It’s time to give up your idea of ever finding the Fountain of Youth. For one, it’s a mythical concept. It only feeds our fantasy that by merely bathing in the magical spring waters, your youthfulness shall be restored. Wacky, right? But did you know that there are plenty of wacky ways used in real life that allegedly fight against aging? One of them is a spa treatment. Sure, go ahead and roll your eyes and tell me that a spa treatment is not weird at all. But what if I tell you that there’s a wide variety of spa and facial treatments— and most of them have a degree of bizarreness about them? Like a snake massage, the bird poo facial, and even using bee venom? Yes, sounds freaky. But a lot of people are paying money for these unusual spa treatments all for the name of youth and beauty!
Spa treatments claim to have plenty of benefits. Apart from anti-aging, spa treatments can be focused on de-stressing, or to relieve aches and pains, improve blood circulation, or promote better sleep, and some even say, boost your happiness. Here are 32 crazy spa and facial treatments for your entertainment if not for your well-being!
Spread bird poo on your face
The idea of spreading fecal matter on your face as treatment sure sounds like a stinky idea. Gross, right? But this is actually a real thing. The bird poo facial is of Japanese which dates back to the 17th century. It’s known by many names, such as Uguisu No Fun (yeah, doesn’t sound fun!), Geisha Facial, and Nightingale Droppings Facial. Those who’ve tried the facial treatment swear that it is effective in brightening your skin, shrinking your pores, hydrating your skin, crediting the natural product for their overall youthful appearance.
There’s a Japanese company that officially sells bird poo for your skincare needs. They filter the unnecessary stuff from the bird poop to just provide their clientele with only the essential shit ingredients for glowing skin!
Feed the fish with your skin dirt
If you are too lazy to exfoliate the skin on your feet and ankles, why not let the fish do it? A spa treatment in London offers just that: submerge your feet in water filled with Garra rufa fish, also known as the red garra, to munch on your dead skin. Don’t be scared, they are not piranhas. These derma fishies are toothless, actually, but their mouths are naturally designed to be suction-shaped so they can nibble away on your feet, scrub them clean, and even take away your eczema or psoriasis.
Also credited as Doctor Fish, these sea creatures exist in spa resorts in many countries around the world. However, some people frown at this practice and call it “unsanitary.”
Healing cacti
Just the mere sound of “cactus massage” sounds rather painful. Imagine being pricked by so many needles! But, in reality, it’s not. It’s a painless procedure simply because the cactus that will be used to massage you, which is nopal cactus, are already needle-free. The needles are first yanked out of the leaf or the paddle, then heated in warm water before they are rubbed on your skin for detoxification and hydration. Oooh, the idea feels so relaxing already. The process is even credited to cure sunburns!
Before you think of recreating this treatment from the comfort of your home, stop. Leave it to the experts. Officially called the Hakali cactus massage, the exotic spa treatment can be availed at the Four Seasons in Mexico.
Get me some baby food—for my face
Hey, parents! Here’s some good news for you. Parenting can be super hard work and can instantly age you. You can’t even find the time to pick up a hairbrush or look at yourself in the mirror. In fact, you avoid any shiny surface that reflects your face and its many degrees of exhaustion.
Here’s a tip: while feeding your little tyke with baby food—those that come in tiny jars in various flavors—stay as close to your baby as possible. If your kid throws the food on your face, don’t wipe it off. Spread them evenly on your cheeks, forehead, chin, and nose and leave the concoction for 30 minutes. Baby food facial DIY! In no time, you’ll be sporting that youthful glow and clear skin that may even beat your teenage neighbor’s skin!
Sting me, honeybee!
Ooh, sounds scary – or sounds like it’s been lifted from some dark comic book narrative. Imagine bee venom entering your system and turning you into a bee. Kidding. The bee venom is collected by scaring the daylights of the bees that are hanging out alongside a glass. This beauty poison is anaphylactic, causing your facial muscles to relax and create a taut and clearer complexion. Think of it as a natural botox.
Remember, this is not DIY, so don’t go hunting for beehives to steal their precious venom extract. Just go to any beauty and skincare boutique and you’ll find bee venom sheet masks being sold. This natural facial mask stimulates the production of natural collagen and elastin, erasing those age-betraying fine lines and wrinkles!
