How to have a DIY Day Spa at Home

How to have a DIY Day Spa at Home

It is so important to your health and well-being that you look after yourself. We live such hectic lives these days, it is vital that we take some time out to hit the pause button and relax. One of the best ways to relax and unwind is to have a spa day. You do not have to pay for expensive spa treatments to get the benefits and the results that a day spa has to offer. You can have your own spa time right at home and get amazing results and feel just as pampered. Follow these simple steps below to have your own DIY Day Spa at Home.

Set the Scene


Turn on some spa music. You can easily find some great spa music on Spotify or YouTube like the above.  Light lots of beautiful candles. You can choose beautifully colored and fragranced candles or put tea light candles in the room where you will be performing your treatments and also in the room you will be relaxing.

Start at the Top!

First things first lets get your face really clean. Use a clean towel to wrap your hair or pull it back with a pony tail holder. You will want to have prepared this luxurious face scrub before you get started.  ½ cup honey, ½ cup brown sugar and 1tbsp olive oil and a drop of your favorite essential oil. Palma rosa is lovely or you could try Lavender or Patchouli. All these ingredients mixed together makes a great facial scrub. Dampen face than apply scrub. This is a gentle exfolient that will remove dead skin and leave your face glowing.

Use a circular motion to gently scrub away the dead skin cell. Rinse with warm water and pat your skin dry.

The Eyes Have It!

Now to get your eyes in shape and get rid of those puffy bags. You can use some cucumber slices that have been chilled. Simply place the cut slices on your eyes and lay back with your eyes closed for about 15 minutes. You can also use green tea bags that have been steeped for about 2 minutes and then chilled, in place of the cucumbers.

Clay Detox Mask

Once your face is scrubbed and your eyes are less puffy it is time to use this healing detox mask. All you need is a ¼ of any type of dry clay – like bentonite clay or fullers earth, and 1 tbsp of raw apple cider vinegar and a drop of frankincense essential oil. Mix it all together and avoid the eye area when you apply. Let it dry on your face than rinse off (typically about 20 minutes).

Your Hands and Your Feet

You can easily take care of your hands and feet to get that baby smooth feel by using a Paraffin bath that is easily purchased at any beauty supply store (the initial cost will pay for itself by month two of your day spa at home).

Use a Body Brush

You are now in the home stretch of your day spa activities. Use a body brush that has been sprinkled with a few drops of essential oil like Rosemary to stimulate or Juniper for cellulite and scrub your body good. Follow the directions in the image above for best results. You can use a sugar scrub while you are at it made from ½ brown sugar and 2 tbsp mineral oil or melted coconut oil. Now step into the shower and massage your skin with your scrub for several minutes, then rinse off. Finish off by alternating the water in the shower from warm to cool. This really helps to tone and firm your skin.

Dry off by patting your skin, step into a fluffy robe and relax. Read a book, watch a movie, listen to your favorite music – whatever makes you feel good.  You will feel like you spent the day at the spa and feel like a million bucks!

How to Have a Mental Detox

How to Have a Mental Detox

Much ink has been spilled about the importance of a physical detox. While purging all of the harmful toxins that have collected within the body is crucial to long term health, it is not nearly as pivotal as purging the mental toxins. In order to get the absolute most out of any wellness program, you must first clear out all of your mental clutter. Removing the clutter from your mind starts with removing the clutter from your living space. The more clutter and junk that you allow yourself to accumulate, the harder it can become to let it go at the appropriate time. By finally taking the time to get rid of your physical clutter, you are further equipped to tackle the task of handling your mental clutter.

Switch off the TV or any other source from which you are hearing bad news. Constantly hearing bad news puts you into a negative state with negative thinking patterns. Instead, read inspirational and motivational articles, books and biographies. Subscribe to daily positive and motivational emails. Monitor your thoughts. When you catch yourself thinking negative thoughts say “STOP” and think of something wonderful instead. Controlling your thoughts this way is so powerful and can encourage very positive changes in your mood, your relationships, your work and your life.

