Deep Heat
Sydney Morning Herald
Tuesday June 2, 1998
Steamy spas, hot tubs, mud masks and massage . . . the ultimate guide for hedonists who won't hibernate.
DO you feel drab, dull and lifeless in the chilly face of winter? Why not raise your spirits and your temperature with a hot-beauty treatment. We mentally don our bikinis and slip on our shower shoes to research 10 treatments and discover that, although we sometimes feel as hot as Hades, our skins and souls shine like angels afterwards.
Hot herbal linen wrap
A day spa should be a luxurious escape from the real world, which is why this new spa
centre in the Observatory Hotel gets our vote. Softly spoken staff make sure we don't suffer from claustrophobia before swaddling us in hot sheets of herb-soaked linen and leaving us to poach for 30 minutes while our toxins are eliminated and our muscle tension reduced.
While we are inhaling the richly fragrant infusion (rosemary, ginger, clove, eucalyptus and allspice), therapist Heather Vounnou, who recently de-stressed Dannii Minogue and Ralph Fiennes (not together), applies light pressure to various points on the face. Vounnou, who draws on ancient Ayurvedic techniques, calls it marina point massage. We call it heavenly.
The Observatory Hotel Day Spa Health and Leisure Club, 89-113 Kent Street, Sydney,
9256 2222. Mon-Fri 6 am-10 pm, Sat-Sun 7 am-9 pm. $45.
Shirodhara remedy
This hot-oil remedy bears all the hallmarks of Chinese torture, but in truth we feel incredibly nurtured. As we lie face-up and cocooned in a blanket, a fine stream of lightly scented sesame oil is dripped on the "third eye" of the forehead and left to run down the back of the head for 20 minutes.
This apparently allows the brain chemicals, including feel-good serotonin, to be stimulated to relieve headaches and emotional tension, clear perception, and balance the mind and body. By the time we have re-robed, our hair is slick with oil, but we couldn't care less and leave on cloud nine.
The Observatory Hotel Day Spa Health and Leisure Club, 89-113 Kent Street, Sydney,
9256 2222. Mon-Fri 6 am-10 pm, Sat-Sun 7 am-9 pm. $70.
Rose-oil spa
Feeling frazzled and looking it, we are thrilled to discover the Remedy of Roses treatment at the new Efbee Hair, Body and Beauty Spa Centre. "Rose not only balances the skin, but the hormones as well. It is one of the most sublime things you can do for yourself," says Efbee's Michael Ogilvie.
After a session in a steaming, rose-petal spa, followed by a circulation-promoting massage with pure rose oil, we agree. But with the cost of rose oil the way it is, this is only for special occasions. Thankfully, there are other equally gorgeous packages - massage therapy and
aroma spas, back treatments and salvation facials - at half the price.
Efbee Hair, Body and Beauty Spa Centre, Shop 23, Level 1, Chatswood Chase, Victoria Avenue, Chatswood, 9410 1033. $200.
Paraffin body wrap
Fortunately, we are not part of that breed of people that gets jittery just having a paraffin manicure, which is why the warm paraffin body wrap sounds so enticing. The skin is exfoliated with a Thalgo Desco mask until it glows. A mineral-based oil is then massaged in and the paraffin wax poured over the body from the neck to the toes and left for 20 minutes.
The heat from the wax is said to increase circulation and lymphatic drainage, and to improve the appearance of cellulite. Afterwards, a firming cream is applied to intensify these effects. The process reminds us of a Madame Tussauds exhibit, but the skin is guaranteed to gleam afterwards.
One to One Salon, 183 Elizabeth Street, Sydney, 9261 1221. Mon-Tues 10 am-5.30 pm, Wed 10 am-6 pm, Thurs 10 am-8 pm, Fri 10 am-7 pm, Sat 9 am-4.30 pm. $85.
Heat lamp hair treatment
Our tresses have turned dry and frizzy, so we seek the advice of hairstylist Glenn O'Reilly of Helmet salon. He suggests Potion 7 - a heat-activated conditioning treatment he says targets damaged cuticles and promotes shine and elasticity in the hair.
The potion is massaged from the roots to the ends of our dry hair, and the hair wrapped in plastic and left to bake under a heat lamp for 20 minutes. What's more, the remainder of the potion is handed over as a take-home treatment.
