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Spa At Home —

C ocooning

www.howtospa.com/en

30 mn total

SPA AT HOME —

Cocooning You’re at home and you have 30 minutes to spare for yourself. You can turn your safe place into a little spa with our tips and advice. These tutorials will help you enjoy a great relaxation moment with our step by step guide. You can skip some steps though, if you don’t have enough time or room for example or simply because you don’t feel comfortable doing them at the beginning. The aim here is to listen to your body and mind, at your own pace. We strongly recommend you to turn your phone off or set it to flight mode and avoid any disturbance while you’re relaxing to make the most of it. You’ve chosen the cocooning result. For a total relaxation, let us guide you...

Make yourself comfortable

When you’re following your spa ritual, we recommend you take 5 minutes to get into the relaxation state of mind. Take the time to get comfortable. You can also get in the mood with some special scents with our advised product from KOS: Jardin de l’Aube.

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Dim lighting will also be beneficial to your relaxation. Close your curtains, turn off your artificial lights, and light a few candles here and there in your house (bathroom included) with the advised product from L’Esprit Cocon : Aube Des Sens. You can also put on relaxing music by downloading from your iPhone this album: «80 minutes of Music Reiki» (also available on Deezer), or by accessing to these sites: https://www.massage-zen-therapie.com/radio-zen or https://www. musique-zen.fr.

You can find all our recommended products on our eshop: https://howtospa.com/en/e-shop/

First relaxation step

Spa experts will often recommend you enjoy a sauna or hammam or use a body scrub to get your skin ready for your spa treatment for an optimum result.

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Get the hammam feeling in your bathroom by running hot water for 3 minutes with the door closed. While the water is running, you can get some accessories ready for an ultimate spa feel: take a small or medium size towel (advised product: the «Oshibori» Towel from Couleur Locale), and dampen it with hot water. You can spray a few drops of essential oils on it (advised product: essentials oils from Vie Arôme). Fold the towel in half, once or twice, and roll it to make an “oshibori”. You’ll use it later. If you have a towel warmer, you can leave your bathrobe to warm up and and if you’re lucky enough to have a bathtub, you can add some nice scents or relaxation products. When it’s all ready and set up, step into your shower or bath. Tip: it’s best to take a bath or a shower at the end of the day but before you eat, it will help you sleep better.

Now that you’re in your shower or bath, wash your body using a gentle product. Try a shower oil for a more relaxing experience, or our advised product the solid & natural Soap l’Elégant from Les Savons de Béa. On damp skin, lightly massage in circular and deep movements. Rinse with hot water. If you chose to use a body scrub after your shower or bath, get the best products, with our advised product from Les jardins d’Aïssa: le gommage corps exfoliant et hydratant au sel du Lac Rose. You can also use this scrub with the famous «Djampé», this African scrub net for effective exfoliation and real relief from heavy legs. Massage gently in circles. Pay particular attention to the thick skin areas such as your elbows, knees and heals. You can use an exfoliating cloth (our advised product is from Konjac Sponge Company) for best results. For your back, use a long handled body brush (our advised product is from Couleur Locale). When you’re done, rinse off with tepid water, or best, cold water to boost your blood circulation. Now you can snuggle into your warm bathrobe or towel and take a deep breath in.You can use the oshibori you made for your hands.You can also roll up a damp towel with a few drops of essential oil on and put it around your neck to relax this area.

You can find all our recommended products on our eshop: https://howtospa.com/en/e-shop/

The face

You can now leave the damp atmosphere of your bathroom to let your skin breathe again. Let’s now focus on relaxing your face as this is a very important step. Whether you suffer from sore eyes, headaches or stiff muscles, the self-massage movements described here will help you unwind and ease your pain. As a bonus, it reactivates your blood and lymphatic flow which gives your skin a nice healthy complexion again. For the massage, try this product The Prune Biologique face oil from Oden. If your relaxation is happening before your bedtime we advised you the My Huilette Night face oil serum from Les Huilettes. Now let’s start. Apply the product on both your face and neck. Rub your palms together to warm them up, and then join them palm to palm like in a praying position. Breathe in and out twice. Put your hands gently on your face and feel the warmth, you are now ready. • NECK & CLAVICLES Place your thumbs under your chin, bend your other fingers. With a very light pressure, follow the outline of your face with your thumbs, from chin to ears. Repeat 3 times. Now follow the same line but slightly higher (start just under your lower lip) and with your index. Repeat 3 times. • NOSTRILS, NOSE & CHEEKBONES Now follow your cheekbones outline, massaging your face from nostrils to ears. Repeat 3 times. Now focus on the nose; massage each side of your nose using your fingers, and then do the same ‘nose to ears’ massage. 6

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• EYES CONTOUR Using your index and middle fingers start on the inside corner of your eyes and massage your eyebrows arch and then massage under your eyes and repeat again in circles, 5 times. Then massage your temples in circles. • FOREHEAD & TEMPLES With the tip of your fingers, massage your face from the middle of your forehead to your temples. Repeat 3 times. • NECK (BACK & FRONT) With the tip of your fingers, follow the curve of your face from your temples to your neck and then clavicles. Finish the neck massage with the back of the neck, using all your fingers. Relax your jaw. You can now feel your neck muscles get rid of the stiffness. For a complete facial ritual, we recommend the products of Mademoiselle Saint Germain: * The Geranium cleansing water for gentle make-up removal. * The Fontainebleau face scrub for deep cleansing. * The Cucumber eye contour roll-on for a boost of freshness. If your skin needs comfort, we recommend the My Huilette Rescue balm from Les Huilettes, to be applied to very dry areas of the face and body, as well as the Pulp N°1 lip balm from Les Savons de Béa.

