Pamper Your Sweetheart at Home – A Valentine’s Treat for the Feet

This is the step by step guide for the foot treatment I did on Fox8 News on 2/3/09. We have all the products needed at Inspire OR you can make your own using products you already have or that you make. (See At Home Spa Treatment Recipes) 

Recipe for a Valentine’s Treat for the Feet

Needed items:

Pan or tub to soak feet
Body brush or dry washcloth for dry exfoliation
Pre-mixed body scrub or polish
Several and wet dry towels
Massage oil or lotion
*Optional – aromatherapy oil or Epsom salts for soaking
*Optional – Milk and Honey Masque

Begin by creating a relaxing atmosphere. Light a few candles, turn on some soft music, spray some aromatherapy room mist throughout the area. You’ll want to do the treatment in an area where you can both be comfortable, either with your Valentine sitting or lying down and you in a comfortable position for providing this special care to him or her.  If you have a small tub or pedicure bath, have your “client” soak their feet for a few minutes to start.  You can make this more special and relaxing by adding a few drops of aromatherapy oil and or Epsom salts to the warm water.

After you have soaked the “client’s” feet and you have dried them off with a towel, begin to dry brush the skin on their right foot and leg with a body brush or dry wash cloth from the tips of their toes forward towards the knee. Take special care around the heels, ankles and knees and make sure to get the back of the leg.  Once you have finished dry brushing the right foot and leg, do the other leg, repeating all the steps. The brushing can be done in small circles or light stokes, but should be done slowly and gently, passing over each area at least 3 times.

Next, using the Chocolate Body Scrub (also on our blog under Easy At Home Spa Treatments)  or any purchased/pre-mixed salt scrub or body polish, follow the same steps as above lightly massaging it over the skin.  Take your time and allow your loved one to really enjoy the sensation of the experience. When you have scrubbed the foot and lower leg remove the product with a warm wet wash cloth or heated towel.  Follow with a dry towel to keep the client from getting a chill. Repeat the same steps on the left leg.

The next step is the massage. Using the your massage oil or Body Lotion, begin your regular massage starting first with the foot, taking special care to massage each toe, each joint, and between all bones and crevices with your fingers and thumbs. Stretch and rotate all of the toes, gently pulling on each one before moving onto the next. Move from the foot to the ankle, massaging all around the large bones. Rotate the foot in both directions and then move onto the calf and lower leg.  Massage the muscles here all the way up to the knee, applying gentle direct pressure to the largest part of the muscles (belly) that are in the back of the calf. Repeat on the other side.

Optional – If you want to add one more step, before you do the massage you can apply the milk and honey body mask on the feet and lower legs, wrap in a warm wet towel (or plastic if you don’t want to create more laundry) and leave for about 5-15 minutes before you begin the massage.

Pamper Your Sweetheart – Easy At Home Spa Treatments

Inspire’s Easy At Home Skin and Body Treatments (as seen on FOX8 News)
 

Sweet and Spicy Chocolate Honey Body Scrub for Two

2 cups honey

1/2 cup grape seed or olive oil

6 Tbsp. cocoa powder
1 tsp ground ginger
1 tsp group cloves

2 cups kosher salt

 

 

Directions

In mixing bowl, combine honey and oil. Stir in chocolate, ginger, cloves and salt, mixing completely. Consistency should be grainy and thick. Take the mixture into the shower and apply scrub to skin. Gently massage all over body. Remove with warm, damp towels or rinse in shower.  Share with your Valentine and moisturize skin after each use.

 

Easy Coffee Body Scrub
This is super simple but a little messy so I advise using it over the sink and disposal if possible. The more finely ground the coffee, the easier it will be to clean up. Mix used coffee grounds – even still warm – with your favorite hand soap or shower gel for a wonderfully easy and effective body scrub.

Milk and Honey Masque (for Face or Body)
1 teaspoon of milk
1 teaspoon of honey

Mix well together – it is a bit easier of they are both at room temperature or even a bit warmed from the microwave. Apply to face and neck after cleansing your skin with your favorite facial cleanser. This masque actually tastes really good, so rub on your lips to add to the experience.  Allow mask to stay on your skin for at least 10 to 15 minutes. Then rinse with warm water and moisturize. Your skin will be very soft afterwards.  NOTE: To use on the body or feet, just increase the measurements on the mix, perhaps using a bit more honey to make it a little thicker.  Keep your bathroom clean by standing on a towel or newspaper and/or wrapping yourself in towels or plastic wrap. (This is much easier to do on someone else by the way but is still fun to try!)