Seaweed delight
Imagine those warm summer days when you used to excitedly head to the ocean to swim, only to be bothered by floating seaweeds. Annoying, right? But do not underestimate the power of these marine algae. You actually need them to moisturize and nourish your skin. Seaweed naturally contains vitamin E and can even help in plumping up your skin and remove those fine lines like what your Snapchat filter does.
A lot of beauty brands are already supplying seaweed masks, just choose from your trusted company. Sometimes these products are formulated with various degrees of clay to boost its skincare power. The seaweed mask is usually left on the face for 10 to 15 minutes, absorbing all your skin’s impurities and radical pollutants.
Turn your face into a kitty litter
Just the mere idea makes you puke. Kitty litters are some of the worst-smelling things on the planet. Now, can you handle the concept of kitty litter facial? All for the name of beauty? Before you freak out, of course, I am talking about kitty litter without the urine and the feces. But don’t blame yourself if you initially thought that. I led you to that thought because we’re on the topic of crazy spa and facial treatments.
Beauty vlogger Michelle Phan caught the attention of netizens when she shared on her YouTube channel her DIY kitty litter facial mask. Which is made of unscented kitty litter. It inspired both admiration and a degree of skepticism from observers. Phan said she felt a “clearing effect,” but experts are against it and call it unsafe.
Wear your gold like a face powder
Feel like royalty and put on a solid-gold sheet mask. You have probably seen this solid gold facial mask trend on Instagram, and the sight is undoubtedly impressive. Close-up shots of skin flecked with gold. This unusual facial treatment credits its benefits to the ancient healing powers of gold. This decadent skincare regimen will, according to experts, leave you looking like a queen, as it boosts your natural collagen as well as your skin’s microcirculation. It will leave your skin energized and glowing!
It is also claimed that this luxurious 24k gold sheet mask reduces fine wrinkles, making you look younger than you actually are. It was rumored that Cleopatra is fond of this specific facial mask treatment and sleeps with a literal golden face.
Rub that stone against my skin, please!
Have you ever imagined what it feels like to rub your cheek against wealth? I mean, specifically, feeling a semi-precious stone against your skin. Like the violet quartz amethyst. Well, the ancient Greeks beat you into it. They used to wear amethyst or fashioned drinking cups out of amethyst because they believed it would prevent them from suffering intoxication.
Considered as a healing stone, this dazzling and opulent stone has other varying degrees of beauty and skincare benefits. It is said to oxygenate your skin, improve circulation, reduce puffiness, remove the impurities, and detoxify it, and as a result, you will be left with a brighter and healthier complexion. Kiss your dull skin goodbye and embrace your new—and younger-looking—self!
Wrap your face with a tin foil
After an epic night out, it is only natural that your skin will end up super puffy, riddled with impurities, and maybe red splotches from irritants. So it is best, at this point, to avoid looking at a mirror, because believe me, your self-esteem will be greatly affected.
But thanks to the invention of the tin foil facial mask, you can now breathe life back into your zombie-like skin. This facial treatment is so easy, not to mention cheap, too, that you’d be thanking your lucky stars that this skincare trick exists. It temporarily tightens your pores and provides your skin with an astonishing degree of smoothness and brightness. So go ahead and party like there’s no tomorrow because the tin foil mask always saves the day!
Radioactive pretty face
Back when you weren’t still alive—neither were your parents or grandparents—radium became a fad. Folks put or mixed this radioactive metal usually used for radiation into anything. Imagine how dangerous it was to put this chemical element as a product ingredient? In the 1920s and 1930s, radium was even used in treating various medical illnesses, including cancer. So how did this become a skincare product?
One such product was called the “vanishing cream,” which dates back to 1919. It contained a degree of radium, which according to the manufacturers, acted as a skin rejuvenator; a non-stop massager to energize skin cells, eliminate dirt, which causes the skin to glow. Don’t look for such products nowadays. They have been banned due to their harmful effects.
Kiss those blood-sucking creatures
It sounds like something out of a horror film or a comedy. Either way, it’s a real thing. Who honestly likes to have their face in contact with these predatory worms? Well, apparently, those who value physical beauty too much. Leech therapy has been around since the days of ancient celebrities, like Cleopatra and Marie Antoinette. Modern celebs, like Demi Moore and Miranda Kerr, have tried it as well.
You see, leeches have a reputation as blood-suckers. These slimy glossy and black parasitic creatures are used to drain your lymph fluid along the neck and jawline to tighten those age-betraying sagging jowls and firm up those loose neck skin. These little worms are credited to provide natural botox treatment that is painless. Leech bites draw blood but they don’t sting a bit.