You can find all our recommended products on our eshop: https://howtospa.com/en/e-shop/

The body

Get comfortable, ready for your body self-massage. You can sit on a comfy cushion ( advised product from Whole) your legs slightly bent. Keep clothes you’re comfortable in and which allow you to move freely. Use a relaxing massage oil (our advised product is the body oil L’Huile d’Après Bahia from L’Art Du Bain).

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With your hands palm to palm on your chest, breathe deeply. Gently rub in the oil on your legs, from hip to toes. Now you’re ready. For each movement, start with one side and then follow the same steps for the other. • FEET & ANKLES With both hands, massage your feet with gently circular movements. Massage sole and heal and then your toes and the space between them. You can use your thumbs to massage any particular painful area like your sole arch or ankle as both can be very painful after walking. Pay particular attention to the top of your feet, massaging the line between ankle and toes (from the ankle to the space between your toes) with your thumbs. Repeat 5 times. Massage your ankles with the tip of your fingers doing circular movements around the ankle on both sides of each foot.

• LEGS (Once one leg is done, repeat these maneuvers on the other leg). - Lower leg Massage your lower leg from ankle to knee. Gently pinch your skin of your front lower leg between your thumb and index and then release. Do this from ankles to knees. Do the same following your calves curve. Massage your knees with your palms, doing circular movements around the kneecap. - Thighs Bend your legs slightly, cross your hands (crossing the fingers of both hands together) and place them behind your knee. Massage the back of your thighs from knee to buttock with circular movements. Then with your free palms massage the top of your thighs with circular movements towards the knee. Always remember to breathe. Repeat 5 times. When you’ve followed all the steps, finish your leg massage with slowly massaging your whole legs with your palms, pressing more or less depending on the areas you feel need more attention.

You can find all our recommended products on our eshop: https://howtospa.com/en/e-shop/

• ARMS & SHOULDERS (Once an arm and a shoulder are done, repeat these maneuvers on the other arm and shoulder). - Arms Rub in your massage oil on your whole arms and shoulders. Start with your forearm by slightly pinching your skin between your thumb and index and releasing, doing so from your wrist and up to your elbow. Then, massage your elbows with your palm and go up to your shoulder that way. - Clavicles/ shoulders Cross your legs in a lotus like position. Massage your chest clockwise, going up towards your neck (or cleavage for women). Stay a little longer on the clavicles area. Then massage your shoulder with your palm in generous circular movements. • TRAPEZIUS & BACK NECK Rest your elbow in one hand and use the other to massage your trapezius and back neck. Remember to relax your jaw. Repeat on each side. • LOWER BACK & HIPS Massage your lower back and hips in circular hand movements. Start by placing your hands on your lower back and massage continuously from back to hip. After you’ve finished your body self-massage, put your hands together, palm in palm, at face level and breathe deeply. It helps you assimilate the benefits of your massage.

The post-massage time: as long as you need or wish!

In many spas, you’ll find a relaxation room. It’s a room dedicated to the after treatment time. You often find comfortable beds to lie down, but also magazines to take your mind away from stressful thoughts and food and drinks to mix relaxa tion and pleasure. Make the most of the time you have there. You can have this precious time at home too; put on some comfy clothes and get cosy in your living room. Wrap yourself in a nice blanket. We advised you the gorgeous plaid from Sweet Alpaga. You can decorate your living room as a relaxation room (advised products: home decoration from Peter & Clo, cushions from Whole). Prepare yourself an infusion or a tea (advised products: Vallée du Nil tea from Nunshen; Morphée infusion from Chic Des Plantes) as well as some dried fruits and almonds / hazelnuts if you wish. Grab a book, listen to some music, turn on your phone again if you need to. Slowly reconnect with the outside world. A book that our team recommends for a better daily life: the book of Hygge. You might be going to bed now, so why not spray some mist on your pillow for a deep relaxing sleep (advised product Eau de Bengalore from Cinq Mondes).

Spa tip: During a massage, when you are on your back, the therapist will put a relaxing cloth mask on your eyes to avoid any disturbances. This has an immediate soothing effect. In order to offer you an equally experience, we recommend the Relaxation Cloth Mask with flax seeds and essential oils from Les Décousues.

Did you like it? Do you feel the difference? Was this massage a nice experience? Please let us know and share your impressions on social networks. Your next step? Why not try another of our massage tutorials?

You can find all our recommended products on our eshop: https://howtospa.com/en/e-shop/

www.howtospa.com/en © HowtoSpa 2016-2023 - Photos: Alexis Sciard - illustrations : Lora Hristova Réalisation : www.ecom-design.fr - Créatrice de protocoles d’automassage : Fabienne Crocq