You can’t always travel to your favorite spa – that takes lots of time and lots of money (and who has that these days?)  Here are some easy ways to create a spa environment at home that won’t break the bank:

Spa treatments

Exfoliation - A loofah or dry brush is a great tool to add to your home spa. Use the dry brush before your shower or bath. Use the loofah in the shower or bath. If you don’t have either of these, a washcloth can exfoliate skin in a pinch.

Scrub - Buy a great smelling scrub, or you can even make your own with basic ingredients found in your grocery store, like seat salt or sugar, olive oil or nut oil, fruits and other ingredients.

DIY: Make your own bath salts

Facial – Use high quality, natural products to give yourself a mini-facial. Cleanse and tone, then apply a mask. When the mask is rinsed off, moisturize.

Hair - Now is a great time to try a deep conditioner while you are soaking in the bath or taking a spa-like shower. Apply conditioner or hair mask, put your hair in a shower cap and let the conditioner work. Rinse according to the directions.

Beverage – A glass of wine or champagne is the standby for relaxation in the tub, but there are other choices for the at-home spa too. A cup of herbal or green tea is wonderful.

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There’s no need to travel hundreds of miles to a high-dollar spa to rejuvenate your body and spirit. Try it in your own home or backyard this weekend. Raid your cabinets and your refrigerator for an all out party girl pamper session.

Face Forward
Your first step will be to cleanse your face – after the summer sun, cocktails and late nights your skin will thank you.

Facial Steam

Get a big bowl or a bucket, boil water on your stove and fill your container. You can add herbs or oils depending on the effect you want. For a deep clean you might want to try sage or thyme, relaxation lavender or vanilla, you can add just about any scented oil that you like. Once you’ve added your oil, sit in a chair or on a pillow and place your face over your container, drape a towel over your head so that it covers you and your container. The steam will open your pores providing you with a deep clean. You can enjoy the facial until the steam has dissipated.

Deep Hair Conditioning

If you want to have a deep hair conditioning then here is a recipe that will revitalize your hair.

cup of mayonnaise 
1 egg 
4 drops of rosemary

Mix all the ingredients in a bowl, warm a towel in the dryer or microwave, apply ingredients to damp hair and wrap in the warm towel. Leave on for 15-30 minutes. Shampoo and rinse with cool water.

Hot Paraffin Dip

Do you enjoy those paraffin dips that you receive at the spa for your hands and feet? Well, you can enjoy it at home as well and have incredibly soft hands and feet. 
Take 1-2 bricks of paraffin wax, if you want flavor or aroma, add a half dozen drops of your favorite flavor of oil. Put the wax in your crock pot on low heat and melt. You don’t want to use a higher setting because you don’t want to get burned. When the wax is melted add your aroma oil, pour the wax in to a pan or bucket, check to make sure that it’s not too hot. 
Dip a hand or foot in until it is completely covered, take it out and let it the wax set usually 5-10 minutes. Peel the wax once it’s set, but don’t toss it, you can reuse it! Ain’t life grand?

Why spend money when you can make your own skin care products with natural and common ingredients that’s already in your home.

Here are some simple skin care routines using 5 ingredients:

(From sheknows.com)

Skin softener recipe

This economical and quick to fix exfoliator will energize you and give you silky smooth skin.

To make skin softener recipe: Mix equal parts of extra virgin olive oil and salt to create a wonderful skin softener. Mix the two so that the salt soaks up the oil.

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To use: Scrub your entire body, massaging the mixture into your skin. Wash off thoroughly.
Luxurious bath recipe

To make luxurious bath recipe: Cut two lemons into super-skinny slivers. Dribble half a dozen drops of olive oil onto citrus slices. Give it a toss and finish with three cups of sea salt. Let mixture cure for five minutes.

To use: While filling your tub with hot steamy water, roil in citrus mixture. Then sit back and enjoy.

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When the seasons change, your skin care regimen should change too. As we head into the warmer weather, adjust your skin care products and cosmetics to keep your skin looking and feeling beautiful.

Lighten up
The heavy moisturizing cream that you used in the winter months may be a little too heavy for spring. Switch to a lighter, oil-free formula instead, but still pay close attention to the skin around your eyes and mouth. Don’t forget to apply sunscreen every time you leave the house.

Makeup colors should lighten up too. Put aside your dark lipstick, blush and eye shadow and go for a little more natural look this season. Replace the plum and wine colors with more pinks. For daytime use a lip gloss, rather than a lipstick, and switch from black mascara to brown. Instead of a liquid foundation, switch over to tinted moisturizer or mineral powder instead.

Mary J Blige shows you how to exfoliate.

Exfoliate your body
As you toss your boots and sweaters to the back of your closet, you probably realize that you will be exposing a lot more skin soon. Shorts weather is almost here and bikini time is right around the corner. Skin care isn’t just about your face. Body care is important too. Exfoliate from head to toe to slough away dead skin cells and rejuvenate your dull complexion.

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Find out how to get that spa glow at home here.