The beauty in doing DIY pampering such as facials, body scrubs, and mani/pedi is that you can do everything on your own time and schedule. Time usually flies when I watch sitcoms while doing my facials & mani/pedi, and I prefer this to lying down for 3 hours and letting someone else do all the work. After all, the process itself is part of the fun in getting pampered.
A couple of weeks ago, 2C helped me organize my first ever DIY spa party, and here are a few things I learned from all the research, brainstorming and preparations:
Location is crucial. Sunbathing and use of sauna and steam rooms add to the activities you can enjoy together during your spa party. While in the steam room, apply conditioner or hair mask to protect your hair from the drying effects of excessive heat. I like to think of it as DIY hot oil. My favorite treatment is L'Occitane's Shine Mask for Dry and Damaged Hair.
Mimic the ambience of spas with an oil diffuser. The Body Shop has a wide range of scents to choose from. For this event, I chose Lavender Home Fragrance Oil (Php 450). Other scents range from woody to minty to flowery. Diffusers are also available at The Body Shop, tea candles are available at supermarkets and most convenience stores.
Renew & replenish. Include a body scrub option even if it's not a shared activity. I'm currently using Origins Modern Friction for the Body. Scrub onto dry skin then lather with a bit of water before washing off. This should take care of that layer of dry skin that you're not even aware of. Finish off with a heavy moisturizing cream such as The Body Shop's Body Butter for totally smooth skin all over.
Neutrogena's body scrub, available at SNR for around Php 600, is another fantastic option. Less harsh than other body scrubs, Neutrogena's scrub melts when rubbed onto wet skin. Upon washing off, the oils from the scrub leaves skin super smooth and moisturized for the next 24 hours.
Facials are super simple. At home, I prefer a 2-step process which includes a cleansing mask to get rid of blackheads followed by a moisturizing mask for pores to close off and minimize any swelling caused by digging into blackheads. For this event, I decided to just go with the moisturizing facial since we would be coming straight from the sauna & steam rooms, which should already take care of some of the impurities in the skin. For fun-flavored masks such as strawberry yogurt & black pearl, I prefer a Taiwanese brand from Sasa or Mannings in HK. Each piece costs less than Php 30.
Simplified mani & pedi. If you opt not to swim, fill the tub with warm water and a bit of baby oil for a DIY foot spa. Proceed with doing your own nails or apply nail polish on each other.
Recharge with afternoon tea. A DIY spa party could take the whole afternoon, and tea time is a great way to take a break from all the activities. In our case, we decided to go for Starbucks' wide selection of sweet and savory snacks.
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