Chocolate Body Wrap

I was recently treated with a chocolate body wrap courtesy of Marvel College in Edmonton, Alberta.  The services there are offered by students as a part of their learning curriculum.  The experience I had was wonderful.  I was scrubbed down with honey and brown sugar exfoliant to eliminate dead skin cells. It has a sweet aroma and the right texture, not too sticky and not too oily.  Then, I was moisturized with cocoa cream before being treated with the warm chocolate wrap and tucked in like a cocoon for about 20 minutes.  Using chocolate for body wrap is definitely a fun way as it is both beneficial for the skin and stimulating for the senses as well.  The cocoa mixture contains other compounds and minerals   for hydrating and soothing the skin.  The delicious chocolate scent calms and relaxes your senses, while the warm and thick texture of hot cocoa fondue is being smothered all over your body.  After, the chocolate is washed off in a hydro shower with steamer before being moisturized with a light massage.  The whole treatment takes about an hour and a half and I definitely noticed how much softer my skin felt after the treatment.  The best part is I still smell a bit like chocolate after! Of course, I won't mind doing this on a regular basis.

Bernard Cassiere, the brand of products being used for the treatment, is a natural skin care line from France. Established in 2000, the brand is well known for the chocolate skin care products, which are offered exclusively at certain locations in Canada.  I quite enjoyed the products and looking forward to trying more in the future.

Do it right from your home! (a bit messy and you may need another person there to help with the wrap)
Ingredients:
1/2 cup of honey
1/2 cup of sugar
olive or coconut oil

First stage: honey and sugar exfoliate  

Make sure you use big sugar granules for a good scrub.  Mix 2 ingredients together to make one cup.  You may want to add olive or coconut oil for extra moisturizing power.

Ingredients:

2 dark chocolate bars, 1/2 cup honey, 1/2 cup whole milk
plastic wraps (or to improvise, use clean garbage bags cut out)
several big towels you won't mind getting messy
2 small face towels

Second stage: the chocolate fondue wrap
Melt chocolate bars and mix honey and whole milk to the mixture.  Make sure you cool down the chocolate to warm so it doesn't burn the skin when you apply.

Procedure:
*warning: This will get messy!
Sit on a mat layered with towels on the bottom and plastic wraps on top.  Exfoliate all over the body with honey and sugar.  With a warm and moist towel, wipe away all the granules from the body.  Then, cover entire body with the warm chocolate mixture starting with the legs.  Make sure you do a couple layers while the chocolate is still warm.  The chocolate mixture would also make a great face mask as well. Start wrapping yourself with the plastic wrap starting from your feet up, followed by wrapping with towels.  Make sure you are well tucked in.  It is a good idea to use some kind of support for your knees and neck to keep yourself elevated and comfortable.   After 20 minutes, rinse off the chocolate with warm shower and moisturize immediately.

Fish Spa

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.  The "Doctor Fish" spas initially started in the Middle East particularly in Turkey.  In 2006, resorts in Hakonne, Japan started bringing in the fish spa treatment.  Currently, there are fish spa widely offered all over the world.


My Experience
These fish spas are all over Thailand.  I tried a session for 15 minutes and I decided to go in the pool with smaller fish.  After going in, the whole school of fish swarmed at my feet and even though there were 2 people in the pool, they were mostly interested at my feet (I guess there was much to work with). If you are ticklish, then this will not be an option.  It felt a bit tingly and I could feel the suction on my feet (but thousands of suctions at the same time).  I was told that the bigger fish bite even harder so I decided to stay with the small ones.  Afterwards, I definitely felt a huge change.  My feet were much softer and the doctors did a good job of cleaning them up!