Is the cold winter weather getting you down? Does your skin have the quality of course sandpaper? The cure is easy: a stay at a luxurious Palm Spring's resort spa. If you can't afford the $300 to $400 a night price tag here's an alternative: create the spa experience at home in your own bathroom. Just don't forget to lock the door.
You'll need to turn out the lights, light a few candles, put on some soothing music and tell your family you need 30 minutes to yourself.
The antioxidant wine bath is offered at spas in the comfort of a $30,000 hydrotherapy tub but you can do this just fine in your tub. Simply add 1 cup of wine, 1/2 cup of olive oil and 8 drops of rosemary oil to your warm bath water. Then pour yourself a glass of red wine and relax.
Red wine is high in beneficial antioxidants which can be absorbed through the body's largest organ, the skin. Olive oil, rich in polyphenols, a natural antioxidant, is also great for the skin. Rosemary oil can be bought in its purest organic form most health food stores. It promotes circulation and acts as a diuretic.
The rosemary oil can be substituted with peppermint oil which is good for relieving headaches or lavender oil which encourages relaxation and sleep.
If you have menstrual cramps, add rose essential oil to your water.
Cleopatra was famous for her beautiful skin and it was known that she soaked in baths of fresh milk.
Modern laboratories now know why milk worked such wonders on her skin. The lactic acid in milk is a natural material that dissolves the glue that holds dead skin cells together.
While a tub full of fresh milk would be a pricey and wasteful undertaking all that is needed is 2 to 4 cups of fresh milk or buttermilk added to your bathwater. Soak for at least 20 minutes, and then gently rub your skin with a facecloth to slough off the dead skin. Rinse your body thoroughly after soaking.
