Doing a body wrap at home, a spa treatment meant to improve the tone, texture, and tightness of your skin, can be an excellent way to pamper yourself without spending a large amount of money at an actual spa. To start, determine what benefits you are looking for from a body wrap, and choose ingredients that can potentially provide them. Then prepare either a paste or liquid and take a warm, hot shower, gently exfoliating your skin. Apply the product to your body, either with your hands or with bandages. Wrap yourself in plastic wrap and warm clothing, and then relax in a comfortable place for up to an hour before removing the wrap.
Most recipes for a body wrap at home contain three basic ingredients — clay, salt, and herbs — the combination of which will depend on the types of benefits that you want to gain from this spa treatment. In general, the clay is meant to exfoliate your skin, while the salt is added to aid in detoxification. For herbs, chamomile, parsley, and aloe vera are all capable of soothing your skin and reducing inflammation, while peppermint, rose petals, and witch hazel help to tone the skin and improve circulation. Coffee grounds, green tea leaves, and milk can all help to reduce the look of cellulite. You can also complete the spa experience by adding a few drops of a cosmetic-grade essential oil to your mixture for scent.
Once you have a good selection of ingredients, you can begin to prepare your body wrap at home. If you are using clay, salt, and herbs, the general ration is two parts clay to one part salt and herbs, with the actual amounts depending on how much of your body you want to cover; however, this can be left up to personal preference. Mix all of these ingredients together with enough water so they form a thick yet spreadable paste, heating the mixture up in a pot. If you choose not to use clay, add the salt and herbs to a stockpot full of water and heat the mixture up until it boils; then, remove it from the heat and let it cool slightly.
Prior to applying your body wrap ingredients, take a warm shower and exfoliate your skin. The heat from the shower will warm up your body, making it easier for the wrap ingredients to penetrate the skin. Exfoliating will help to remove any dead skin cells and unclog your pores, also increasing the effectiveness of the wrap.
To apply your body wrap at home, rub an even layer of the paste onto your skin or soak strips of cloth in the liquid mixture and wrap them around your body. You can apply the ingredients to targeted sections or to your entire body. Once the paste or cloths are covering your body, wrap plastic wrap around the areas to secure them and to trap the heat. Any cloths or plastic wrap that you use should be snug, but not so tight that it is uncomfortable or risks cutting off your circulation. After you’re all wrapped up, put on old, warm clothes, or wrap yourself in a blanket that you don’t mind getting dirty, and relax in a warm room for up to an hour.
In order to finish your body wrap at home, you simply have to remove the wrap and take a lukewarm shower to remove any remnants of the body wrap mixture. To give your skin one last dose of luxury, you can apply a lotion directly after showering to keep your skin soft and smooth. After you complete the wrap, make sure tha you drink a glass or two of water, as many of the ingredients used can dehydrate you.