 

Facial Fitness – Looking Your Best Naturally

In the Bellanina Facelift Massage, an esthetician or massage therapist does facial massage to help improve the muscle tone. But what can you do at home to improve your skin with facial massage or exercises? In just a couple of weeks, we will be unveiling a new treatment and product at Inspire for at home use that can make a huge difference in those fun things called fine lines and wrinkles. But no matter what machine, product or service you use at home or in the spa, regular self-care is the key. That is why I wanted to go ahead and share some ideas on facial exercises and fitness to help get you started.

As your eyes are the window to your emotions, spirit and personality, they are a good place to start. Click here to check out a couple of eye exercises I found on www.ShapeYourFace.com. I also found a few free exercises at www.CarolynsFacialFitness.com. The one I have already tried is the Neck Firming Exercise. I have been a long-time believer that a lot of the cause of drooping chins/necks (the waggle as they called it on Ally McBeal back in the 90’s) is from tight connective tissue in the neck. This exercise definitely stretches that tissue or fascia while toning the muscles in the front of the neck.

Just like exercising your body, your face won’t be in shape with just one session or treatment of any type. Be consistent in what you do and you will see results!

Spa at Home – More Beauty in Your Kitchen

I just ran across this great article on various foods you can use for skin and hair care at home. Many of these same foods are the basis for the beauty products available at Inspire and other salons. As I’ve been finding these various recipes, I’ve been trying them at home which has actually been kind of fun. It’s sort of like being back in elementary school, making mud pies or other totally inedible concoctions from berries and seeds I found outside. I get to be creative – just like I do in cooking – and then test out my concoctions like I did with my amateur chemistry set in the third grade.

In all the fun I am having I do have to say there is one caveat…some of these at home treatments are really messy! Take the body scrub I made the other day out of used coffee grounds. I am not a big fan of coffee smell alone so I added some powdered ginger and allspice to it. Once I had that mixed up I added some grape-seed oil to part of the batch (and I admit it – hair conditioner – to the other.) If I do it again I will add them to my shower gel instead.

Anyway, the oil mix was oily – go figure – and potentially a little dangerous in the shower. The other worked out a bit better in my opinion. But they were both really messy! Obviously the grounds released a dark, oh I don’t know, coffee colored tinge onto my skin which I wasn’t crazy about. And when it was time to rinse of the coffee scrub, it was really tough to get it all off AND out of the shower.

I am not sure how crazy my husband would be if I used that scrub all the time. But I will say, my skin felt great, and I am considering taking the next step and doing an at home coffee-ground body wrap on myself to combat that ever present c-e-l-l-u-l-i-t-e. Click here to watch a quick video about using coffee grounds as a hand or foot scrub. I tried this too and really like being able to do it over the kitchen sink and disposal.

Baking Soda Isn’t Just For Baking Anymore

Most of us think of baking soda as having about three uses: baking, absorbing odors, and making really icky flavored toothpaste. But did you know it can be used as a beauty product?

One way that I already use it is in a Revitalizing Bath.  I’ve been using this since I first became a massage therapist in 1994. I was seeing a ton of clients and was feeling extremely drained. A fellow therapist suggested that I take a hot bath using these ingredients at least once a week (or whenever I was feeling low energy) followed by a quick cool water rinse. It really helped me then and I still use it from time to time when I need a little boost. Here is the recipe:

Revitalizing Bath
1 cup Epsom Salts (or Sea Salt)
1 cup Baking Soda
1 Cup White Vinegar

Add all ingredients to hot bath for an effervescent and invigorating bath. Soak for at least 20 minutes and then rinse off with cool water.

Want some other ideas on how to use baking soda? Click here to read a list of ways to incorporate this common household item into your beauty regime.

Felicia’s Recipe for Warming Sweet and Spicy Honey Body Scrub

This is the recipe I shared on FOX8 Morning News on December 10th. Enjoy!
1/2 cups honey
1/4 cup grapeseed oil
1/2 teaspoon powdered ginger
¼ teaspoon cinnamon
¼ teaspoon cloves
1/2 cup kosher salt

Warming Sweet & Spicy Honey Body Scrub

Mix all ingredients in a bowl adjusting salt and oil amount if needed to make the scrub thicker or thinner. Take finished mixture into shower and use all over legs and arms for a warming, exfoliation. To increase the detoxifying effects of the ginger, do a complete dry brushing on your body before you take a shower. Your skin will feel smoother and you will feel the warming effects throughout the day.