Pamper yourself: Top resorts and spas share tips on how to recreate a wellness retreat experience at home

Who doesn’t miss the solitary pleasure of stepping into a spa, especially when you are stuck at home? It’s a place that lets you be alone, far away from the non-stop settling and churning of life.

So what do you do when your life depends on staying home? How do you get away to that special place leaving all your household chores and work behind? Can you recreate a haven in your own home?

Yes, with some effort and a few essentials.

Create the perfect atmosphere

Some of us love flowers and plants while others love the sun or moonlight. Choose a place — it could be a little ledge near the window or your bathroom or even a quiet corner of your bedroom.

The smell of eucalyptus, lavender, rose, sandalwood, or lemongrass are known to be calming and uplifting. A couple of candles that release your favourite fragrances will instantly lift your mood.

You can make your own lemongrass and eucalyptus fragrance mist like the one offered by Auberge Resorts Collection.

Many resorts, hotels, and retreats online are offering guided meditation videos for you to relax or practice some mindfulness at home. Enjoy this meditation session guided by the experts from Mii Amo Spa or practice your breathing techniques with Kamalaya Koh Samui’s yoga expert.

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Andaz Hotels and Resorts curated a playlist that can help you place yourself mentally in one of its sumptuous spas. You can also try a blend of music and nature sounds, like the ones found in Strøm Spa Nordique’s atmospheric playlist.

No matter what your music preference is, choose something that helps you visualise places and moments that fill you with positivity.

Treat yourself

“Hydrate, hydrate, hydrate” is the mantra of any spa and wellness resorts, which explains why you’ll always see infused water on offer during your stay. Go ahead and prepare a pitcher of water with cucumber, mint leaves, lemon slices or any kind of fruits you like.

OneWorld Ayurveda from Bali has this delicious banana and papaya juice recipe to make your “me” time sweeter. Or try Chiva Som’s immune aid recipe that combines apple, carrot, beetroot and ginger for a satisfying health elixir.

For a calm and relaxing session, you can sip a warm cup of Ananda Spa’s antiviral, immunity-boosting herb drink.

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If you want to recreate the whole spa diet from your kitchen, Six Senses has put together a list of superfood herbs pairings with ingredients that you can find at grocery stores or online.

For more immunity boosting tips you can practice at home, Vana Wellness Retreat regularly shares their guides and recipes to help combat seasonal illness and maladies.

Skin and body care

From top to toe, your body deserves the best care. But don’t worry, even the crews at top spa resorts agree that you can pamper yourself with ingredients from your pantry.

Let’s start from the top. Anantara Vilamoura Algarve Resort came up with a hydrating hair mask recipe using yogurt, olive oil, and honey. If you’d like to boost hair growth, try massaging aloe vera sap to the scalp and ends of your hair. Leave it for half an hour, then wash out as usual.

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Ananda Spa has a few recipes for homemade toner catering to different skin needs, made from either lemongrass, cucumber, or rice water. Complement this with Anantara’s cucumber and yogurt face mask:

• Half a cucumber, grated
• Three tsb of plain natural yogurt
• One tsp brown sugar
• Whip up a quick mask by combining yogurt and grated cucumber. Apply to face and neck and leave on for 20 minutes;
  and wash it off cool water. Use this mask at least three times a week for fresh-faced results.

According to the recipe, the combination of cucumber and yogurt has a soothing effect on skin, boosting moisture and helps with reducing puffiness.

Give your body a gentle massage throughout a body scrub session using Six Senses’ citrus scrub and complete your at-home spa treatment with a DIY bath soak from Belmond. Don’t forget to moisturise with your favourite body butter afterwards!

This article was first published in Wego.