Spa & Hotel Break Blog

With endless products on the market nowadays, it can be tricky to understand how to make your skin glow whilst awaiting your spa breaks and without the need for investing into pricey creams which are not even guaranteed to give you desirable results. With the festive season approaching, everyone is after that natural face glow, eradicating the winter dull skin we can’t seem to shift. Here are our top tips on how to make your skin glow naturally without the need for a cabinet full of skincare.

Hydration is Key

It may seem like an obvious one, but so many of us are guilty of forgetting to stay on top of our water consumption. It can be an easy thing to overlook, but proper hydration works wonders for both dull skin and our physical health. Instead of trialling those expensive skincare brands, water helps to give you naturally clear skin and a radiant face glow, reducing the look of fine lines and wrinkles. Why not add natural flavourings such as blueberries or aloe vera to your water to really flush out those antioxidants and leave you feeling great from the inside out.

The Power of Vitamin C

Vitamin C has been a long loved favourite for boosting immunity and absorption of iron, as well as a whole heap more benefits for the body. More recently, the effects of vitamin C have become popular for the face, with those with tired dull skin looking for ideas on how to make your skin glow. Vitamin C is another great natural way to get the face glow you’ve been dreaming of as it helps to fight against redness and inflammation. Many fruits are high in vitamin C, such as oranges, other citrus fruits, cantaloupe and kiwi, so enjoy your 5-a-day whilst achieving that natural summer face glow.

Buff Away Dead Skin Cells

Getting into the habit of regularly exfoliating your skin is a great way of eradicating dull skin if you’re looking into how to make your skin glow. The small grains will rub away any dirt or impurities that have gathered on your skin over the day to maintain a healthy face glow. But make sure to not use too much force when exfoliating as you do not want to remove the skins natural oils or cause irritation your skin.

Treat Yourself to a Facial

The post-facial feeling is a tough one to recreate, the illuminating and hydrating power of a facial makes dull skin a thing of the past. With the professional techniques of therapists knowing just how to make your skin glow and have a new lease of life, treat yourself to spa breaks Scotland to unwind in style. As well as improving dull skin, a facial is great for releasing stress, giving a thorough deep clean, slowing down the ageing process and detoxing your skin for a youthful face glow. We recommend heading for a spa day for a facial treatment around once a month as this is how long the natural skin cycle takes to replenish all of your skin cells, find great spa deals here.

One of the most popular spa breaks UK treatments is a relaxing massage. Ideal for removing knots and tension, having a massage performed by a professional massage therapist on your spa break Scotland will leave you feeling less restricted than before. So, what are the most common massage techniques used by these experts to give your muscles the break they deserve during your spa deals?

Kneading

This massage technique can be performed in a number of ways and is known as kneading; palm kneading and thumb kneading. Depending on the purpose of the massage, will alter the amount of pressure used. As the pressure is applied irregularly, the rate of movement and rhythm is important. 

Compression Massage

The compression massage creates a deep hyperaemia and softens the tissues. Usually used as a warmup for more specific massage work, such as sports massage, this technique tends to be done rhythmically.

 Myofascial Releases

This manual technique works by stretching the fascia in order to help balance the body. Located between the underlying structure of bone and muscle and the skin, it’s a vital part of the body that can be restricted as a result of injuries, stress, poor posture and trauma. Therefore, the myofascial release technique works to relieve any restrictions and restore the tissue.

Trigger Point Therapy

This therapy involves applying pressure to tender muscle tissue, resulting in pain relief. Well-suited to people with injuries, a specific condition or chronic pain, by focusing on trigger points, pain can be reduced. The trigger points that are targeted, are active areas of muscular hyperactivity. The knots you can feel in your back that make your back feel stiff are trigger points.

Longitudinal Gliding

Despite this massage technique being basic, it’s an effective technique that is performed in the direction of blood flow. Longitudinal gliding helps the fluid dispersion from an injury, which ultimately helps to reduce inflammation. It can also be beneficial for helping to relax tight muscles.

Swedish Massage

For a Swedish massage, there is a sequence of movements performed, starting with gliding, long strokes with the palms, fingertips and thumbs across the back. This is followed by kneading, by using fingers, thumbs and hands and circular pressures with the palms, thumbs and fingers. From here, oscillatory movements are used to vibrate the body, followed by brisk tapping and lastly bending and stretching.

Hot Stone Massage

Ideal for those with tension and muscle pain, a hot stone massage is like a Swedish massage. The only difference is that the massage therapists use heated stones instead of their hands. As well as easing muscle tension, a hot stone massage also improves blood flow and alleviates pain. The heated stones are placed on different areas on your body and the massage therapist will apply gentle pressure to them. In some cases, cold stones are used.

As you can see, there are a wide variety of massage techniques used to relieve pain and tension, and these are only a few! Book your spa break and treat your body to a relaxing and rejuvenating massage, today.

Whether you are going on a spa breaks, spa days or just treating yourself to a day at a spa and hotel, it’s more than likely as part of your treatment that you will enjoy time in the steam room or sauna. Not only are they relaxing, but they also come with multiple health benefits too. Let’s explore what they are, below.

#1 Clearer Skin

The steam in saunas and steam rooms can help to clear any skin impurities and can treat acne. What’s more, if you’re looking for a healthy glow to your skin, this can be achieved through the improved circulation from the sauna when you find great spa deals. Feel and look great with clearer skin from spending time in the warm steam room at the spa and hotel.

#2 Removed Toxins

The heat and the steam from the steam room can also help to remove toxins from your body. By making your body sweat, this relieves waste products from your body. In fact, just 20 minutes of sitting in the sauna or steam room during your spa break Scotland can remove your daily waste products.

#3 Reduces Stress

For those feeling a little uptight and stressed, a sauna is the ideal place to spend time. The heat produced releases endorphins that help to reduce and eliminate the feeling of stress. After having been in the steam room, many people feel calmer and rejuvenated, which is why it’s the perfect addition to your spa breaks.

#4 Assists Weight Loss

You will notice that those looking to lose weight, tend to include sitting in the sauna or steam room as part of their new routine. This is because of the water weight that can be lost through doing this. If you’re on a diet, it’s important to note that this shouldn’t be used to replace eating a balanced diet or implementing exercise into your day to day life.

#5 Improves Blood Flow & Opens Sinuses

When exposed to heat, whether that is in the sauna or steam room, the capillaries in the body dilate. This allows the blood to flow freely through the body, which can help to transport oxygen around the body to areas that need it. As well as improving blood flow, the heat can also open mucus membranes around the body, allowing people to breathe easier. Therefore, if you have a cold, you should spend some time in the steam room to unblock your sinuses.

#6 Relieves Tension

When your nerve endings are exposed to heat this helps your muscles to relax, which is perfect if you feel uptight and stressed from work or just daily activities. This relaxation can also help any pain in your joints to ease and reduce any headache pain.

#7 Improves Flexibility

If you suffer from tight muscles, you can improve your flexibility by regularly stretching before entering a steam room or sauna. The heat will then enter your muscles and make them feel more supple and less tired.

As you can see, there are several health benefits from saunas and steam rooms, which is why they are such an important part of any spa break. Book your weekend away now and take advantage of the gains the heat from steam rooms and saunas have to offer.