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Major sorts of treatments offered in spa resorts.
Facials
Facial treatments take care of the skin through cleansing and exfoliating dead skin cells. Such a treatment is given by a professional aesthetic specialist and has a beneficial effect on the skin by leaving it clear, smooth and well-hydrated. The major steps a facial involves are skin analysis, deep cleansing, exfoliation, and extraction of impurities, as well as massage and application of products appropriate for your skin type. It is recommended to have a facial at least once a month or every six weeks in order to let the skin regenerate well. Facials are needed every season, because in summer the skin needs more purifying, in winter – nourishing.
There are many types of facials but the classic variations include general cleansing without extractions and special facials. According to the skin type and its needs different scrub materials and essential oils are used. Thus, vitamin C is injected against ageing of the skin and if the aesthetic specialist considers it is necessary, he/she can offer you a “collagen facial” for elasticity of the skin, or “oxygen facial” for beneficial treating the skin with mist of pure oxygen.
Massages
The word “massage” derives from the Greek “masso”, which means “to touch”. Massage techniques have been known thousands of years ago and nowadays this is the most popular spa treatment. The massage has overall positive effect on yourself by extracting tension from your body, making you relax and also enriching your skin with the essential oils applied on. It is not only a pampering experience but having also a positive result on your health, especially if applied regularly. There are many types of massage including classical massage, deep tissue, hot stone, sports massage, aromatherapy, watsu, reflexology, Shiatsu, Thai Massage and etc.
Classical massage is a treatment which strengthens the immune system and helps the rejuvenation of your body. It implies different techniques such as rubbing, caressing, kneading and vibration, thus irritating slightly the tissues and intensifying the flow of their liquids. In result, the balance of movements between the muscles-antagonists is improved and not only local spots of the body are affected but there is also an impact on the spinal and brain nerve centres, as well as overall relaxing effect. If combined with yoga, classical massage can improve the action of the muscles and reduce agglutination of the fibrous tissue membranes of sedentary people.
Sports Massage
This type of massage stimulates blood circulation and lymph fluids as it breaks down adhesions in the muscles and improves their motion. It can help athletes prepare for optimal performance before a sport event, during training or to recover after it, but also with restorative or rehabilitative purpose for everyone. Above all, it is suitable for people with specific physical problems and injuries, such as tender knee, pulled hamstring or frozen shoulder. It is always better first to visit a therapist to identify a problem and after that treating the affected area. Deep tissue massage resembles the sports massage in targeting knots release and chronic tension in muscles.
Hot Stone Massage
This procedure uses smooth and heated stones, most often made of basalt, which absorb and preserve heat well. The massage includes placing the heated stones on specific spots of your body (spine, palms of the hands, place between the toes, etc) and thus helping the release of tight muscles. The produced heat provokes the flow of energy in your body and has relaxing and deeply soothing effect. At times, therapy with cold stones is used, like in case of muscle injury or inflammation.
Reflexology
Reflexology treatments are based on the theory about the "reflex points" in the hands, feet and ears that are connected to specific organs in the human body. There are practitioners who believe that exerting pressure on these ten reflex points, located along the body from head to toe, improves health in the certain organ via the body's energetic pathways. Done by a specialist, reflexology can have deeply relaxing effect on the overall body and help removing the stress. This is also the accurate massage if you are not alike to put off your clothes or get oil on your hair and body during the massage.
Watsu
The name of this therapy combines the words “water” and “shiatsu”. It is executed in a warm, waist-deep water of a special Watsu pool. This is a pleasant and soothing massage, performed in a quiet environment of the spa centre. In practice, the massage therapist enters the water together with you and while you seat on a step, he/she puts floats around your ankles. Then he/she supports your knees and back with hand and cradles your body in the water. After that the therapist twirls you in the water and applies procedures of twists and stretches. Watsu therapy helps your buoyancy and moves the spinal column in a way that is not possible on land. Thus, an overall therapeutic effect is produced on your body and the massage helps you fully relax.
Aromatherapy
Aromatherapy includes essential oils from various plants to alleviate pain and stimulate the good mood. The treatment uses highly concentrated plant extracts, which are derived from different plants and flowers, leaves, bark, resins and roots. Aromatherapy massage uses this kind of essential oils and the therapists often mix them with other components like grapeseed oil or sweet almond. Various combinations can be made in order to apply the necessary oil and aroma. For example, sore muscles need a massage with peppermint and eucalyptus, but for a full relaxation bergamot or lavender is used. Such extracts find application not only in the aromatherapy but also in facials, body treatments and hydrotherapy baths. However, it does not have anything in common with the perfume oils or fragrances, made from chemicals because they lack the therapeutic qualities of the essential oils.
Body treatments
Body treatments have the same effect like the facials but in this case the impact is on your whole body. The various therapies target cleansing, exfoliating, and hydrating the skin on your body. After a body scrub and body mask your skin will be soft and pleasant in touch.
Body Wrap
This is a treatment, which includes wrapping your body with plastic bandages and aims at reducing cellulite. Body wraps that feature the use of seaweed, clay or mud help the body get rid of toxins through metabolic stimulation. This kind of treatment provokes loose of weight, since those body wraps using rich lotions (body mask) have a hydrating and soothing effect on the body skin. After the time is up, the body mask has to be removed and for the purpose a shower or Vichy shower is used. Then the skin is dried well and another application of lotion is used to moisturize your skin.
Salt glow
The salt glow is known also as a salt scrub or sea salt scrub and is the most popular body treatment used in the spa centres. It can be combined with a massage but has to precede it, because it has a stimulating effect on the skin, while the massage makes you relax. This treatment uses salt to exfoliate your skin and take off the dead skin cells. In fact, the salt glow is performed on a massage table or wet table, where you lie on and the therapist rubs your skin with the salt. After that he/she rinses off all the salt with a hand-held shower or with a Vichy shower. In many cases the salt is combined with oil and aromas like lemon or lavender, which hydrate the skin. After the shower, a body lotion is applied on to leave the skin smooth and fragrant. The salt glow can be the first step before seaweed or mud wrap, because by exfoliating the skin it gets prepared for other products like algae or seaweed to stimulate blood circulation and detoxifying the body.
Vichy shower
Vichy shower has from five to seven shower heads, which direct water flows onto you, while you are lying on a wet table. This therapy is used after a body treatment, like a body wrap or salt scrub. It is a pleasant procedure, since the water is massaging you gently while simply lying. During a Vichy shower your body is usually wrapped in towels and you can wear disposable underwear. The procedure includes both pours over your back, as well as your front side, when the therapist might put something on your face in order to minimize the water spray.
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