HOTEL SPA TREATMENTS YOU CAN MAKE AT HOME

These easy ingredients can quickly transform your day and help you "travel."

By Becca Hensley

“When we pause, allow a gap and breathe deeply, we can experience instant refreshment. Suddenly, we slow down, and there’s the world,” wrote American Tibetan Buddhist nun, Pema Chodron. She might have been talking about the positive results of our current quarantine syndrome, as scores of people slow down, simplify, and re-evaluate the consequences of their former high-speed lifestyles. With most spas and beauty salons closed for business, a shift to effortless, unpretentious, all-natural beauty has been trending along with that pause—even in posts by celebrities as diverse as Kylie Jenner, Will Smith, Ariana Grande, and Jake Gyllenhaal. Follow their examples when you whip up these healing, DIY spa treatments with ordinary ingredients found in your kitchen cabinets. Recipes are courtesy of some of the world’s best spas. Here’s to—as Chodron said—“instant refreshment!”

REFRESHING TOMATO FACE MASK

from Anantara Villa Padierna Palace Benahavis Marbella Resort, Spain

Ingredients • 1/2 ripe tomato • 1 Tbsp honey

Tomatoes have a mild acid, which brightens skin tone, and can reduce the appearance of blemishes. Honey is moisturizing, and holds antibacterial properties. This mask is fairly easy to make: blend the tomato with honey until it becomes a paste. Gently apply the paste to your face, avoiding the eye area. Leave it on for 15 minutes and wash off with cold water. Then, pat the skin dry with a clean towel. This simple ritual can leave you refreshed in minutes.

DIY BATH SALTS FOR RELAXATION

from The Palms + The Shore Club, Turks & Caicos

Ingredients: • 1 cup sea salt • 1/2 cup baking soda • Handful of chamomile tea leaves

Sea salt baths have long been touted for their all-over therapeutic and healing properties, as well as their ability to reduce stress and boost overall health. Chamomile tea contains a trove of antioxidants, which can fight free-radical damage and can help tighten pores. It’s also a way to relax the body.

For this spa ritual, it helps to prepare your sanctuary: light a few candles and turn on some music; have your partner entertain the kids. Then, fill a tub with hot water, toss the ingredients into the brew—and soak your stresses away

VIVIANA’S GROUND COFFEE AND BROWN SUGAR BODY SCRUB

from Four Seasons Hotel Toronto

Ingredients: • 1/2 cup ground coffee • 1/2 cup brown sugar • 1/2 cup coconut or olive oil • Optional: add one or two drops of aromatherapy oils, such as lavender (for relaxation) or orange (mood booster)

“This scrub helps replenish moisture, eliminate dead skin, and stimulate the body’s natural process to produce new skin cells,” says Senior Spa Director Viviana Casada. Coffee stimulates circulation, reduces the appearance of cellulite, and boasts antioxidants aplenty.

Combine the ingredients and let the mixture sit for ten minutes. Lather the scrub all over your body. Be gentle around sensitive areas, but don’t forget to scrub elbows and knees. It’s best to leave the scrub for a few minutes to allow the oil to soak into the skin. Rinse, for an immediate glow (this one is not recommended for the face).

ROSEMARY AND PARSLEY NECK TONIC

from One & Only The Palm Guerlain Spa

Ingredients: • 1 tablespoon of fresh parsley • 1 tablespoon fresh rosemary • Half a liter of whole or skimmed milk • Cotton pads.

Rich in antioxidants, parsley and rosemary from the garden eliminate impurities, accelerate wound healing, tone, and keep your skin looking younger and firmer. Milk moisturizes and lightens the skin.

Place the parsley and rosemary in a bowl. Heat some milk (use skim milk for oily skin). Once it boils, remove from heat, and combine with herbs. Let the mixture cool, and strain it to remove large pieces of herbs. You can be as generous or stingy with it as you like: store it in the refrigerator, and apply every morning and evening for optimal results.

MOISTURIZING FACE MASK

from The Silo Hotel, Cape Town

Ingredients: • 1 tablespoon cocoa powder • 1 tablespoon sour cream • 1 tablespoon honey • 1 egg white (no yolk)

The sour cream in this concoction (derived from lactic acid) helps with hydration and gives a light exfoliation. Honey acts as a humectant, moisturizing without an oiliness, and the egg white’s protein firms and tightens the skin.

Mix everything together until you have an even consistency (the more you mix, the better the consistency). Slather on face. Leave on for 15-20 minutes, then rinse with cool water.

OATMEAL SUGAR GLOW FACIAL SCRUB

from Heckfield Place, Hampshire, England

Ingredients: • 1 tablespoon oatmeal • 1 tablespoon brown sugar • 1 tablespoon honey • 1 tablespoon any essential oil available

Oatmeal is a natural exfoliator, which soothes and calms troubled skin. Brown sugar hydrates and exfoliates, and honey can cleanse without stripping or drying skin while protecting against future breakouts.

Grind the oatmeal and brown sugar into a fine powder using a coffee grinder or blender. Add honey, essential oil, and enough water to make a paste-like consistency. Apply scrub to your skin, and gently massage using small, circular motions for several minutes. Leave on face to dry—five or ten minutes and pat dry.

SHINY HAIR MASK

from Grand Resort Bad Ragaz, Bad Ragaz, Switzerland

Ingredients: • 1 avocado (or banana) • 1 raw egg • 1 tablespoon coconut oil • 1 tablespoon honey

Avocado combats dry hair, while soothing and stimulating the scalp. Banana adds shine and inhibits dandruff. Egg provides a protein boost, while coconut oil enriches to defy split ends. Honey is both a humectant and emollient, which also provides shine.

Mix these ingredients together and leave on dry hair for 15-20 minutes. Afterwards, thoroughly wash hair with a gentle shampoo.

INVIGORATING PEPPERMINT FOOT SCRUB

from Sonesta Ocean Point Resort, Sint Maarten

Ingredients: • 1 ½ cups brown sugar • ½ cup coconut oil • Peppermint essential oil (or a dollop of minty toothpaste, if you don’t have any oil) • ½ cup Epsom salt/dead sea salts/ bath salts— any salt • Moisturizer of your choice • Vaseline (optional for dry, cracked heels) TOOLS • Foot basin, bucket, or your bathtub • 2 bath towels • 1 bathmat (To collect scrub which will fall during treatment; makes cleanup easier) • Socks • Pumice stone or foot file • Medium bowl • Large spoon for mixing • Jar to store scrub

Make the scrub. Pour sugar into a medium-sized bowl, add coconut oil slowly, while folding in sugar. The consistency should be smooth and not too oily. Add 10 drops of peppermint essential oil or a few dollops of minty toothpaste. Scoop the mixture into a jar and store in a cool, dark, dry area. To use the mix, fill a basin with warm water and add salt. Soak your feet for ten minutes. Then, remove your right foot from the water, pat it dry with a towel, and scrub with the sugar mixture. You can work vigorously from the top of the foot to the heel area. Repeat with the left foot. It’s also fine to use a pumice stone for calluses if needed. Dry feet with a towel and apply moisturizer (and Vaseline for dry, cracked heels). Place socks on your feet and do your happy dance.

In a writing career that spans three decades, award winning journalist and poet Becca Hensley has reserved a special place in her heart for the healing powers of spa culture, and enjoyed the opportunity to report on its virtues. Her work has appeared in hundreds of publications including Conde Nast Traveler, Organic Spa, Chicago Tribune, Modern Luxury and the Houston Chronicle.