Bali Health & Spa
Products

Products used in Asian spas range from local herbs and spices, essential oils, fresh fruits and vegetables, volcanic clays and muds, products from the sea and locally manufactured cosmetics to imported manufactured cosmetics.

Essential oils

Essential oils are used in aromatherapy treatments in spas. Distilled pure essences from the bark, stems, leaves, flowers and resins of plants, they are also used in the medical, beauty and food industries. Essential oils can be considered as drugs and should be used with the greatest of care and administered by a qualified aromatherapist. Essential oils can be used through inhalation in a diffuser or burner, through ingestion or in massage. Essential oils are mostly too concentrated to use directly on the skin in undiluted form and are generally mixed with a carrier oil.

Great quantities of raw plant material are needed for extraction of the essential oils. Methods used are steam distillation, cold pressing, expression and expeller pressing. Prices for quality products can be quite high and prices will vary according to the type of oil. There are many brands of oil on the market including some that are fragranced, but are not actually essential oils. Consumers should be wary of adulterated products that will not give the required therapeutic effects of the genuine article. True essential oils are always preserved in dark glass bottles.

Results of aromatherapy depend on the individual. The same oil affects different people in different ways. Also some oils, depending on the proportions used may have opposite effects. For example, lavender used in small quantities is a relaxant. When used in larger quantities it is a stimulant.

As some essential oils can be dangerous to pregnant woman and if taken internally, a qualified aromatherapist should be consulted. Aromatherapy treatments include facials, massage, baths, body wraps, compresses and inhalations.

Carrier oils

Carrier oils are used to dilute essential oils in order to cover large areas. To enable the essential oils to work properly, the best carrier oils to use are pure, cold pressed oils with little or no aroma. Carrier oils come from the nuts or seed of the plants used and also have their own therapeutic benefits as they contain trace minerals and vitamins including iodine and vitamin E. Heat extraction methods can destroy these vitamins and minerals.

Sweet Almond: Good for all skin types, clear pale yellow in colour. Vague nutty odour, it is a very good lubricant, and excellent for dry skin, itching or soreness or restoring softness to the skin.

Grapeseed: A very thin, light oil, easily absorbed by the skin, which allows the essential oils to rapidly penetrate. Yellow in colour with a tinge of pale green. Grapeseed oil is astringent and useful to treat acne.

Soya Oil: Can be used on all skin types, pale colour with a hint of yellow. High in polyunsaturates, it is a very nourishing oil which is absorbed rapidly through the skin.

Wheatgerm: A rich, dark oil, containing a high proportion of vitamin E, wheatgerm as a carrier oil helps many skin problems. It also stabilizes essential oils which makes them last longer.

Muds & Clays

Muds & Clays are used in several types of treatments and baths. The properties found in mineral rich mud such as from the Dead Sea in Israel or Austrian Moor mud, are used to relieve arthritis and rheumatic pain and detoxify the skin.

Neydharting Moor mud from Austria is world renowned for its rejuvenating effect. Its unique healing properties have been used since as early as 800BCE. The Neydharting Moor is distinguished from other moors because of the richness of its herbal, organic and mineral elements and biologically active matter that is easily assimilated by the system.

A unique area, the lowest in the world, The Dead Sea in Israel loses large amounts of water by evaporation into the hot, dry air, resulting in a high concentration of salts and minerals in a unique composition. The sea salt is rich in chloride salts of magnesium, sodium, calcium, potassium, bromine and various others. Dead Sea salt baths can improve psoriasis and replenish and revitalize dry skin and promote hydration.

Leaching of minerals from the geological strata also contributes to the Dead Sea brine. Alluvial deposits form the much valued Dead Sea mineral mud that has been shown to provide similar rejuvenating effects as Moor mud, such as detoxifying the skin and in the treatment of arthritis and rheumatism. It is used as a scalp treatment, body mask or bath.

Fangotherapy ('fango' is Italian for mud) utilizes mud, rich in natural minerals and is used in baths or heat packs to increase circulation, absorb excess oils, tighten pores, soften the skin, relieve and relax muscles and aid in the healing of stressed joints.

Mud used in spa treatments is different from plain old dirt. Most spas use a clay base and add natural ingredients such as algae, kelp, herbs, minerals, peat moss, paraffin or essential oils. These additives help increase the mineral content and add their own beneficial effects to the mud treatment.

Herbs and spices

Herbs and spices have long been used by ancient civilisations for culinary, medical and cosmetic uses. With modernisation and the development of patent medicines, the use of natural cures and elixirs decreased in popularity.

Nowadays, disillusionment with synthetic drugs, artificial additives and their possible side effects has given great rise in popularity to many natural products, be it for culinary, medical or cosmetic purposes.

In line with the worldwide trend for eco-consciousness, the popularity of natural cosmetic products, such as those sold in 'Red Earth' and 'The Body Shop' attests to the current trend.

The use of herb and spices in spa treatments is also hugely popular and the number of spas in the Asian/Pacific region is steadily increasing to cope with the influx of 'spa seekers' looking to enjoy the Asian spa experience and all it entails.