Manly Home Spa Treatments: Yeah, They Exist

Whether you crave a spa treatment or you’ve looked in the mirror and realized that you just don’t look as refreshed as you’d like to be, there’s an easy solution: spa treatments cooked up right at home. Forget having to book an appointment, wait for a half hour, and then get right back into traffic after a day of relaxation. Home spas are simple and completely customizable for any guy, and they don’t need to involve a lot of fussy steps either. Want to extract blackheads and get your skin clean? Here’s the man’s guide to home spas.

• Prepare your environment. If you’re not crazy about candles and incense, don’t worry. You do want a clear, clean bathroom, though, for the sake of getting relaxed.

• Cleanse and moisturize your face as usual.

• Prepare a facial “steam” by filling a bowl with boiling water and a few drops of essential oils. Try lavender for all skin types. Cover your face with a towel and hold it over the bowl for 5 to 10 minutes. Just be careful not to burn your face by holding it too close.

• Rinse your face off with cool water.

• Apply a mask product to a clean, dry face. Try a clay mask to draw out impurities or a peel-off mask to clear off dead skin cells.

• Prepare a bath with warm water and preferred bath ingredients. If you have dry skin, add two cups of low-fat milk to the bath or simple prepared bath salts for all skin types.

• Soak in the bath while your mask sets, or for about twenty minutes or so.

• Empty the bath and rinse yourself with cool water. Exfoliate with a brush or grainy exfoliating scrub. Don’t scrub hard—your aim is to gently remove dead skin, not peel off a layer or two.

• Dry yourself and apply a thick layer of moisturizer. It will seal moisture in and keep you from looking scaly. Afterwards, put on a bathrobe for comfort.

• Shave and trim your beard and sideburns as usual. You may want to invest in some new shaving supplies, such as Every Man Jack products, for a low-cost spa experience.

• Get out a foot file and exfoliate the rough parts of your feet. If you normally hate doing this, then this is definitely the time to start. Clip your toenails while you’re at it.

• Leave an eye pack on your eyes for about two minutes. It will cool and refresh your eye area.

• Admire yourself. I’m not joking—you’ll look and feel good enough that you’ll want to have another home spa in a month or so.

Additional Tips:
If you’re not into mashing up fruits and veg, invest in spa-quality products. Top brands include Davi, Blue Lagoon, which is from Iceland and includes geothermal ingredients, Babor, Borghese, and Anthony. Consider what you’d like to get accomplished during your spa session—skin purifying? Relaxation?—and plan your products accordingly.

Finish off your spa experience with a healthy meal. Prepare something hearty like pita and hummus, salsa and chips, or a simple steak sandwich.

One of the most important things to remember is no home spa is complete without relaxation. While avoiding waking up to a buzzing alarm is best, you can take a few minutes out of your schedule to relax and simply breathe before you start your spa routine. Trust me: it makes a difference.