Focus on what you are grateful for. Start a gratitude journal and write down the 5 things you are grateful for every morning or night. Take notice of your self-talk. Do you speak to yourself with kindness, compassion and love or do you beat yourself up with put-downs and criticism? Write down some constructive and loving affirmations and recite these to yourself as you look yourself in the eye in the mirror.  Speak to yourself with love and kindness. Tell yourself you love you. Begin a ritual of doing this every day for at least 5 minutes in the morning. It may seem silly at first, maybe even fake. But continue to do this until it seems less and less fake and until you actually believe it.

Meditation is one of the best forms of mental detox. Meditation does not require the purchase of any fancy equipment or a membership to a club.  It can be done in the space that you already have and can slot easily into your busy schedule. There are many guided meditations available free on the internet and YouTube. Even if you only have fifteen minutes to spare each day, meditation can still deliver the desired results. See our Meditation page for more information. Your mind is a powerful tool, it simply needs to be taken care of in the correct manner. Meditation gives us the chance to work through underlying emotions and traumas and a long stretch of silence can often be just what the doctor ordered. Thoughts that were once dormant inside of your mind and merely taking up space can now be accessed, processed and removed, increasing your mental space and your mental state.

Another way to remove unwanted thoughts from your head space is to participate in a regular exercise program. We are all aware of the fact that exercise provides us with a tremendous boost to our overall energy level. But what the majority of people do not realize is that exercise is also a great aid to our thinking processes. A person who exercises on a consistent basis will experience heightened levels of serotonin within the brain. Serotonin is a natural chemical, one that is released inside of the brain when a person’s fitness level increases. Those who are in search of increased mental clarity would do well to exercise and provide themselves with a much needed serotonin boost. See our Fitness or Yoga pages for more information.

By removing mental and physical  clutter and placing yourself on a regular meditation/exercise regimen, you greatly increase the effectiveness of any Wellness program. Not only is your physical wellbeing immensely important, but so is your state of mind. Don’t neglect your cluttered mind and be sure to take the right steps towards eliminating negative  thought processes.

DIY Facial Oil Serums

DIY Facial Oil Serums

Facial serums are great for adding some much-needed moisture in the skin, as well as for applying regularly to usual problem areas such as directly on frown and smile lines, around the eyes, or when your skin just needs a little extra care. The best facial serums are completely natural and made from ingredients that can be understood and pronounced, meaning no chemicals or other harmful ingredients should be in your facial serum. Facial serums can be made from many different types of essential oils such as sandalwood,  lavender or geranium added to a carrier oil or base oil. It truly is your choice what type of oil works best on your skin, since each of our skin make ups is different.

Add a few drops of one essential oil into a glass bottle with a dropper containing a base oil such as sweet almond, jojoba or rose hip oil. Feel free to add a few drops of another essential oil. It is your choice and your customized facial serum, so create it according to your specific skincare needs and desires or you can try some of the following recipes:

Serum for oily skin 

  • 1 oz light vegetable oil such as safflower or grape seed oil
  • 5 drops ylang ylang oil
  • 5 drops geranium oil
  • 2 drops clary sage oil

Serum for dry skin

  • 1 oz apricot kernel, avocado or almond oil
  • 5 drops lavender oil
  • 5 drops geranium oil
  • 2 drops chamomile or sandalwood oil

Mix all the ingredients in a glass amber bottle and shake well before use. Massage well into cleansed skin using upward motions. The oil blends will keep for a number of weeks. In summer it is best to keep them in the refrigerator.

The Benefits of Facial Massage

Applying your facial oil or serum is the perfect opportunity to give you skin an anti-aging massage.

After cleansing, apply a light layer of oil to your face and neck. You can use one of the serum recipes above or a light oil such as rose hip, argan or jojoba oil. Refer to the arrows in the image above for the directions you should follow for the facial massage.

