Body Sense

WINTER | 2020

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massagetherapy.com—your resource for all things bodywork 11 Exfoliating body treatments are a great way to restore your skin, especially in dry, cold winter months. While some of these treatments can be performed at home, there is something wonderful about having these services performed by trained professionals, as you meditate in the sensation of the experience. TYPES OF EXFOLIATION There are many options for body exfoliation treatments—from head-to-toe scrubs to spot-treatments for hands and feet. In general, there are three methods of exfoliation: • Chemical: Using a product or treatment that contains gentle exfoliating acids, like alpha hydroxy, beta hydroxy, or salicylic acids, or enzymes, which help remove dead skin cells and are gentle and nonabrasive on the skin. • Granular: Using a cleansing product that contains materials such as sugar, rice wax, or almond meal. • Manual: Using a tool that scrubs, like a brush, loofah, or washcloth. EXFOLIATING TREATMENTS TO TRY A variety of exfoliating treatments can be added to your spa service or combined into a package. Your massage and bodywork practitioner also may offer some of these services or have a referral for you. Here are a few of the most popular treatments to try as you fight off winter's drying effects. Dry Brush Treatment This vigorous form of manual exfoliation helps loosen dead skin cells on the body while stimulating and invigorating the skin's surface. Dry brushing is also great for prepping skin for waxing, as it helps lift the hair from the skin surface, prevents ingrown hairs, and allows for more even hair removal. To try this at home, use a dry body brush with a wooden handle and all-natural boar bristles, since this fiber is softer on the skin and can be easily cleaned. To dry brush the body: • Start at the feet and move upward, toward the heart, using light pressure. • Stop at the breast area and dry brush arms in a soft, gentle, circular motion going upward toward the shoulders. • Exfoliate the delicate décolleté and neck by using a smaller face brush. Be sure not to be too aggressive. • Follow dry brushing with a shower or bath to wash away the loosened material, and then finish with body oil or cream that contains moisturizing natural extracts (such as seaweed or vitamin E). If your skin becomes the least bit red or irritated, you are being too aggressive. Also, don't dry brush on areas shaved that day. Sugar Scrub Body Treatment This deep cleansing and invigorating exfoliating treatment creates head-to-toe silky-smooth skin by combining softening sugar with other natural ingredients (such as aloe, cocoa, coffee, lemongrass, matcha, seaweed, or a multi-fruit AHA complex to refine the skin). For this service, you will be given disposable underwear, and bra if requested. You will lie face- down on the table and be covered with a Mylar sheet. Your practitioner will uncover one part of the body at a time and gently buff your skin with a dry brush to remove grime and oils. They will apply a sugar scrub and begin massaging it into your skin with moistened fingertips or hot stones. Each area that is completed will be re-covered with the Mylar

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