Mud or Seaweed Spa Treatments

The difference between a mud or seaweed spa treatment is like .. well, the difference between minerals and vegetables.

The Real Dirt on Spa Mud

Mud soothes away aches and pains, increases blood circulation, and relaxes you. Spa mud draws impurities from the skin. Washing it off both chases toxins and dead skin cells down the drain. Mud facials are great exfoliators and get down to the nitty-gritty of blackheads and other blemishes, making them disappear! Mud is also used in spa scrubs, body wraps, and even spa soaks - the spa mud bath. Although it admittedly feels odd the first go-round, lay back, relax, and enjoy the sensation. You'll probably be well pleased with the detoxification, exfoliation, and pure nice-but-naughty pleasure you find in spa mud treatments. At first, the idea of a mud treatment brings back a vision of Mom's frown after you were done playing in it. However, spa mud is a whole different animal (animal?) than the stuff that mud puddles are made of. Spa mud is clean mud! Spa mud may be clay based or made from exotic elements like volcanic ash. It may be locally harvested (harvested?) or come from far away places like the Dead Sea. However, spa mud is pretty lively no matter where it originates.

Marine mud, like Dead Sea mud, almost gives you the goodness of both worlds - mud and seaweed!

Seaweed - A Mineral-Rich Vegetable

Although as matter goes, seaweed is a vegetable, it's rich in many of the same minerals and nutrients as mud. Spa seaweed treatments are typically either facials or body wraps.

Seaweed body wraps originated in Europe where they are called thalossotherapies. Thalassotherapies are based on a variety of mediums including sea salts, seaweed, algae and sea sand, many of which have been used as folk remedies since ancient times. Seaweed contains essential minerals including iron, copper, zinc, manganese, strontium, molybdenum, and boron, in concentrations up to 100 thousand times denser than seawater itself. As early as 1578, seawater and sea derivatives were used in Europe to treat rheumatism and enhance the individual's overall well-being.

Like mud treatments, seaweed wraps, facials, and soaks ease the pain of strains, sprains, and arthritis as they detoxify the body, improve circulation, enhance the metabolism, and smooth, firm, and improve skin tone and circulation. In the last few years, seaweed wraps and facials have become an increasingly popular spa treatment in the United States. The typical seaweed wrap or facial is a mixture of kelp, sea algae, and concentrated, heated seawater. The kelp stimulates the metabolic system and the nutrient-rich algae serve to both hydrate and detoxify the body. The salty seawater is a natural exfoliant as well as a potent detoxifier.