DIY Pampering: How to Give Yourself a Spa Day at Home

While many people love being pampered, they may not have the time, money, or energy to book a full day at a professional spa. Luckily, with a little bit of planning, you can give yourself many of the feel-good effects of a spa in the comfort of your own home. Read on for step-by-step instructions on how to give yourself a spa day at home.

Self Care Facts You Can Feel Good About

Here are several reasons to feel great about self-care.

• It may help ease stress, which can be damaging to your health.
• It can make you feel good about yourself and your life, which can give you positive feelings of well-being.
• Taking care of yourself can help you take better care of others.
• It can give you a mental break, which may then help you feel refreshed and relaxed.
• It gives you time for self-reflection.
• It may make you more optimistic about your future.^1,2

How To Treat Yourself To A Spa Day At Home

Set The Mood

Professional spas work hard to create an atmosphere that helps you relax as soon as you enter. When you’re planning your at-home spa day, you may want to take a cue from the experts. Don’t just jump in and start applying products. Establishing a calm mood can help you feel relaxed and ready to pamper yourself.

Here are some ideas for how you can create the perfect atmosphere for your DIY spa day.

• Turn your lights down low.
• Play some relaxing instrumental music or nature sounds.
• Light some candles.
• Change into slippers and a cozy robe.
• Make your own “spa water” by adding mint, cucumbers, and lemons to a pitcher of water.³

Experiment With Essential Oils

While you’re pampering yourself, you may want to appeal to your sense of scent to help you relax. Essential oils may come in handy for this purpose.

Essential oils are compounds extracted from plants, herbs, and flowers. The oils capture the plant’s aroma or “essence.” Different types of essential oils have different beneficial properties and aromas.⁴ Here are few that are known to be relaxing:

• Lavender: used to help ease feelings of stress.
• Sandalwood: used to support relaxation and focus.
• Rose Essential Oil: used to support relaxation and a positive mood.
• Chamomile: used to support restful sleep.
• Bergamot: used to support healthy stress levels, a positive mood, and healthy skin.⁵

There are several ways to use essential oils during your at-home spa day. You could sprinkle oils in a bath, put them in a diffuser, or dilute them and incorporate them into your skin’s spa treatments.⁶ Avoid putting essential oils directly on your skin.

Try A Hair Treatment

If you plan to give yourself a leave-in hair treatment, you may want to do this first so it has time to sit on your hair. Here are a few ideas:

• To hydrate your hair – apply olive oil or coconut oil directly to your hair to act as a mask. This may help support shiny and soft hair. Note: water repels oil, so you’ll want to make sure you apply this to dry hair for maximum benefit.⁷
• To help soothe an irritated scalp – try a DIY exfoliating spa treatment made of 2 tablespoons coconut oil, 4 teaspoons sugar, and a few drops of tea tree essential oil. Apply the mixture to your hair, gently massage it into your scalp for 1-3 minutes, clip it up, and allow it to sit for the rest of your spa day.⁸
• To balance the oil content of your hair – Create a mask with an egg white and the juice from half a lemon. Mix the ingredients, smooth the mask over your hair, and let it sit for 30 minutes to an hour before rinsing. Protein enzymes in the egg whites may help remove excess oil.⁹

Pamper Your Skin With Facial Treatments

When you give yourself an at-home spa day, time is on your side. Routine activities, like washing your face, can feel luxurious when you take the time to slowly massage products into your skin.

Take the time now to thoroughly wash your face with a high-quality face wash. After you’ve washed your face, it’s time to steam and exfoliate.

Give Yourself A Facial Steam

Steaming your face can be a relaxing way to open your pores and prepare your skin for the spa treatments you have planned. Prepare a pot of hot – but not boiling – water, and mix in a few drops of essential oils, fresh herbs, or even a teabag.

Lean over the pot, and place a towel over your head to trap in the steam. Close your eyes, breathe in through your nose and prepare to feel very zen. After 10 minutes or so, move on to the next step.¹⁰

Exfoliate Your Face

When it comes to exfoliating your face, you have two options: chemical or physical exfoliants. A chemical exfoliant will use ingredients like glycolic acid to remove dead skin. A physical exfoliant, or facial scrub, will physically slough off dead skin when you rub it in.¹¹

Pick the exfoliant of your choice, and take your time rubbing it in. When you’re finished, gently rinse your face with warm water.

