Heard the one about being buried in a sawdust pit to detox? Or wrapped in mojito cocktail mix or slathered in estuary mud? What about the Doctor fish that nibble your dead skin? These are just some of the weird and wacky spa treatments out there.
Fishy Feet
Not for the ticklish, these fish foot spas are big in Asia. The Doctor fish is said to have antiseptic saliva and love nothing more than to nibble dead skin of your feet, elbows or anywhere else. They tickle and they can sting like the flick of a rubber band, but it's an experience you should try at least once.
Buried in sawdust
The Hinoki Enzyme spa is about sweating and detoxing. The reality is, once wearing a onesy with a hood, you lie in a freshly dug pit in wood chip compost. The guy who dug your hole then covers you up except for your face and you lie there as long as you can. That's usually about 10-15 minutes. The result? A feeling of post-gym workout euphoria. Well, that's what they told me I was feeling.
Mojito body scrub
Imagine your therapist mixing up a cocktail in a shaker, then liberally slathering the sugary, lime and mint scented scrub all over your body. This is a new range of products at Hanmer Springs Spa where I could have chosen pina colada or cosmopolitan. Then after showering the delicious mixture off a minty/lime oil massage awaits.
Mud and bubbles
I'm sitting on the beach with my left leg over a stranger's thigh and another stranger's foot in my lap. This is the curious mud and bubbles massage at Eco Beach Resort in West Australia. Estuary mud was collected at low tide nearby and right now we're giving each other a sand exfoliation on the incoming tide. Next we slather our bodies in the mud and drink bubbles as it dries before running into the sea to wash it off.
