What Is an Herbal Body Wrap?
Herbal body wraps top the list of today's favorite spa treatments. An herbal body wrap can be enjoyed at the spa or in your own home. Relaxing and rejuvenating, this type of body wrap has some real benefits for the people who use them.
History
For centuries people have been enjoying body wraps. Ancient Egyptians and Romans alike had bath houses built just to bath, wrap and relax. The herbal body wrap as we know it and enjoy it today is believed to have come from Baden, Germany. Researchers there discovered that applying certain herbs to the skin during the wrap procedure could cause patients to lose inches to the body and toxins from the system. The popularity of the herbal body wrap grew locally and soon traveled around the world. Today people all over the world flock to spas to enjoy herbal body wraps.
Benefits
Toxins in the body make skin cells swell. Diets loaded with sugar, salt and processed foods are especially prone to this type of toxic swelling. Fluid builds up in the cells and the surrounding areas making you gain weight. Lifestyles with poor or no exercise are even more prone to cellular swelling. An herbal body wrap drains the liquid from the skin cells removing trapped toxins. The immediate benefits of an herbal body wrap are weight loss and detoxification of the body. The longer term benefit is younger, more supple looking skin. An herbal body wrap also relaxes the patient mentally and physically.
Methods
They ingredients may change but the method of applying the herbal body wrap is the same. The process takes a few steps. The first step is to exfoliate the entire body. Often salt is used to polish the skin before the next step. The salt removes dead skin cells and stimulates the fresh skin underneath. The next step is the herbal oil application. Whatever mixture the spa or practitioner uses is massaged into the skin right before the wraps are applied. The body is completely wrapped up with the herbal oil still on the skin. Next the body is wrapped with cellophane closing off the air from the skin. The herbs are allowed to seep into the skin and cause it to sweat out the toxins. A heated blanket is then applied on top of the wrapped body causing the body to sweat even more. After 20-30 minutes, the wrappings are removed. The herbal blend is washed away from the body. The body is then sealed with a special mixture that protects the skin making it softer and more supple.
Side Effects
The two main complaints of an herbal body wrap are diarrhea and extreme thirst. Because of the salt treatment some bodies will have the need to evacuate waste. Toxic build up in the intestines can also evacuate because of the herbal treatment. Diarrhea isn't reported in everyone, just a small portion of wrap users. Extreme thirst is more common. After the body has been depleted of toxins and waste, you may feel thirsty. This is solved simply by rehydrating your body.
Ingredients
Specialty spas take pride in their herbal ingredients. While there are some differences in the herbal components between them and even the home wraps, the basic ingredients are the same. An herbal body wrap may use aloe vera, alfalfa, bladderwrack and powders like chickweed and cornsilk. There may also be berries like hawthorne. Sea kelp, garlic, ginger, fennel and rose hips are regular ingredients. If you are not sure, ask. You would not want to have an allergic reaction to an ingredient in your herbal body wrap.
