What is a body polish?
Part of the Spabreaks.com Spa Treatment Guides
As your skin is your largest detox assisting organ in the body, a body scrub can work wonders. Your skin is really quite incredible, it performs a number of functions in the body including acting as a visual sign of health and a bit of an indicator of what’s going on inside.
It is our biggest organ of elimination, and while the best way to detox is to work from the inside out, supporting the body through diet, hydration and a generally healthy lifestyle, stimulating the skin itself through saunas, steam rooms, wraps and spa treatments provides a welcome stimulus and support for detox and ultimately feeling your best. Body polishes can be a wonderful part of that kind of self-care.
What is a body polish?
Body polishes are essentially exfoliating treatments or body scrubs. They can be invigorating, excellent skin prep before or after a holiday, can help with detox, and generally make you feel pampered.
Types of body polish are there?
There are plenty of scrubs on the market and in the winter months they are a welcome boost after a long day. These include, but are not limited to: - Sugar scrubs - Salt scrubs - Herbal scrubs - Coffee body scrubs
Each spa will then customise scrubs and polishes to enhance the experience in line with their brand and for the individual. Some of our favourite body scrub treatments at Spabreaks.com are:
- Pennyhill Park’s Rosemary and Lavender Body Therapy: Using the traditional healing powers of rosemary and lavender, the body therapy begins with a stimulating natural rosemary salt scrub followed by a hydrating and cleansing Kaolin clay body wrap to draw out toxins and cleanse the skin.
- Montcalm Scrub: A 30-minute full body treatment using a lime and ginger scented salt scrub and an aromatherapy oil to detox, cleansing and removing dead skin cells; it smooths the skin and moisturises it as well so you don’t need to add extra creams and oils afterwards.
- Ockenden’s Rebalancing Treatment: Part of a complete body treatment designed by Elemental Herbology, Ockenden’s Rebalancing Treatment includes a macadamia and papaya scrub before nourishing with cooling watermelon and cucumber to work on a mental, physical and emotional level to balance your energy.
What are the benefits of a body polish?
Available in a variety of different guises, depending on where you go and what you want to achieve, some are gentler than others. They can be: - Hydrating and highly therapeutic - Helps to relieve stress and muscular relaxation - Get rid of dead skin cells - Exfoliate - May decrease inflammation and speed up the healing processes in the body - They are cleansing and detoxifying - Nourishes skin - Supports an even tan
In the context of a salt scrub, Himalayan salts are often used, invigorating and refreshing the skin, to remove dry and dead skin cells and bring fresh new skin to the surface for a youthful appearance. The exfoliation process also helps remove impurities and toxins from the skin, unblocks pores and reduces inflammation.
Helpful additions to body scrubs include essential oils and minerals such as ginger, lime, green tea and seaweed, which add an extra level of detox support and help to achieve your surrounding objectives such as increased energy or relaxation. For example, famed Irish skincare brand VOYA, uses a blend of organic botanical herbs and seaweed extracts to soothe and nourish new skin as part of their body scrubs.
What happens in a body polish treatment?
As with all therapies, the process involved in a body polish will vary from spa to spa, however, as a rough outline, they include:
- Cleanse: You begin by laying down on the treatment bed, and the therapist will briefly cleanse the skin and get you used to the touch sensation.
- Scrub: They will then apply the scrub and rub it into the skin to remove dead cells. The process is repeated on the back and front of the body including arms and legs.
- Additional features: Sometimes body polishes will include additional features such as a short scalp massage
- Shower: You will then be invited to shower off the scrub in a dedicated shower in the treatment room.
- Moisturise: You might then lay back on the treatment bed while a nourishing oil or moisturiser is applied, or the oil in the scrub may have been enough on its own.
Choose this if you want to…
Body scrubs are great if you want to give your skin a boost before an event or if you have dry skin. Lots of people love them before going on a sunny holiday to help support an even tan, or before applying a fake tan as well. If you have an event coming up, why not have a body scrub before a professional tan?
Average price of a body polish
As with all treatments, the cost of a body polish will vary depending on where you have it, the products that are used and the specific variations that the spa places on the treatment. As an average, you can expect to pay anything from £50 to £150 for a body polish in the UK, but some places will it will be more.
Body polish aftercare
To keep the skin feeling soft and moisturised there are products you can use at home - sometimes the therapist will make recommendations for home salt scrubs, shower washes, body cream and body oils. Drink plenty of water or herbal tea so you don’t dehydrate, and try to use spa facilities before your treatment so you can leave nourishing oils on the skin for the rest of the day.
What should I wear to a body polish?
In the UK it’s advisable to wear swimwear to a body polish treatment.
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