Butter
0.5g (10 drops) mandarine essential oil
0.5g (10 drops) frankincense essential oil
Method:
In a double boiler, or bain marie, heat the butters (Shea and Cocoa) until melted. Remove from the heat and allow to cool for a minute. Then, whisk the sweet almond oil in gently until totally combined. Leave the butter-oil mix to cool for 15 minutes but not solidify. Then, stir in the essential oils. Cool completely, placing in the fridge until the mix is firming up. Next, using a whisk or hand-held blender, whisk the body butter up until fluffy in consistency. You may need to repeat the chilling and whisking to achieve a desired consistency. Place in the jar, label with ingredients and the date. Use within one month. As this is an anhydrous, or oil only moisturizing body butter, you don’t need a preservative. However, as your damp hands may enter the body butter it is wise to use it within a month at most. If you have Vitamin E extract, add 20 drops to the product along with your essential oils. Vitamin E is excellent in moisturizing the skin, and will help retard the oxidization of the oils and butters in the product.
Directions for Use:
Apply to your skin after showering or bathing, rubbing between palms before massaging on to your body. This is not intended for the face as body butters are heavier moisturizers.
Home Spa Afterthoughts
I hope you’ve enjoyed this insight into the world of home spa skincare. As you can see, with a little effort and minimal expense you can almost mirror the spa experience. Of course, we all like a day out but instead of body care boom and bust, try these tips for all-year round home spa pampering for those everyday days.
And remember, self care is a routine, not a reward!
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