Apply A Facial Spa Treatment

Give your skin an extra boost by applying a facial treatment. Here are some DIY ideas:

• For a boost of hydration – Combine a quarter of an avocado, one tablespoon of cocoa powder, and one tablespoon of honey. This combination of ingredients works to help soothe, hydrate, and cleanse your skin. Apply the face mask to dry, clean skin and rinse off after 10 minutes.
• To soothe your skin – To help calm your skin barrier, try this face mask. Combine one cup of camomile tea (brewed and then cooled), one tablespoon of raw honey, and one teaspoon of nutritional yeast. Apply a thin layer to your face, allow it to sit, and then rinse after 20 minutes.
• To balance the oil content of your skin – Combine one egg, one tablespoon of honey, one tablespoon of olive oil, and half a cup of oatmeal.¹²

If DIY facial products aren’t your style, reach for some of the high-quality products you have in your cabinet. Take the time to massage in a facial serum, apply a cream mask, or try out a sheet mask. For maximum results apply a high-quality moisturizer after you’ve removed your mask.

Give Your Body A Proper Scrub Down

When’s the last time you took the time to properly exfoliate your whole body? Uncover healthy, glowy skin by sloughing off dead skin cells. Exfoliating your skin can support circulation, collagen production, and an even-looking skin tone.^13,14 Here’s how:

• Dispense some of your favorite body scrub into your palm or a loofah.
• Using a circular motion, massage the scrub over your entire body. Make sure to get your arms, legs, torso, bottom, and feet. Don’t forget your elbows and knees.
• When you’re finished, rinse the scrub down the drain and dry off with a towel.^15,16

Treat Your Feet

While your hair mask continues to soak in, it’s time to turn your attention down to your feet.

• To soothe sore feet – Try an Epsom salt soak. Fill a basin with warm water until it’s deep enough to cover your feet. Add ½ cup Epsom salts with a few drops of essential oils if you’d like. Soak your feet for 30 minutes.17
• To hydrate your feet – Take a damp towel, microwave it for one minute, and set it aside. Apply a high-quality foot cream to your feet, and wrap them in plastic wrap. Take your hot towel and cover the plastic wrap. Let it all marinate for 10-15 minutes. Ahh, feels good doesn’t it?18

Top It All Off With A Leisurely Bath Or Shower

Now that you’ve cleansed, scrubbed, and treated your skin, it’s time to treat yourself to a relaxing soak. Fill your tub with warm water and incorporate bath bombs, bath salts, essential oils, or other products that you love. If you don’t have a bathtub or you simply don’t like baths, you can also enjoy a leisurely shower.

Take your time in the tub or shower, listen to the soothing music that you’ve picked, and allow yourself to fully relax.

Moisturize, Moisturize, Moisturize

Once you emerge from the bath or shower, moisturize your body from head to toe. On your face, use a high-quality cream or moisturizer.
On the rest of your body, slowly rub in a moisturizer, and make sure you cover typically dry areas like your elbows, knees, and heels.

Don’t Be Surprised If You’re Ready To Take A Nap When It’s All Over

Feeling relaxed? Good. One of the main reasons why you created this DIY spa experience was to relax, right? Now here’s the cherry on top:
if all of this pampering has made you sleepy, take advantage and hit the hay early. Catching some extra zzz’s might help to extend those stress-relieving self-care benefits even further.¹⁹

Learn More:

Sources
1. https://www.verywellmind.com/importance-of-self-care-for-health-stress-management-3144704
2. https://www.shape.com/lifestyle/mind-and-body/5-reasons-pamper-yourself
3. https://www.moneycrashers.com/tips-cheap-spa-homemade-beauty-treatments/
4. https://greatist.com/live/what-are-essential-oils#2
5. https://www.healthline.com/nutrition/what-are-essential-oils#types
6. https://www.healthline.com/health/how-to-use-essential-oils
7. https://thefrisky.com/how-to-have-a-diy-spa-day-that-feels-like-the-real-thing/
8. https://www.aarp.org/entertainment/style-trends/info-2018/diy-spa-night.html
9. https://www.goodhousekeeping.com/beauty/hair/g29627145/diy-hair-masks/
10. https://www.goodhousekeeping.com/beauty/hair/g29627145/diy-hair-masks/
11. https://www.healthline.com/health/beauty-skin-care/meaning-of-exfoliating
12. https://www.marieclaire.com/beauty/how-to/a2830/best-homemade-face-masks/
13. https://health.howstuffworks.com/skin-care/cleansing/tips/what-is-exfoliation.htm
14. https://www.byrdie.com/benefits-of-exfoliating
15. https://www.healthline.com/health/skin/diy-body-scrub#coffee-scrub
16. https://www.gq.com/story/exfoliate-dead-skin-cells-off-your-body
17. https://www.healthline.com/health/epsom-salt-foot-soak
18. https://thefrisky.com/how-to-have-a-diy-spa-day-that-feels-like-the-real-thing/
19. https://www.verywellhealth.com/top-health-benefits-of-a-good-nights-sleep-2223766