Home SPA- photo report and recipes

There is one very special tradition on green carpet- me and one of my very best friends are going to our country sauna and turning it to a fantastic SPA. We did this actually long before the term "SPA" became so popular- starting from our teenage years it was our health, beauty and friendship quality time.

All the best products were taken into the washing room of our sauna and home made scrubs, masks and other substances were created beforehand. 

So when she visited us back in Latvia it was our No1 on the list. Here's a little photo report and recipes how we did it!

Even though most of Latvians would take beer when going to sauna, we usually choose either water or hot homegrown mint tea that fits perfectly in our health and beauty day. 

Prepare: 

• our sauna is heated by wood fire, so it takes about 1,5h to get it hot
• prepare all fresh scrubs and masks
• put all the soaps, shampoos, honey, masks and other stuff in the huge basket
• take the basket and large batch of towels and/or robes to the sauna
• make the mint tea and leave the baby with someone you trust for couple of hours!

Enjoy:

• Warm up your body and sweat out all the toxins in sauna couple of 'sessions' and let yourself to cool in between them. In warmer weathers we would jump into the pond nearby, but during winter we just enjoy the cold air or jump in the snow if attending sauna as regular practice. However, during our SPAs we enjoy milder experiences. 
• Wash all the dirt off! This time we enjoyed Organic Rose shampoo by Urtekram and hand made coconut soap my parents brought from Zanzibar. 

• Scrub it! Our all times favorite is a coffee scrub, this time we mixed it with smashed cranberries- mmmm, delightful. Future notice- it's better to use blender for berries rather than just smashing them...
• Mmmmmmask time! Apply masks to face, hair, body and get back into the sauna for another 15min to let them feed your winter-starved skin. 
• Wash everything off gently, rinse the hair with a dash of apple cider vinegar in water, dry and apply Absolute Organic face cream and Weleda Rosemary Hair Lotion. 
• Drink tea, chat, relax and enjoy yourselves throughout these couple of hours!  

Recipes:

• Scrub: take your morning coffee ground and mix it with smashed cranberries. Scrub gently your face and body, harder other 'problematic' areas. Advice- cellulite hates coffee and antioxidants in cranberries!

• Hair mask: mix olive oil, honey and egg yolk in about equal parts. Advice- dry your hair a little bit with towel before applying the mask. Too much water on the hair retains all the good stuff from getting in. 

• Face and body mask: mix equal parts of fresh or sour cream and honey and add a half a part  of bee pollen. Bee pollen is especially precious for our bodies both inside and on us. Pollen is full of live energy, so be careful to apply it on the evening, you might have hard time to fall asleep. Advice- leave it for a while in a warm place and stir again to have a smooth paste. We added also few extra vitamins and a drop of green tea extract. 

A note on Bee Pollen:

• They are a source of bio-active agents, antioxidants
• They are full of vitamins B (B1, B2, B6, PP), vitamins C, E, A, Carotene, a bit of D. 
• They contain various ferments
• They are a source of amino acids 
• Depending on collection time and area they contain various minerals- K, P, Si, Na, Ca, Mg, S, Cl, etc. 
• They have both energizing and nerve balancing properties. 
• They both heal and prevent illnesses, also help to recover faster after being sick. 
• They also work as one of the best anti-aging substances. 
• They will help in cases of both physical and mental loads.  
• They activate leukocytes in blood and have powerful regenerating properties.   
• They are perfect for detoxifying your body. 
• They improve general health condition, sleep quality and energy levels. 

I consider Bee Pollen one of the super-super foods in our world, so be kind to bees and use with gratitude and care what they give to us!

Home SPA is one of those precious, indulging moments I share with my friend and I hope some day will share with my daughter as well. If you have an opportunity to do something like this- be adventurous and creative, especially now in early Spring, when our skin and body is so tired and starving for vitamins!