Give your cells CPR!
One of the most popular facials in the modern days of the beauty and skincare industry is the oxygen mask. Also known as Intraceuticals, oxygen facials are normally done in the spa by an aesthetician. The concept of oxygen facial inspires a degree of incredulity. It is said that since we need oxygen to breathe, so do your cells. If your cells are oxygenated, your face will look more radiant and younger-looking.
Queen of Pop Madonna is a fan of this nonmedical procedure, as well as Ashley Graham. After some preliminary process, a wand blasts off high-pressurized oxygen to the beauty patient skin. The process is one hour long, maximum. After the procedure, you can instantly apply makeup to your skin. No need for rest time, making it so convenient.
Lather up with milk and honey!
Oh, such decadence of bathing in milk and honey. Just head on to your kitchen, grab a jar of honey and carton of milk, and you are all set to achieve soft and supple skin, just like a baby’s! Does this really work? Well, milk contains fat and protein which are natural exfoliators. The milk also has a considerable degree of lactic acid which works to scrub your skin, removing dead cells, and making it squeaky clean. It also hydrates the skin, which results in a radiant complexion.
Meanwhile, the sweet honey is a natural antibacterial and antimicrobial, which can help your kids if they are suffering from skin irritants or mild infection. This special bath can also reduce stress, and their powerful combination helps slow down the aging process. There, you’ve found your homemade Fountain of Youth!
Snake massage for the brave
Scented candles? Essential Oils? Relaxing chill music? Boring. For some, their massage experience is upgraded with snakes slithering on their back. You would think this is some scene in a fantasy film. No. It actually happens in a spa in Israel. Owner Ida Barak unleashes snakes as part of the massage routine to help alleviate any degree of aches and pains.
In the realm of wellness, there sure are strange practices like a snake massage, which is not only found in Israel but in many parts of the world. In U.S. spas, boa constrictors move their way along your body, wrap themselves around your feet, waist, or head, and simply rest. Their weight will relax you as if you’re being hugged by many arms—if you welcome the experience with trust.
Exfoliate my butt, please
The cheeks on your face are not the only ones that need some cleansing, exfoliating, and pampering. Your butt cheeks need them, too. At least that’s what Detroit-spa Euphoria owner Lisa believes so. She says that her clientele displays a degree of apprehension about the concept of butt facial; but once they avail of the service, they end up being satisfied.
This bum facial, which concludes with a warm paraffin treatment, actually makes a lot of sense if you are a beach bum that is fond of showing your buttocks with your string bikini. No one wants to see a rough, pimple-filled, scaly, or bad skin in your derriere area. Well, if you think you have a nice, shapely bum, might as well give it some skin-care loving.
Romantic gondola massage
No, it’s not like a gondola will be used to massage you. We all know that Venice is one of the most romantic places on Earth, and if you ever find yourself traveling in the Italian city, a gondola ride is a must. The slow boating in the canals of Venice already offers a high degree of calm and relaxation— but what if you enhance it with a massage?
In Venice’s luxurious Hotel Cipriani, they have a beauty and wellness center that offers a massage while you’re on a gondola and being rowed in the calming waters on the Laguna. If you’re worried about being stared at by passengers on nearby boats—you don’t have to worry. The masseuses and the staff are very discreet. But in case others do notice, so what? You might inspire them to get one, too.
Ayurveda, balancing of the chakras
First of all, Ayurveda, a healing system that brings out your natural and inherent healing tools, is not based on any religion. So no qualms in availing this type of massage, which utilizes 5,000-year-old Indian philosophies to cure you of your physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual pain. Basically, it’s an oil massage.
The degree of difference between this specific oil massage from other types of massage, like the common Swedish or Thai massage, is that the Ayurvedic massage makes use of heated organic oil blends combined with Ayurvedic herbs for balancing the “chakras,” detoxification, and pure relaxation. The style of strokes, kneading, and squeezing are customized depending on the needs of the client. One woman reports that her breasts were kneaded to release upper-body tension.
Hide in a salty cave
If you are into caving or speleology, no doubt you’d experience a high degree of satisfaction in a salt-cave therapy. In this case, it’s called a speleotherapy. You enter a cave—sometimes it’s a man-made cave—and expose yourself to the healing underground salt caves and mines for about two to three hours. But only 45 minutes if it’s just breathing the salty air, or what is called halotherapy.
