If you’re in need of some tender love and care but your budget won’t stretch to allow you a day spent at the spa resort, you don’t have to resign yourself to having a body that is neglected and ignored!  In fact, many of the treatments which are available at day spas are also easy to replicate at home providing you have the spare time required to give yourself a break!  Why not make a day out of it, invite around a few of your friends and really treat yourself to a pamper session which any day spa would be envious of!

First things first - determine your budget and figure out how many people you will be inviting to your pamper day.  You may find that buying products like moisturiser, exfoliant and body-cleansing clay in bulk will greatly reduce the overall cost of the project.  You may also be able to pool resources with your friends - it certainly doesn’t hurt if one of the people you invite has a foot spa, a chair massage blanket, or an aromatherapy steam infuser.  Once you have sorted out how much you have to spend on beauty and health products, decide which treatments you would like to try.  Stick with the easiest, such as cleansing and exfoliation, or manicure and pedicure, and leave the more complex to the professionals.  You certainly wouldn’t want to try acupuncture or cupping yourself if you hadn’t had a prolonged period of training! 

When it comes time to go shopping for your spa treatment products, try and find a beauty and health products outlet nearby.  Such stores usually stock moisturisers, cleansers, toners, exfoliants, nail varnish, massage creams and oils and even mineral salts and aromatherapy products in bulk at heavily reduced prices.  If you want to go all out for your day of rest and recuperation, stock up on fresh fruits for fruit juice and fresh vegetables for snacks as well.

When the spa day finally arrives, make sure you prepare properly.  Keep plenty of clean towels at hand, as these will be needed to wipe dry the treated areas of the body and to mop up any spills.  If it is a cold day make sure your house is kept at a steady but warm temperature - being cold or exposed to a chill whilst wet or damp can be a quick way to catch a cold!  If you are on your own, put a bit of thought into the order in which you do your treatments - you should cleanse and exfoliate first and manicure and pedicure last, as nail varnish may be removed by the exfoliation process if done in the reverse order.  If you are sharing your spa day with friends you can help each other out - painting nails, for instance, is much easier to do on other people and will look tidier and more professional.  Throughout the day make sure you keep your liquid levels up (fresh juices or water are recommended), and in order to feel truly revived try to avoid fatty fast foods.  By the end of the day you should find yourself happy, relaxed, and hopefully looking good as new!