DIY Spa Day

Author: Natural Grocers

Have you ever been given a gift card for a massage and thought, “How lovely! If only I had the time to redeem it!” If so, then it will come as no surprise that on average, American mothers only get 36 minutes a day for themselves.[1] After getting the family ready for the day, working, running errands, cooking, doing mounds of laundry and dishes, getting the house picked up, spending the requisite time with your partner, and putting the kids to bed, we have about half an hour before we need to get ourselves into bed to be prepared to do the whole thing over again the next day. Add in any additional stress and we can quickly reach a state of burnout that can trigger guilt for many of us, and leave our families wondering what happened.

So with just half an hour available each day, what can we do to fill our cup, de-stress, and unwind? How about creating a do-it-yourself (DIY) spa day experience in your own home!

Start With Ambiance

One of my favorite parts of the few spa days I have had is the environment. The smells, sounds, and even tastes of the spa are easy to recreate at home. Throw some cucumber slices and mint leaves into a jar of water and refrigerate through the day to treat yourself to nourishing refreshment. Add some essential oil to a diffuser to attain the fresh, relaxing scents of the spa. And recreate the relaxing soundtrack of the spa with apps like RelaxMelodies, or an online source of nature sounds or soothing music.

Choose Your Treatment

Decide which spa style treatment you want to enjoy, and then find a natural-ingredient recipe to make that treatment for yourself at home. Body care products are a major source of hormone disrupting chemicals, so making your own products at home allows you to reduce toxic exposure. Knowing that your body care is not only good for your skin, but good for your health and the environment can help further put your mind at ease. And you can get everything you need to make these homemade treats while shopping for your groceries! As a final touch, adding specific blends of essential oils can transform any of the options below into stress-relief home remedies.

For whole-body spa delights, try one of these options:

Check out our videos with natural-ingredient recipes including homemade body butter, shower melts, and bath soak (videos below).
If you want your whole body to enjoy a healthy glow, try one of these natural DIY body scrub recipes from inhabitat.com.
The homemade bubble bath recipes at helloglow.com give you some relaxing options to choose from.

If a facial is your favorite part of a spa day, give one of these options a try:

There is a nice list of DIY face scrubs for everyone at Brit+Co.com.
wellnessmama.com has some great natural face mask recipes.
Facial steams are a great way to relax the mind while indulging the skin. The variety of facial steam recipes found on bustle.com will leave you serenely smiling.

If a whole body soak is not in the cards, try a foot soak or scrub recipes.

No matter which treatment you choose, adding the right essential oils can take your recipe to the next level. AromaWeb.com has an essential oil blend recipe for just about any circumstance.

Using the little time we have for ourselves to de-stress with some self-care can have big payoffs for our mental and emotional health. It can help us face the challenges of a new day with additional resilience and energy. And really, what more can we ask for (besides more than 36 minutes for ourselves ;))?.