The cave is built entirely on pink Himalayan salts. Sometimes, dead-sea salt is used, too. Benefits include fixing your breathing issues, like asthma, allergies, nasal congestion, or if you have inflammation or too much mucus. It also helps make your skin look healthier, and of course, it promotes deep relaxation. In Canada, the salt cave is super cold.
Soak me in wine
Do you love wine so much that you fantasize about bathing in it? You can now realize your dream in Japan, specifically a spa in Kowakien Yunessun. Enjoy wading into a pool of red wine, which is Beaujolais Nouveau—the most popular wine in Japan. Gallons of this wine endlessly flow in a pool and in your wine glass. So you can literally surround yourself with this substance in and out of your body.
Also called vinotherapy, the wine bathing trend was actually credited to spa brand Caudalie, a French skincare company. But the way they do it is different from the one in Japan. Your spa bath is mixed with antioxidant-rich red vine leaf extract and marc (post-winemaking grape crud), which claims to make you look and feel younger.
Horse-y Reiki energy
Reiki, if you haven’t heard about it before, is a form of alternative medicine. The concept is universal energy healing, and so practitioners restore the balance in a patient or a client through the use of palm healing, where they transfer a degree of energy to you and fix your physical or emotional issues.
Rockin Heart Ranch in Idaho, U.S.A, offers Reiki on a horseback. Reiki master and owner Christina DiBartolo claims that horses carry the same universal energy or life force. Simply ride on a horse—solo or with Christina—and let your stress and anxiety melt away. We are not sure if horses in other ranches have the same healing powers or only the horses in Rockin Heart Ranch.
Snowy sauna
You go to a sauna to help heal your heart problems to a certain degree. Exposing yourself to a high-temperature room will help expand your blood vessels, boost blood circulation, and even helps decrease your blood pressure. The anti-sauna snow cave, on the other hand, is where you “cool off” straight from your sauna session. From going from hot to extreme cold, you will, according to experts, be rid of hypertension.
But if you want a cold sauna alone, there is also one. Through what they call cryotherapy, which is a quick three-minute treatment, your body will be healed from pain, aches, and inflammation. Those who go to cold saunas are usually arthritic patients or those who suffer from fibromyalgia and insomnia, sciatica, and even multiple sclerosis.
Stripped naked in a hammam
Hamman is a common practice in Morocco to get your skin completely clean. If you’re not shy, then this will suit you just fine because for the first step, you’ll be naked with other people and socializing with them. Don’t worry, there is gender segregation. But if you are uncomfortable being in your birthday suit, you can wear a bikini.
It’s a weekly ritual Moroccan skincare regimen that boils down to extreme exfoliation. After chatting with naked peeps, you will then exfoliate yourself in a large steam room or you can hire someone to exfoliate you, then you will be massaged. The process can be hardcore, but those who experienced it credit the hammam as one of the most cleansing experiences ever that you will leave the spa glowing and very relaxed.
Hot cupping delight
If you are into alternative medicine, you may already have tried the hot cupping therapy. If you suffer from any degree of pain, inflammation, or blood circulation problems, this is the go-to therapy. The therapist will place hot cups on your skin, leave them to suction, and in no time, your back will look like aliens have made crop circles out of your skin. How cool is that?
The hot cupping treatment originated in China, so if you want the most authentic experience, head on to that country. In China, they use special bamboo cups to suck on your skin, around 40 of them. Then the therapists will leave the miracle cups to do their thing and unburden you from your pain for almost half an hour.
Irish seaweed bathing
People usually hate it when they swim in an ocean littered with seaweeds. Well, what if I tell you that there’s such a thing as a seaweed bath? Submerging oneself in a tub filled with these stinky marine plants is a wellness practice that dates back to the Edwardian era, meaning it’s been around for hundreds of years. Seaweed baths are credited to the treatment of arthritic and rheumatic aches and promote intense relaxation.
This spa treatment originated in Ireland, and the Irish would harvest seaweeds from the North Atlantic coast. The seaweeds are called wracks—the brown ones—and are poured along with hot seawater in a tub. The wracks have oils that are rich in minerals, vitamins, and nutrients that will help you relax and soothe your pains.
Beer for radiant skin
Whether or not you love beer, you might find a beer bath enticing. Beer baths have been around for quite some time now in Eastern European culture. Folks soak themselves in beer, because, apparently, it contains organic ingredients that rejuvenate the skin, melts your stress away, improves circulation, detoxifies, and relieves back and joint pains.