Helmet, 49-51 Flinders Street, Darlinghurst, 9380 5103. Tues-Sat 9 am-5.15 pm (Thurs until 8.15 pm). $40.
Warm-oil massage
Masseur John Odel, who is referred to as the god of healing by those in the know, has a loyal client base that goes from Sydney to New York to London. He always uses warm, fragrant oils and piping hot towels for his Kiradjee massages, which begin with a scalp and face massage before moving to the body. As the final touch, steaming towels are placed over the body to allow jojoba oil to penetrate the skin more deeply.
He makes house calls - anywhere within 35 minutes of Double Bay - and brings his table and oils, but clients must supply towels. Devotees will soon be able to enrol in Odel's school for Kiradjee massage.
Apartment 63, No 35A Sutherland Crescent, Darling Point, Sydney. 0414 329 449. Mon-Sun 10 am-10 pm. $100 for 11/2 hours.
Aquatherapy spa and body wrap
Just the mention of the word Aveda is likely to cause palpitations in the hearts of sybarites. So the only hardship during a visit to the Aveda Wellness Day Spa is deciding on a beauty program. Should we sign up for the rejuvenation or executive escape packages?
We decide on the aquatherapy spa and body wrap that aims to de-stress, balance and
rejuvenate the body with a 20-minute soak in a bubbling spa and a massage with flower and plant essences. We are completely won over when we are enfolded in a warm body wrap that allows the essences to penetrate the skin, then given a scalp treatment, a foot massage to soothe away muscle tension and an eye-zone wrap to eliminate post-party puffiness.
Aveda Lifestyle Store and Wellness Day Spa, Verona Building, 17 Oxford Street, Paddington, 9380 5550. Mon 9 am-6 pm, Tues-Fri 9 am-8 pm, Sat 8 am-7 pm, Sun 10 am-6 pm. $85.
Chase-awway-winter-blues exfoliation
We are chilled to the bone and hankering for a spirit and beauty lift, so we book a package designed to tackle the ravages of winter at Zen - the Art of Body Maintenance. During the exfoliation process, the skin is vigorously brushed to promote circulation. Then a mixture of mineral salts and a stress-relieving oil is applied and the skin polished until every inch shines. An aloe-based hydro-pack infused with aromatic extracts and detoxifying fruit enzymes is rubbed in, followed by an aromatherapy facial and stress-relieving scalp massage. All this may sound like a rough paper sanding, but it is truly revitalising.
Zen - the Art of Body Maintenance, 116-118 Darlinghurst Road, Darlinghurst, 9361 4200, 912 Military Road, Mosman, 9969 0700. Mon-Fri 9 am-9 pm, Sat 9 am-8 pm, Sun
9 am-6 pm. $150 ($110 for The Sydney Morning Herald readers).
Warm-shower treatment
Spa Chakra, the refreshing new spa centre in Victoria Street's restaurant strip, serves up a delicious blend of beauty therapies. This includes a Vichy shower, a French hydro-
technique in which a series of showerheads is aimed at various points on the body to provide a warm water massage. Then there is the self-heating mud mask for the spine, a rather quirky, but effective, 90-minute treatment that is said to relieve sporty strains and eliminate stagnant fluids.
Spa Chakra, 170 Victoria Street, Potts Point, 9368 0888. Mon-Sat 8 am-9 pm, Sun
10 am-6 pm. $125 (body treatment), $115-$135 (facial).
Gliseng bath
If you can't make it to Asia for a hot-tub tour, a visit to this renovated communal Korean bathhouse is the next best thing. We spend an afternoon hopping between the hot bath, the ginseng bath and the cold plunge pool while we decide whether to lose some weight either in the sauna or the steam room.
If we aren't perspiring profusely, we are lying flat out on a table with a cucumber mask on our face and having our body pummelled the traditional way by chattering masseuses. We are scrubbed to within an inch of our lives with a knobbly mitt, then washed down with a bucket of warm water. Luxurious it ain't, but this is the cleansing of a lifetime.
Hotel Capital Relaxation Centre, 111 Darlinghurst Road, Kings Cross, 9368 0818.
10 am-10 pm Mon-Sun. $20 for sauna,
ginseng bath and spa, $25 for skin scrub,
$40 for massage.
© 1998 Sydney Morning Herald