Use the pads of your fingers or the palms of your hands and start smoothing the oil upwards over your neck and across your jaw. Repeat this about 10 to 15 times. Then perform  sweeping motions along your jawline and upwards towards your temples. Repeat about 10 to 15 times. Next, gently use your finger tips to smooth the area around the eyes and nose, repeating these motions for about a minute. And finally, with slightly firmer pressure, smooth the forehead with upward strokes using the pads of your fingers or the palms of your hands. Focus on this area for about a minute.

If performed daily, facial massage is wonderful ritual for lifting and firming, encouraging blood circulation to the face and neck, helping your complexion appear more youthful and radiant. The oil will nourish and moisturize helping to minimize the appearance of lines and wrinkles. And the action of massaging in the directions indicated in the image above, encourages lymphatic drainage helping to remove toxins and reducing puffiness around the eyes.

Giving yourself a daily facial massage is a simple yet effective ritual you can perform to pamper your skin.  It  is also so relaxing, helping to ease stress and tension. It only takes a few minutes but the benefits are just beautiful!

The Healing Power of Music

The Healing Power of Music

For thousands of years, it has been known that music is far more than a simple listening pleasure. References to the healing power of music can be found in literature over thousands of years. The Bible tells the story of David soothing King Saul with his harp playing. References to the healing power of music can be traced as far back as the writings of Plato and Aristotle. It is likely no coincidence that the Ancient Greeks regarded Apollo both the god of music and of medicine.

When you’re feeling stressed, anxious, or irritable, your heart rate has a tendency to increase. Research has found that calm music can lower your heart rate and blood pressure, helping it to slow down to a more relaxing pace encouraging beneficial physical changes. Through our mind and emotions, music can reduce stress and be a simple but powerful catalyst for beneficial and positive feelings and vibrations.

Have you ever noticed that after listening to soothing music, you feel more calm and relaxed? Music is an excellent tool to use to bring tranquillity to the mind, but it can also be restorative the body. Health practitioners have discovered that music with a pleasant beat and melody connects the mind to the body and encourages the body’s innate healing ability. One choice of music that does this very effectively is classical music. There is also the healing sounds of nature such as the songs of birds, the rustling of leaves, the falling of rain, the crashing of ocean waves, and the sound of a waterfall. These sounds of nature are music to your ears and to your spirit.

Music heals the body by promoting relaxation. Soothing music can lower heart rate and blood pressure to a healthy level that is optimal for systems within the body to work at their best. This is why massage therapists will often turn on music while massaging a client, or why people practising yoga will use relaxing music while completing their yogic exercises. Even day spas will use music to relax guests and help them enjoy the effects of their spa experience. Soothing music also reduces stress hormones, such as cortisol and adrenaline. When stress hormones are not interfering with the body’s functioning, the body can work more efficiently in healing itself.

Even if you aren’t suffering from any particular illness or condition, or you don’t want to spend the money to visit a day spa, you can (and should) still enjoy the healing power of music. Turn it on in the evening to wind down after a long day, or on the weekend to give yourself some much-deserved relaxation time. Music is especially useful to enjoy in conjunction with a Day Spa at Home, because the soothing and healing powers of music will have a rejuvenating effect on your mind and your senses, and as a result, your body. The aim of a Day Spa at Home is to relax, restore and rejuvenate while pampering your face and body from the comfort of your own bathtub or favorite chair. While your spa products will work on your body from the outside, music is therapy for your mind, body and spirit from the outside in.

Beauty Benefits of Barefoot Exercising

natural foot exfoliation, barefoot wet sandMost health and beauty experts realize the powerful effects sand can have on our skin. It exfoliates dead cells from the top layer of our dermis and allows new fresh, and beautiful skin to emerge from underneath. The friction of walking on sand is enough to create the exfoliation process and is the single best way to leave skin feeling renewed.

Natural beach sand is also loaded with minerals that our skin desperately craves. This is particularly true if you decide to walk on an actual ocean or seaside beach where seawater will lap over your feet as you exfoliate your skin during your exercise. Our feet support our entire body, which is a heavy burden to bare. They deserve our affection and attention. A bit of salty, mineral rich beach sand can help relax the muscles and nerve fibers in our feet and restore both our mental and physical balance.

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