KEY POINTS:
In desperate need of uplifting my stiff-muscled, sluggish winter body, the Tribal Clayssage I'd spied while surfing online sounded like just what the doctor ordered.
Intrigued by the concept of having a mineral clay treatment designed to give you smoother skin, eliminate toxins, stimulate lymphatic drainage, boost the immune system, and that would have me "floating out in a blissful relaxed state", I trot off to get myself Clayssaged at Spa-Trek.
This Auckland-based organic clinic prides itself on merging natural therapies with space-age technology.
After shedding my winter clothes and slipping into one of those sexy disposable G-strings (I'd been cautioned that things might get a tad messy), Joanne, exfoliated my back, arms, decolletage, tummy and legs with a mixture of salt and body gel. Then she massaged oil into the exfoliated areas, to smoothen the skin and enable the clay to stick to it better.
Meanwhile, I learnt that clay has been revered for its medicinal properties - its ability to heal wounds, repair damaged tissue, stimulate our immune response and draw out impurities from the body - as far back as Egyptian and Roman times. It's the powerful minerals in the clay that give it its good rap - silica, magnesium, potassium, calcium, phosphorus, selenium, iron, copper you name it.
The clay, like the South African EarthSentialsT clay Spa-Trek uses, is extracted from up to 60 metres below the Earth's surface, then sun-dried and made into a powder.
Having a Tribal Clayssage, I soon found out, is like being the subject of a body-painting project - it involves applying four different colours of clay powder mixed with water on to different parts of the body with a paintbrush.
First up, Joanne painted my back, decolletage and upper arms with red clay, which she explained has a detoxifying effect, mainly because it's so rich in selenium. Red clay is great for bruising, decongesting the chest when you have a cold and, applied to the face, it can help with dark under-eye circles and the redness associated with broken capillaries.
The white clay, which soon adorned my forearms and hands, is soothing and effective for relieving dermatitis and itchy bites, while pink clay has a toning effect - hence Joanne covered my tummy with it. To finish off, she painted my legs green (the type that would make an excellent camouflage for soldiers engaged in jungle combat). The green clay made my legs tingle - this is a good sign, Joanne said, because it means it's doing its work: to cleanse the lymphatic system, draw toxins from other parts of the body and to strengthen my immune system.
Interestingly, Clayssage also tells you whether a person has imbalances in their body by checking for quick-drying clay spots on their feet. These spots act like pressure points in reflexology - they indicate which parts of the body may be out of kilter. Using this method, Joanne quickly detected that my kidneys weren't working properly, possibly because I'd hardly any water and kidneys are the first place to show signs of dehydration.
Once the "art work', aka me, is complete, I was wrapped up in a plastic sheet and blankets. The purpose of this is not only to keep me snug and comfortable - it maximises the minerals' ability to be absorbed into the body, so they can work their miracles.
Forty minutes later, Joanne removed my "war paint' with hot, damp cloths, leaving the skin feeling velvety smooth and my body totally relaxed. My thighs and waist, which had felt a little flabby in the morning, now seemed tauter (could be wishful thinking but isn't it all about "feeling great'?) and the excruciating pain I had in my shoulder muscles pre-Clayssage had vanished.
For more information about Tribal Clayssage, Spa-Trek (09) 308 9810, 66 New North Rd, Eden Terrace, Auckland.
-Detours, HoS
