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.