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Natural ingredients do wonders for skin rejuvenation
The different treatments available at your favorite spa may put you in a dilemma when it comes to choosing the right treatment and ingredients for your skin
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The different treatments available at your favorite spa may put you in a dilemma when it comes to choosing the right treatment and ingredients for your skin.
An overuse of chemicals in the beauty and wellness industry led to the emergence of a movement called the Registration, Evaluation and Authorization of Chemicals (REACH) in Europe in 2006. The number of chemicals restricted is increasing each year and what was considered safe five years ago may not be so today.
Chemical, ingredient-based beauty treatment can also be found in Indonesia but natural and traditional ingredient-based beauty treatment is becoming increasingly popular.
Body scrub, better known as lulur , is an example.
Body scrub may be a common body treatment offered by spa outlets, which aims to exfoliate and hydrate your skin to make it smooth and soft.
But lulur isn't an ordinary body scrub.
A traditional lulur recipe is a combination of herbs and spices, mainly turmeric, pandan leaves, temu giring root and rice powder.
Taman Sari Royal Heritage Spa, well-known in the traditional spa industry and founded by Mooryati Soedibyo, described lulur as a traditional 40-day body treatment ritual for the bride-to-be in royal families. Lulur eliminates dead skin cells while cleansing, smoothing, softening and rejuvenating your skin.
Turmeric as the main ingredient is known for its antiseptic, anti-bacterial and anti-oxidant properties. But the key to lulur is temu giring, which can heal wounds, abrasions and injuries as well as soothe inflamed, irritated tissue.
Martha Tilaar, another common name in the traditional spa world, offers different natural treatment using fruit and flowers as the main spa ingredients. The 120-minute floral blossom and tropical fruit rituals feature selections of apple, avocado, carrot, rose, Kananga and jasmine as the main ingredients.
The Borneo Ketan Putih Body Scrub is another anti-aging and rejuvenating treatment with traditional ingredients. The facility is available at the Mandarin Oriental Hotel, Jakarta.
The scrub combines white glutinous rice, apricot kernel oil and chamomile, which is said to remove impurities and toxins as it brightens your skin.
Must-have treatment
These days, spa is a must-have treatment for busy young people, especially women, in big cities.
Fiona, a 27-year-old office worker in Jakarta, divides her time between her home, office, car and mall, all of them air-conditioned. A long commuting time and a heavy workload are big part of her daily life.
'Those things cause stress and I believe stress causes wrinkles. So I try to schedule relaxing activities on the weekend.'
She visited spa places at least every two weeks, sometimes with friends, sometimes with her mother.
'I always pick the natural ones because I'm allergic to chemicals. My favorite ingredients are tea and coffee. I was told coffee is good to reduce your cellulite and tea has a relaxing aroma,' she said.
'My favorite place to go is Tea Spa at Dharmawangsa because they use real tea and it's really natural. I have no problem with my allergies there.'
She usually started with body scrub to remove dead skin cells, but body scrub isn't a massage. While it's great for your skin, relaxation is something else. So she usually also added face acupressure, and a face or body mask to her spa itinerary.
Tea Spa is known for using tea as the basic element of each therapy, including aromatherapy and beverages. A study published in Archives of Dermatology pointed out that tea was rich in anti-oxidants, which is said to be key to its skin-protection features.
These anti-oxidants neutralize the free radicals in our body, deactivating them before causing any harm to our skin. The same study also mentioned that coffee and grapes have similar counterbalancing qualities.
Fiona, who resides in South Jakarta, also frequented Bale-Bale, a traditional, women-only spa located in Taman Gandaria and Antasari.
Bale-bale goes all out when it comes to its concept, placing small gardens in its corners to give guests the feel of out-of-town spa facilities. Bale-bale offers lulur, as well as relaxation treatments like face acupressure and face masks.
(Ruth Ninajanty)
