When you think of a spa, you probably think of a relaxed and luxurious pampering experience – but you’re probably also thinking ‘expensive’. However, did you know you can create a great spa experience in the comfort of your own home?
Whether you want to save costs and time, or perhaps there is no good spa nearby, or simply because you can’t go out right now because of the coronavirus quarantine measures: read on to learn how you can bring the spa to you at home!
Set the scene
Spas have an incredibly relaxing and calm vibe, which you can recreate at home too! So first of all, set the scene for your at-home spa with the following steps:
Turn off your phone
Your phone and other electronic distractions should be turned off, so you can focus entirely on pampering yourself. At a spa, you would have put your phone in a locker.
Light scented candles or use an oil diffuser
An easy but effective way to set the mood is with some pleasant-smelling aromas. Scents like lavender, pine, vanilla, jasmine, sandalwood, and ylang-ylang have relaxing and calming effects.
Put on relaxing music
Look for meditation music or spa music on Spotify, Youtube or your music platform of choice.
Prepare a can of fruit infused water
Keep yourself well-hydrated with delicious fruit infused water. Add cucumber slices, watermelon cubes or lemon parts to water or make combinations like:
blueberry & orange
lemon & ginger
lemon & mint (& cucumber)
pineapple & sugarcane
strawberry & lime (& cucumber & mint)
Cozy clothes
Grab a robe and cozy slippers or socks, to get yourself in full spa mode. Get a pajama ready, in case you want to change into clothes at some point.
What to do to pamper yourself
Now that you’ve set the scene, you want to know what to actually do to pamper yourself. Read on for ideas on doing a facial treatment, a relaxing bath or aroma shower, taking a footbath, hairmasks and eye soothing.
Give yourself a facial
The basic steps for a facial treatment are to:
- cleanse, start with clean skin
- steam, so you will open your pores
- scrub/exfoliate, to remove dead skin cells
- apply a mask, to treat your skin
- moisturize, so your skin is hydrated
Clean your face with a cleanser that is right for your skin type.
Steam your face simply by holding your head 15 cm/6 inches over a bowl of boiled water, with a towel over your head for about 10 minutes. You could also use a facial steamer or do the next steps after you have bathed.
Now that your face has ‘soaked’ in the steam, pat your face dry and it’s time to exfoliate. There are two ways of exfoliating: physical and chemical.
Physical exfoliates are usually known as scrubs and physically get rid of dead skin cells. Some time ago I did some research on this for myself. Most sources explained that physical exfoliation is usually too aggressive for the skin on your face and you can end up ‘micro-tearing’ the skin.
Chemical exfoliants are acids that react with the skin, removing built-up layers of dead cells and excess oil that can cause dull skin and blemishes.
Your skin is now well-prepped for a facial mask so that helpful ingredients can make their way into your skin. There are many masks out there, in sheet form or cream-like. You can choose whichever mask you like, depending on your skin type and the treatment you’d like.
You can also make your own DIY facial masks, you can find many recipes on Pinterest!
Put on your face mask, lay back and enjoy some quiet and relaxing time.
Finish off your facial treatment by moisturizing, ideally with a serum and then a cream that are suitable for your skin type.
Take a relaxing bath or an ‘aroma’ shower
You can quite easily create a luxurious and relaxing spa bath experience at home. If you don’t have a bath, don’t worry, you can set up an amazing aroma shower.
Bath
Draw a hot bath, not too hot that you would burn yourself!- Add bath salts (containing Epsom salt), a bath oil, or a bath bomb
- Get in and relaaaax!
Draw a hot bath, not too hot that you would burn yourself!There are a lot of bath salts out there, and most people prefer ones with Epsom salt. Epsom salt contains magnesium, which is involved in body reactions that benefit your heart and nervous system.
It is claimed that Epsom salt baths help you sleep and reduce stress, can reduce muscle soreness, relieve cramps, and helps reduce pain and swelling.
I personally prefer bath oils, and especially the ones from Kneipp. You don’t need much oil for a full bath. They smell amazing and make my skin feel very soft. Using a bath oil is both a skincare session as well as aromatherapy!
I love to use lavender in the evenings, almond oil if I want to take care of my skin, and the mandarin and orange one for when I feel I need some energy. Kneipp has a set of their complete bath oil collection in small bottles. Perfect for trying them all and finding your favorites!
An easy and fun way to pamper yourself in a bath is by using a bath bomb. They contain skin treating ingredients, they fizzle, they are usually chemical-free, and smell good. You can create your own or get started with this fantastic bath bomb set (it has a 4.9/5 rating!)
Most sources recommend taking a bath for 15-20 minutes. Personally, I sometimes sit up to an hour, refilling with hot water in the meantime.
Shower
Yes, you can get that spa feeling even if you don’t have a bath! With aromatherapy shower steamers, you can turn your shower into a wellness experience.
A shower steamer contains aromatic essential oils that will release the scented oils in the air. Take a deep breath, relax and enjoy.
All you have to do is place a shower steamer on the floor of your shower, away from the direct stream of water.
It is quite easy to make your own shower steamers using baking soda, citric acid, essential oils and silicone molds. There are a lot of DIY recipes on Pinterest. If you prefer to buy them, you can look on Etsy or Amazon.
Take a footbath
Our feet have quite a lot to endure throughout the day, so it’s nice to pamper them from time to time. Soak your feet at least 15 minutes in a footbath for great relaxation and soothing.
The simplest way is to fill a large plastic tub with hot water and rest your feet in the water. For extra pampering, add some Epsom salt to it or make your own mix:
- 1 cup Epsom salt
- 2 cups baking soda
- 25 drops of essential oil
add ¼ cup of this mixture to your footbath
There are specific tubs for footbaths, designed to match the shape of your feet and with built-in massager dots or you can go fancy with an electric footbath, which keeps the water warm, and can vibrate and bubble as well!
Put on a hair mask
Whether you have dry hair, frizzy hair, thin hair, oily hair, a dry scalp, dull hair or any other type: your hair and scalp will be happy with some extra love and care.
There are many DIY recipes out there to mix natural ingredients and oils to make a hair mask, or you can buy ready to use masks.
I would put on a hair mask before I take a bath, or any other time before you’re going to wash your hair. In the meantime, you can take a footbath, do your nails or start setting the scene for your home spa.
Ingredients you will find in most DIY hair masks are coconut oil, honey, eggs and olive oil.
Here are a few easy DIY hair mask recipes (Pin it!):
Eye soothing
I think this is one of the most stereotyped images people think of when thinking of a spa day:
Putting cucumber slices on your eyes helps to hydrate the delicate skin around your eyes and reduce puffiness. Lay down and keep the cucumber slices on your eyes for about 15 minutes.
Another great way to treat your eyes is by using tea bags, either cold or warm. When using cold tea bags, it can reduce dark circles and bags under your eyes and soothe red eyes. Warm tea bags can help with dry eyes.
How to prepare the tea bags:
- steep two tea bags in hot water
- squeeze out the liquid from the tea bags
- to use warm: let the tea bags cool down slightly, so they’re not too hot to touch
- to use cold: cool in the fridge
- place the tea bags on closed eyes for about 15 minutes
Meanwhile, you can soak your feet in a foot bath, let your hair mask do its work or just relax and listen to some peaceful, calming music.
Let’s get started with your at-home spa
I hope this post gave you plenty of ideas for your spa day at home!
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