Skincare

These at home spa treatments are perfect for cold winter nights

Need some 'me time'?

1) Take a long bath

Whether you’ve been on your feet all day, sitting in an office chair or simply something in between, fill up the tub, set your phone to DND and let the healing power of water soothe you right through to your soul.

Yoga practitioner Kelly Baker recommends epsom or pink Himalayan salt for the perfect pamper bath and magnesium salts if you’ve been extra active at spin class or hot yoga. A fan of Doterra aromatherapy oils, she says adding lavender oil, rose quartz crystals, rose petals or seasonal petals to your soak will work wonders.

2) Use a hair mask

Indoor heat and outdoor chill can wreak havoc with your hair, sapping strands of moisture and leaving them brittle and susceptible to breakage and frizz.

To combat this, after your bath saturate your locks with a homemade hydrating hair mask then wrap in a warm, slightly damp towel. Leave it to work its magic for at least 10 minutes before rinsing – a perfect window of time to write in a gratitude journal, practise meditation or simply let your mind wander (research suggests people who daydream are highly intelligent and creative).

Try: In a bowl mix together honey, olive or coconut oil, egg yolk, avocado and apple cider vinegar until smooth, then apply to hair. Remember to use a towel over your shoulders as a cape. It will keep you clean and help you feel like a superhero!

3) Exfoliate away your dry winter skin

One of the easiest spa products to make at home. Jenna Mullinger from Oh Natural agrees.

“Sugar is a natural exfoliant and you can make the easiest and cheapest body scrub ever by just mixing it with a little oil (any plant oil will do). If you have any ground coffee handy (and you can bear to part with it!) add some in for extra skin-buffing goodness.”

By simply using what you have in your pantry you can concoct a scrub that will exfoliate dead skin cells, leave your body smooth and moisturised, and rejuvenate your body’s largest organ (your skin). Combine ¼ cup sugar (brown or white) and ¼ cup coconut oil. Mix and massage onto damp skin in the bath or shower.

Try: Dried orange peel for added exfoliation, cocoa powder for improving skin texture, strawberry to cleanse skin and help with blemishes, or cardamom to detoxify the body.

4) Look after your tired feet

It’s easy to overlook our poor feet, especially in winter when they are generally stuffed inside shoes and socks all day. But there is nothing more soothing than easing your toes into a bath of warm, fragrant liquid. The benefits are tenfold.

Fill a large bowl or bucket with 2 litres of warm water, then add 4 Tbsp of epsom salts and another 4 Tbsp of coarse rock salt. Add any oil you prefer: grapefruit is an excellent energising tonic, lemon helps with flagging mood and ginger makes a great addition for feet that are aching and fatigued.

Kelly recommends also adding matcha green tea, kawakawa leaves (traditionally used by Maori as healing medicine), split kaffir lime leaves or crushed lemongrass to the water for a truly indulgent, sensory spa experience. Just take care to dry your feet thoroughly after your foot bath to avoid slipping over.

5) Check in with your mental health

lastly, remember to pay attention to what’s happening in your mind while you’re rejuvenating your body. Kelly’s go-to mood booster is Doterra wild orange or frankincense oil.

“Orange oil can be versatile as it is both invigorating and soul soothing,” she explains. “Frankincense has grounding benefits and feels and smells like an Arabian night.”

Add to any scrub, mask or bath soak or simply fill the room with fragrance by adding it to an oil burner.

For more stories from NADIA, pick up a copy of the latest issue of NADIA magazine, on sale now.

Related stories