Secret Spa

Indulge in a little pampering without leaving the privacy of your own home

Facial on the fly

1. Cleanse skin, removing dirt, makeup and evidence of the chocolates you snatched from the “guests only” box when the kids weren’t looking.

2. Step into a tub of warm water, scented with your favourite essential oil. (See Scents and sensibility). Apply an exfoliating facial scrub in an upwards-circular motion, paying particular attention to the T-zone. The steam from your bath water open up pores for a deeper clean.

3. Smooth on a mask to suit your skin type. Dan Thompson, national training director for the Oasis Spa, in Toronto and Calgary (Experienceoasis.ca), says clay-based formulations work best for oily skin (look for kaolin clay, also called china or white clay), but drier skin needs a rich moisturizing mask, Thompson prefers masks containing royal jelly which can be costly, barring that, he recommends something containing Aloe Vera gel.

4. Lie back and relax for five whole minutes — try hard not to think about the screeching just outside the bathroom door.

5. Remove mask according to the package directions.

6. After your bath, apply a toner — any one will do, as long as it’s alcohol-free. Alcohol-heavy products strip away moisture from skin, warns Thompson.

7. Moisturize with your regular eye and face cream (or slather on the night cream instead, if you’ll be hitting the hay).

Pedicure on the run

1. Remove old nail polish.

2. Massage some exfoliating body scrub onto your feet and go at them with a foot file in the tub until they feel smoother than your baby’s bum, then rinse off any remaining scrub. Baths are better than showers for at-home pedicures, says Thompson, as they allow optimal soaking time to soften tough skin.

3. For maximum moisture, slather on a rich foot cream while feet are still wet, then towel dry.

4. Clip and file toenails to desired shape soon after you get out of the tub, while they’re still moist and soft.

5. Wrap a few prezzies while your feet soak up the cream. Or, if you’re not going out, bed down with socks on those lotion-laden toes, for extra softness. Try: Fruits & Passions foot cream, $14.

6. Give nails a once over with a cotton pad soaked in polish remover to remove all oil.

7. Apply a base coat, two coats of polish and a fast drying topcoat. Polish will be dry to the touch almost immediately but won’t be pantyhose-ready for about 35 minutes.

Manicure in minutes

1. Remove old polish.

2. Massage a Hershey’s-Kiss-sized blob of salt scrub into your hands for about a minute — pay particular attention to rough spots and ragged cuticles. Try: Crabtree & Evelyn 60-Second Fix, (kit includes hand scrub and lotion), $36.

3. Rinse hands with warm water and pat dry.

4. Rub in a heavy-duty lotion. Take a moment to “Ooh” and “Aah” at how soft your hands feel.

5. Clip and file nails to desired shape. Thompson recommends using your nail file perpendicular to nail to “seal the nail” and protect it from peeling.

6. Remove any oil from nails with a cotton pad soaked in polish remover.

7. If you’re in a rush, slick on two coats of a quick-drying nail polish that includes a topcoat. Try: Rimmel 60 Second Vinyl Shine, $4. For longer lasting wear, apply base coat, two coats of polish and a topcoat. A general rule of thumb, says Thompson, is the longer it takes to dry, the longer it’ll last.

Scents and sensibility

Sure it all smells good, but aromatherapy does a lot more than treat our nose. Whether you like your scents from candles, bubble baths or lotion, here’s your 10-second guide to choosing the right fragrance to enhance your mood.

• To energize your body – Citrus, Hazelnut
• To relax your soul – Lavender, rose
• To stimulate your mind – Rosemary, mint

What to expect when you’re expecting — at the spa

Whether you’re treating yourself to a day of professional pampering or simply an at-home renovation, you need to be aware of which treatments to skip when you’re pampering for two. Here’s some advice from Dan Thompson, national training director for the Oasis Spa in Toronto and Calgary.

• Always tell your esthetician you’re expecting.

• Warm is good, hot is not so skip the mud bath, water treatments and body wraps. They may raise your core body temperature to unsafe levels for your baby.

• Steer clear of products that contain more than 15 percent algae as it’s purifying qualities can cause nausea and diarrhea even on a good day and who needs that when you’re expecting?

• Don’t use products with more than 0.15 percent retinol, which can be absorbed into the blood stream. No tests have shown it to be harmful for the baby but this may be a case of better safe than sorry.

• Got pregnancy mask? Avoid any treatment for hyperpigmentation as it could make the problem worse.

 

Originally published in Today's Parent Beautiful, Holiday 2007