The holidays are upon us, now more than ever we need time to relax and enjoy our time out. It may not be possible to visit a spa right now, so why not create your own spa experience in the comfort of your home?
By following these simple steps, nothing will stop you from creating a zen spa day atmosphere with a soothing scent and indulgent beauty experience in your own bathroom. With the rise of homegrown beauty products, a wardrobe of essential oils and a great smelling candle, we will bring a dose of escapism to your beauty routine, which means there’s no excuse for not taking the time to give yourself some spa-worthy self-care.
1. Set The Scene
Nothing says time out more than the heady smell of aromatherapy oils. According to the Harvard Gazette, the reason we get an emotional reaction to a scent is that we can quickly access the olfactory system in our brain through smells. The olfactory system affects emotions, memory, and creativity and is responsible for storing emotional memories.
Aromatherapy oils are used in all spa sessions with your therapist and trigger a reaction that automatically makes you feel relaxed and serene. It’s likely the oils used will be Lavender essential oil well known for relaxation and maybe Ylang-ylang essential oil, which is also a great oil as it acts as a mild sedative, bringing peace and calm. Consider using Frankincense essential oil in combination with Lavender and Ylang-ylang for the ultimate time formula.
2. Music to Set the Mood
According to psychologytoday.com music is essential because the songs we love and create a sense of wellbeing become woven into a neural sequence connected with people, seasons, experiences and locations that have made an impact on our lives.
Choosing the right music is vital as silence can invite your brain to fill itself with cluttered thoughts. Finding the perfect spa playlist needn’t be hard work, simply head to Spotify or Apple Music and even YouTube, where you’ll find plenty of ready-made lists to help you set the mood.
3. Dim The Lights
No-one wants to relax in the home spa with glaring overhead lights fully ablaze. To set the scene, you need to turn down or switch off the lights. When we dim the lights, our brain immediately adapts to the relaxing atmosphere, once we add soothing music and memory-evoking aromatherapy scents, our brains will take the opportunity to calm down and re-set. So light some candles and set your brain to relax mode.
4. Turn Off Your Phone
If you want to replicate the experience you’d have at a spa, you want to be sure you’re not getting interrupted by the notification ping of texts and emails. Studies have shown that phones contain more bacteria than the average toilet seat, which means you definitely shouldn’t fiddle with the phone when you’re touching your face.
If you’re using your phone to play your mood music, then download your playlist and set it offline mode or aeroplane mode.
5. Create Your Own Spa Treats
As lovely as a long bath is, there is nothing like a full-body exfoliation and face mask to complete the experience. While these toiletries can be expensive to buy and generally don’t last that long, it’s just as easy and less costly to make your own.
Let’s look at exfoliants, first of all. According to the American Academy of Dermatology, exfoliation can leave your skin looking clean and bright because it removes the top layer of dead skin cells. It also stimulates the production of collagen, which could help your skin stay firm and radiant. Another great benefit of exfoliation is that it improves the efficacy of topical creams and moisturisers.
If you exfoliate your skin before applying a cream, the cream will absorb into the skin easily instead of sitting on the surface. Besides, massaging your skin with a body scrub can also be a fantastic way to relax and feel calmer, especially if you’re tired or stressed out.
Try this home spa scrub recipe – you will need the following:
- Spoons for mixing, a mixing bowl and a measuring spoon or cup
- A base oil such as coconut oil, grapeseed oil, jojoba oil, or almond oil you could use olive oil but try to stick to oils that don’t have a distinctive smell.
- Sealed container to store the scrub in
- A few drops of your favourite essential oils is a must.
Mix the essential oils with the granules of your choice, such as salt or sugar and even coffee grounds (although cleaning that up after use would not be relaxing). You may also want to add other ingredients that can benefit your skin, like Manuka honey or green tea powder.
The recipe is trial and error, but that’s where the fun comes in; make sure the scrub is not too runny or crumbly, for the best effect use a little more base, an essential oil than you need as the scrub will feel more luxurious.
Face masks are also easy to make and again are a cost-effective way to enhance your experience.
Try this yoghurt based recipe for a deeply moisturising face mask.
- Greek yoghurt is great because it has a thicker texture making it easier to apply to the skin.
- If you have a dairy allergy, there are other options to consider. Try a plant-based yoghurt made from almond and coconut milk.
- Add honey is a natural source of certain nutrients and proteins that can help dry skin, eczema, and psoriasis. Honey is a potential wound healer, especially in the case of burns.
- Use a spoonful of turmeric – best known for helping inflammatory skin conditions, such as acne, rosacea and psoriasis.
- A dollop of aloe vera will help as its skin benefits extend beyond burn relief, including acne and eczema. Great for moisturising dry skin and it’s the ability to absorb quickly into the skin makes aloe vera a good option for oily skin.
A yoghurt face mask will not keep for long, so make this in small batches and use straight away.
6. Keep Hydrated
Drinking water is a way of life for most of us these days, but it’s more important to hydrate when you are in a warm atmosphere as you are sweating more than usual. Exfoliation stimulates a drain down of toxins into the lymph nodes, and these toxins must be flushed away, or they can cause headaches.
So dim the lights, turn on the music and indulge in some homegrown self-care, after all, you’re worth it.
