ESPA at the Yas Viceroy has a luxe treatment on its comprehensive menu to cater to your every want and need, including a few specialities for those looking to wash away the damage done to the body – excess drink, food and other external toxins – in 2014, and step into the new year feeling refreshed and rejuvenated.
– #Quiz360: WIN a bungee jump with Zero Gravity
This week we reviewed their Detoxifying Massage, one of their star attractions this December and for the festive season.
We all know the parties are going to take their toll so why not think one step ahead and kick start 2015 in good health with some “seasonal cleansing”, and this treatment – comprising a buffing and shining scrub and blood pumping, detoxifying full-body massage – is not a bad way to turn a new leaf, inside and out.
Prior to your treatment, there is the option to hit the steam room for 5-10 minutes, strongly encouraged as you can really raise the heartbeat and get blood pumping in there, which then works to unclog and cleanse the internal passageways, and even alleviate congestion, open up the mucous membranes and the pores outside.
Not to mention, we all know a steam gets you working up a good sweat, and sweat equals the removal of the body’s excess water, and thus detoxification.
All of this activity precedes a 30-minute salt scrub that will further take care of your external transformation.
After our therapist applied a silky layer of body oil, lightly scented with juniper berry and cypress which are said to purify and stimulate the lymphatic system to sweep away toxins, she then deeply rubbed the skin using large grains of natural sea salt.
Not only are the grains infused with a ton of good stuff that promote circulation beneath the skin’s surface (grapefruit, cypress and eucalyptus), of course the grating yet invigorating motion of the therapist’s hands along the skin worked to also massage and steamroll away fatty deposits and ‘dirty blood’ beneath.
Ladies will also appreciate that scrubs offer that buff and shine to dull, dry and rough skin cells, meaning all of you is left soft as marshmallow and glowing just in time for all the festive parties, should you wisely choose to do this treatment prior to going out.
As for the men, or anyone who works out a lot, or frequently suffers from achy muscles, the extensive 90-minute massage that follows a quick shower to get all the grittiness off, is a godsend. They use ESPA’s complementary product, the Detoxifying Body Oil – formulated with the same circulation-boosting ingredients as above – in their quest to really smooth out knots and kinks using some unique hand movements.
All (serious) soreness we were suffering all week quickly subsided and skin was left more supple and relaxed, especially as the therapist incorporated a few light stretches of the arms, shoulders and legs into her routine.
Anytime we were lying face down during this treatment, we were breathing in the ‘fumes’ from a steaming bowl of water infused with Detoxifying Bath Oil as well, which further helped us along in our process of cleansing by opening up the nasal passage and airways, soaking up fresh oxygen and eliminating stale air.
In fact, we left with a small case of runny nose, which meant that it actually worked in inviting in the new and letting go of the old.
What’s more, lemon and ginger tea to start and finish was the icing on the cake to a rapid recovery as both lemon and ginger, known to enhance metabolic rate, also add pep and energy to the body and senses.
For this treatment to work to maximum effect, it’s recommended you let the products sink in for at least two hours afterward, and drink as much water as possible throughout the remainder of the day in order to help along in flushing excess toxins out of the system.
Its effect really only lasts a day or two but if you think back to how you were feeling yesterday – we did, it was pretty awful – you’d find that it really does the trick in making you feel new again.
Two hours of exquisite renewal in the form of ESPA’s Detox Massage, priced at Dh580 throughout December, is the perfect Christmas present for a loved one wanting to end the year on a healthy note.
To make a booking or for more information call 02 656 0862 or email espa.spa@viceroyhotelsandresorts.com
What: Detoxifying massage
Where: ESPA at Yas Viceroy
Cost: Dh580 this December
Verdict: Its effect is not a long-lasting one but you feel great after flushing the toxins out of your body.
