Weird & Wonderful Spa Treatments Explained
If you're looking for something a little less mainstream for your next spa visit, there are endless weird and wonderful spa treatments to try. How about the Japanese tradition of bathing in a pool of saké? Or submerging your body in one of Finland's chill chambers for a spot of cryotherapy?
If neither of those ideas float your boat, we've compiled a list of some intriguing (and less extreme) suggestions.
Take a Mud Bath
That's right - mud baths aren't exclusively for pigs. Head to the Vietnamese city of Nha Trang and you'll find resorts solely dedicated to this cause! The cheapest option is to hop into a communal tub (often shared with strangers), but your best bet is to pay a bit more for your very own private mud bath.
Once you've soaked away your sorrows, the idea is to get into the sun and let the mud harden on your skin. This apparently has many therapeutic healing powers. Here in the UK, mud chambers are becoming popular, too. Typically, it involves applying organic mud all over your body in a steam chamber, before rinsing off under a tropical rain shower. We've got two great Travelzoo offers for you to try: the suitably named Pig in Mud scrub in this Leicestershire deal, or a mud-chamber session in West Yorkshire.
Healing Salt Caves
We're usually told to watch our salt intake, but this bizarre spa therapy involves sitting on a deck chair inside a salt-encrusted cave. At the Galos Caves in Chicago, you can enjoy an oasis of peace and relaxation while improving your health. All you have to do is kick back and inhale the salty air, which naturally stimulates the immune system. Apparently spending 45 minutes in a salt cave is the equivalent of detoxing for two weeks!
Fish Pedicure
If you're willing to have dozens of tiny fish nibble at your heels, all in the name of having silky smooth feet, then this treatment is for you. Fish pedicures – where you place your feet in a tank of warm fresh water containing tiny toothless fish – are said to have a number of health benefits, including the removal of bacteria, improving circulation and reducing foot odour. Warning: don't try this if you are ticklish! You'll find fish spas promoted all over the globe, but they're especially popular in holiday spots like Santorini, where locals recommend the treatment for travellers with tired feet.
Turkish Hammam
Traditionally, people would take this experience in the nude. But don't worry, these days it's perfectly acceptable to bring your swimwear along. It usually starts with a steam room session to warm you up, before you are prepped for a full body scrub. For this, you'll need to lie down on a marble slab, while a deep cleansing wash is applied all over your body using an authentic exfoliating mitt called a 'kese'. The secret ingredient is a special cleansing soap, that gets rid of any dead skin cells. Next up is a sudsy massage, which basically involves getting lathered with a mound of soapy foam.
If you're going for the full experience, you'll finish off with a full body mask to complete the detox, soften your skin and make it glow. Check it out with this 68%-off Travelzoo deal in Marylebone.
Candle Wax Massage
This might sound like something out of a horror movie, but it's meant to be very relaxing. Rather than pouring hot candle wax all over your back, the therapist uses candles made of soy wax, which secrete butter oil instead of regular wax. Soy butter candles also produce jojoba oil, which contains vitamin E and other natural minerals. Once melted, the wax will be at room temperature, instead of piping hot (which is what you'd probably expect). You can choose different scents (like strawberry, chocolate or lavender), or add other aroma oils for a soothing fragrance.
Dry Floatation
Doesn't floating on a comfy bed surrounded by a pool of water sound like absolute bliss? For this soothing treatment, you'll lie down on a heated dry float bed which induces an almost weightless sensation. It's believed to relieve stress in your muscles and joints, and help aid deeper sleep. There'll be a waterproof membrane keeping you dry, while you drift away. This dreamy treatment is featured in two deals we're running at Travelzoo: this one in Gloucestershire, and this one in Somerset.
Looking for something else? Find your perfect deal with our regional round-ups of top spa offers:
>>Spa Deals in the North
>>Spa Deals in the Northwest
>>Spa Deals in the Midlands
>>Spa Deals in the Southeast
>>Spa Deals in the Southwest