A private spa for the bride!
The bride’s big day has been set and it is customary for her close friends and family to offer her a few hours of treatments at a spa, to make her feel relaxed and to feel the feminine confidence needed on the day. However, it’s not always possible to organise a visit to the spa, because the wedding is going to take place in a rural area or because the bride’s busy schedule doesn’t allow her the time to travel. We suggest that you transform your friend’s house or hotel room, into a personal spa, adapted specifically for the bride!
By Dimitra Goula
It is essential to create the idealistic atmosphere of a spa package, with all of the “specifications” that this entails. Don’t think that it will lack professionalism, because your beauty treatments will be enriched with a rich dose of real love for a friend who is changing her life and this is of paramount importance.
You will need:
Scented tea light candles
A cheap disposable bikini
Rosemary, lavender, ylang ylang essential oils
One centifolia rose
A masseur for one hour
100 ml of almond oil (from the chemist)
1.) Create an atmosphere
– Switch the lights off. Light lots of tea light candles with a vanilla or caramel scent. These fragrances will make the bride feel warm and relaxed. Make sure the room is warm enough. Prepare a clean, soft bathrobe, a towel for her hair and the bikini.
– Leave her alone in the room to put the bikini and the bathrobe on.
2.) Make a “menu” of the treatments included in the spa and print it out on nice paper with calligraphic letters.
2-hour spa programme
BODY
– Cleopatra’s bath – with 1 ½ litres of fresh milk, half a cup of honey and a hundred rose petals.
– 60-minute relaxing massage – with a mixture that consists of 100 ml almond oil, 30 drops of lavender essential oil (muscle relaxant, stimulates the senses, provides well-being) and 20 drops of ylang ylang essential oil (aphrodisiac, anti-depressant).
FACE
– Invigorating facial peeling: half a teaspoon of cinnamon powder and one teaspoon of almond oil.
– Revitalising face mask: one tablespoon of yoghurt, one teaspoon of honey and four drops of lemon juice.
– Small pouches made with a gauze, filled with herbs to relieve the eyes: chamomile, rosemary.
– Hair repair mask: one cup of olive oil, one egg, one teaspoon of cider vinegar, 30 drops of rosemary essential oil.
Directions
Milk bath – Fill the bath with steamy hot water and pour in the fresh milk and honey and then scatter the rose petals on top of the water. Put a bath pillow (or a normal washable pillow) on her neck. The steamy hot milk bath will soften the bride’s skin and will gently open her pores so as to absorb the beneficial properties of the milk, the honey and roses.
Let the bride relax in the bath for 10 minutes.
Then during the steam bath, do the facial peeling, the yoghurt mask and the soothing eye patches for 20 minutes. Facial peeling – lightly massage the mixture on all of the face avoiding the area around the eyes. Face mask – mix all of the ingredients together until they become a uniform consistency. Apply the mixture to the face and neck avoiding the area around the eyes. Herbal pouches for the eyes – take two gauzes and put in each pouch one teaspoon of rosemary and one teaspoon of chamomile. Dip the pouches in cold water and gently place them on the eyelids.
Apply the hair mask and cover with a nylon bath cap, then a towel on top, and leave on for 20 minutes. Hair mask – beat the egg well and add the olive oil, the cider vinegar and the rosemary essential oil. Apply the mask to the hair from the hair ends to the roots and cover with a nylon bath cap (the rosemary strengthens the hair and neutralises the smell of the egg).
Rub her back, her arms, and her legs with a hard sponge or a brush, using quick circular movements, so as to release the dead skin cells from the skin.
Let the bride have a shower and get ready for the rest of the treatments.
Massage – hand her over to the experienced hands of the masseur for an enjoyable experience of a relaxing aromatherapy massage, with a special blend of essential oils that you have prepared for her. Suggest to the bride to not have a shower after the massage so as to sleep with the essential oils still on her skin.
At the end of the treatments, have a cup of hot chocolate or a green tea ready, depending on the bride’s preference.
(published in the magazine “WEDDINGS IN CRETE”)
