How far would you go for beauty and youthfulness? Is it worth smothering your face with bird poop or soaking your hair with bull semen?
Travel with tripatlas.com/new as we take you around the world to look at 10 of the most unique, bizarre, fun and strange spa treatments offered today.
Get more great spas & travel stories on tripatlas.com/new: Discover 10 Incredible Spa Getaways in Canada; find out about Spa Visits Gone Wrong when our Editor discovers she’s bitten more than she can chew; or read about 7 Steps to Planning a Girls Spa Weekend.
10 Unique & bizarre spa treatments around the world
1) Take a bath in tea, coffee, red wine, sake or ramen noodles. Yunessan Spa in Hakone, Japan is a hot spring theme park catered to families. At Yunessan, the spa baths have a little more “flavour” as visitors have the choice of relaxing in pools of green tea, coffee, red wine, sake or ramen noodles. Sake is said to be good for your skin while green tea is known to help boost your immune system.
Similarly, the Chodovar Family brewery in the Czech Republic offers bath treatments where you can soak in a tub of dark beer which is thought to help increase circulation and detoxify the body.
2) The Hershey’s Chocolate Spa. At Hotel Hershey in Hershey Pennsylvania, one of the largest purveyors of chocolate in the world bring delicious chocolate treats to their spa – the Chocolate Spa. Treatments include signatures like the Whipped Cocoa Bath, a Chocolate Bean Polish, or a Chocolate Fondue Wrap.
3) A truly “bling” facial. Also in Japan, beauty company Umo has developed a 24-karat gold facial treatment for $250. From Cleopatra to the Ch’ing dynasty, gold has always been used to maintain youthful skin and Umo says that the facial will help revitalize your skin by accelerating cell renewal and reversing oxidation damage.
4) The Geisha Facial. For hundreds of years, Japanese geishas (and more recently, Victoria Beckham) have been treating exfoliating and brightening their skin with this treatment. Known as the Geisha Facial, the treatment uses sterilized nightingale excrement which contains important enzymes for your skin. You can find it today at the Shizuka New York Spa for $180 or the spa at Diamond Hawaii Resort & Spa in Maui.
5) Get Viagra for your hair. In Knightsbridge, London, Hari’s Salon offers a conditioning hair treatment referred to as “Viagra for hair.” This Aberdeen Organic Bull Sperm Treatment uses the sperm of a bull combined with protein-rich Katera root to help moisturize and repair your hair. Hari’s also offers a caviar hair treatment.
6) Snakes that relieve tension. Just an hour north of Tel Aviv in Talmei Elazar, Israel, therapist Ada Barak offers a $70 spa treatment at her Carnivorous Plant Farm which uses six non-venomous California and Florida king snakes that slither up and down your back to help you relieve tension.
7) Cactus massage. Get out of the Mexican desert and visit the Four Seasons Resort Punta Mita in Mexico where you can trade a hot stone massage for a cactus massage. The Hakali Massage uses prick-free cactus paddies to massage a blend of cactus meringue and cactus blossom into your skin. The $245 treatment helps to remove toxins and re-hydrate your skin.
8) Facials for your fanny. In New York City, you can also visit the Smooth Synergy Cosmedical Spa where you can get a Fanny Facial. The treatment begins with exfoliation with papaya-mint scrub; followed by microcurrent therapy to remove any bumps or lumps on your rump; then finishes with an organic spray tan so you’ll have a booty like no other.
9) More edible facials. At the same hotel where you can Train to be a Gladiator in One Day, you can also go for a Caviar Firming Facial. The Cavalieri Hilton in Rome’s Grand Spa offers both a caviar facial or caviar body treatment which works to transform your dull complexion to firm, radiant skin.
10) Get wrapped in wet hay. In Italy’s Hotel Heubad, body wrap treatments get pushed to a different level with the Original Volser Hay Bath. Here, you’ll soak in a water bed heated to over 100 degrees F while you’re wrapped in wet hay that has been harvested from the meadows of Alpe di Siusi, at altitude of 2,000+ meters, in mid-July to early-August. The treatment is said to fortify your immune system and stimulate your metabolism.
Finally, a bonus mention: One of the most recent spa treatments that has gained a lot of popularity is a foot or pedicure treatment by Garra Rufa fish, also known as “Doctor Fish.” Feet are emerged into a small pool or filled with these little carp who eat away at the dead skin on your feet.
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