Posted on :
08 July, 2010
By :varsha
An herbal spa party is a great activity for bridal showers, family reunions, anniversaries and birthdays. They are particularly appealing for women and adventurous men who love to pamper themselves and cant afford to take everyone they love down to the local spa.
Step: 1
Make an herbal tea. Fill a quart jar half-way with fresh herbs. Fill the jar with boiling water. Choose your herbs carefully. If there are no fresh herbs available, youll find chamomile [calming] and peppermint [stimulating] tea in most stores. Add mugwort if possible, as that is very beneficial to the skin and the smell is wonderful.
Make one quart jar of infusion per guest. This will be your final rinse.
Step: 2
Choose your location. You will want a place thats easy to clean like a huge kitchen or master bath, or the shower room at the hotel gym. Make sure there is enough space for everybody to lie down. You will need at least one good shower.
Step: 3
Have enough towels. Make sure everyone brings a robe, two towels and a pair of slippers.
Step: 4
Crank up the heat. The purpose is to get everyone to completely relax, and a warm, steamy environment is good for that. Also, place more herbs in a pot of water and put them on the boil for facial steam.
Step: 5
Clean. Starting from the head down, and using only olive-oil-based soap, clean everything. Use a pumice scrub, loofah or scrub-brush if possible. Ask your guests to shower just before they come if the logistics dont allow them to bathe at your place.
Step: 6
Stimulate. This is the time to open up your facial pores with the steaming water. Give each other a head massage, a face massage, a hand massage and a foot massage, preferably in that order. Choose massage partners so you can work on each other. Use back scratchers and pumice stones and those spikey things on rollers for your feet. Be sure to get every inch, even between the toes and on the ear lobes. Dont lose track of time and make sure everyone gets a turn.
Step: 7
Moisturize. This is where you can really have some fun, and where it can really get messy! Avocado, papaya and mango make excellent treatments for the hair. Oatmeal makes a perfect mask for dry, oily and combo skins. You can add powdered milk and honey. You will want two separate treatments: one for your hair and one for your face, neck and shoulders. You may even have different recipes for oily skin and dry skin. The trick is to make a paste you can apply easily and that will stay on for 30-minutes, without dripping right off. You can also try various clay masques and henna treatments. These are more expensive and will require some further research, but they are well worth looking into.
Step: 8
Relax. Turn on some calming music and lie still in your warm moist room and talk amongst yourselves for 30-minutes.
Step: 9
Wipe and wash off your masks in the shower without making too much of a mess. Outdoor showers - or a back yard with a hose - are great for this.
Step: 10
When you are all squeaky clean, pour your herbal infusion over your head as your final rinse. Be sure to strain it first.
Step: 11
Follow up by moisturizing with pure aloe vera gel [which is sort of sticky, but very effective], then the slightest bit of olive oil [which is very slippery]. You can moisturize each other for a very sensual experience. Avoid putting on lotions with fragrances - even natural fragrances can affect you negatively as they are synthetic. Try to keep the whole experience as organic as possible, and your body will thank you for it.