Friday, July 27, 2012

Spa the sun away!


This summer we are in a middle of a heat wave, and in hot, humid, beautiful Charleston it’s even more of a chore to get and keep healthy, smooth, glowing skin.  You can enjoy and should enjoy the vitamin D that the sun gives and spa away the aging, sun damage, and beating your body takes.  A common mistake that people make is to only be concerned about their face, because it is the most exposed, but when the body is neglected aging, sun damage, and a buildup of dead cells occurs; so spa the bad away!
Body treatments are much more than getting a massage; salt, sugar, enzymes scrubs, body wraps, or even just a back treatment are some ways to rejuvenate the body after a day of fun in the sun.  The idea of anti-aging is about taking steps to prevent premature aging, which is caused by the sun.  Aging is natural, and skin will lose elasticity. We can, however, slow down this process by taking good care of our skin from after being out in the sun.   The best possible thing to do to prevent premature aging, sun damage, stretch marks and cellulite is exfoliation.  For optimal health of the skin, it’s necessary to remove dead skin cells through exfoliating with sea salts, and sugar (my personal favorite)are the most popular but you can also use an enzyme such as fruit, or vegetable or mildly abrasive products, such as; loofahs and brushes.   This refinement of the epidermis not only makes the skin smoother, but it actually enhances penetration of products, improves microcirculation, and accelerates the growth of new cells—all of which lead to more youthful-looking skin.  Body Wraps will aid in eliminating water retention but only for temporary results.
I have two very special places that I enjoy to go for my body treatments; Soca and Earthling Day Spa.  Located in the historic North Charleston business district, Soca is a cozy neighborhood retreat from the stress of the sun.  I have two favorite body treatments at Soca; the body buzz and the back-n-shape.  The body buzz treatment begins with a citrus body brushing to stimulate lymphatic drainage and to start the body’s detoxification process.  Your body is then covered with espresso Limon slimming body oil which helps to purify and tone the body, and then you get a massage with grapefruit enzyme body mist.  It’s an hour and thirty minutes of pure indulgence after spending a day at the beach jet skiing.  If I don’t have 90 minutes for just me, I can pop in for the back-n-shape; it’s only 45 minutes, but it still makes you feel heavenly and it is very beneficial for the body.  It’s a cleansing, exfoliation, masque, and massage treatment for those hard to reach places on the back.  Extractions are done to get those pesky back pimples and a clay masque is used to purify and hydrate
. Earthling Day spa is located on King St. in downtown Charleston and its owner Aby Kass is more than just the owner; she is a legend is the spa community, and besides that I just think she is wonderful.  She teaches Pilates classes and will do massages as well.  I enjoy getting the sugar glow treatment; it’s a treatment that infuses sugar, mango and ginger that leaves the skin feeling silky, smooth, and invigorated the conclusion of  the treatment is the Vichy shower your body will be singing Ahhh!
Don’t complain about the heat, embrace it and then spa the age, and sun damage, and the day away at Soca or Earthling Day Spas.