Today, in Prague, there are plenty of spas that offer beer baths. While relaxing in this liquid, you can even scoot over to a nearby beer tap and drink beer with no limit. In other spas, the beer that they use for your bath water is in the early fermentation stages, which has a low pH, which will help give you healthy hair and skin.
Bathing the Turkish way
The Turkish bath has a high degree of similarity to the Moroccan bath experience. The only difference is that for the Turkish way, the process does not begin in a large steam room but in a dry sauna. A dry sauna is the most common sauna, where wood burns in a stove, then the hot water is ladled into the rocks, which creates moisture.
After the dry sauna, you will then proceed to your Turkish bath, which runs for 45 minutes. You will be scrubbed hard to leave, making you immaculately clean. Then, like the hammam, you will be massaged on a marble slab. Soap, oil, the works. But unlike the Moroccan bath, the last step on the Turkish bath is you have to plunge into a super cold pool.
Fun muddy pool
Be like Peppa Pig and jump in muddy puddles! Except in mud baths that originated in Japan, you literally jump into a pool of warm mineral mud and simply take a bath in it. This muddy spa treatment has been around for thousands of years and is credited for its high therapeutic benefits.
If you suffer from skin conditions, such as psoriasis or eczema, swimming in mud is good for you. It eliminates skin impurities, deeply exfoliates you, and if you have rheumatoid arthritis, it will relieve you from pain. Mud baths boast healing minerals like magnesium, zinc, sulfur, and bromine. Not to mention wading in mud sounds like a lot of fun. Now we understand why Peppa and George love their muddy puddles so much!
Skin rebirth in the Dead Sea
Dive into the Dead Sea in Jordan and float. Everybody knows that the Dead Sea is the saltiest body of water on the planet. But did you know that it also offers one of the most popular spa treatments in the world? Not to mention it’s one of the oldest. Even before King Herod’s time, folks have been trekking to the Dead Sea to find relief and healing through ultra-briny waters, as well as through the black mud found along the shores. The air, which is rich with ozone, is said to have health benefits.
You will be soaked in mud and then wrapped in polythene until the mud on your skin becomes dry. This is called a mud wrap. It is done to relieve muscle aches, reduce anxiety, and boost blood circulation. Then you can exfoliate your body using the Dead Sea waters and leave the area with baby-smooth skin!
Reflexology as medicine
If you enjoy hand and foot massages, why not go for a reflexology treatment and get cured of various illnesses and disorders? Well, that’s what practitioners claim. But if you’re ticklish, perhaps you should think twice—although some claim the process hurts to some degree. Also known as “zone therapy,” reflexology focuses on specific points in the hands and feet that are connected to other parts of the body. For example, there is one area in your hand or feet that represents your heart. Massaging that area will help your heart issues.
This massage does not make use of oil or lotion. Reflexologists stimulate your reflex points by some nifty combination of thumb-finger manipulations. By the end of the massage, they say you will experience a boost in brain power and nerve functions, and be relieved of aches and pains.
Ion foot bath for a full detox
Dirty feet takes a whole new meaning when you engage in an ion foot bath. Not only will you be getting your feet cleaned to the highest degree, but the ion foot bath will also suck all the toxins out of your entire body. So you are basically cleaning all your insides through your feet alone.
If the water turns black, then it means it was your liver that was detoxified. If you see floating black flecks in the water, it means heavy metals were pulled out of your body. Red flecks, it means your body was rid of blood clots. If your water becomes a foamy white, it was your lymphatic system that was detoxed. Yellow-green means toxins were eliminated either from your urinary tract, bladder, kidneys, or prostate area.
Vampiric facial
Kim Kardashian is one of the well-known celebrities that undergoes this bizarre and freaky facial, known as the vampire facial. In fact, you may have seen one of the star’s selfies on Instagram displaying her face flecked with blood.
This skin treatment is literally bloody. The skincare treatment uses your own blood for your own benefits. Your blood is extracted, mixed in with plasma that is rich in platelets, then they spread the bloody formula on skin areas that needed fixing. They claim that the finishing result is glowing, rejuvenated skin. If you’re afraid of needles, then this is not for you. Because this uses a high degree of micro-needling. Kim does this at the Prasad Cosmetic Surgery on the Upper East Side.