Elyse Hauser
The home spa concept sounds nice . . . until it’s your only choice. With the quarantine stretching into many weeks, you might find yourself running out of DIY pampering ideas. How many bubble baths can one person take, anyway?
However, there are some easy, innovative home spa ideas you’ve probably never tried. Here are our favorite ways to get a taste of the spa experience (and results) while remaining safely at home.
Multimasking
Face masks are nothing new (but if you’ve never tried one, now’s a great time). However, multimasking takes things up a notch by mixing and matching masks for a spa-quality experience.
Multimasking means using different masks on different parts of your face to spot-treat issues. For example, let’s say you often get acne on your forehead and chin, but have dry skin on your cheeks. You could apply a hydrating mask to your cheeks and a pore-cleansing one on the rest of your face. With multimasking, you get more out of your masks and end up with spa-fresh skin.
For even more impressive results, give yourself a little steam facial to open your pores before you apply the masks. First, wash your face, and then, pour some hot water into a clean sink or bowl. Hold your face above the water and drape a towel over your head to trap the warm steam for about 10 minutes.
Skincare Sampling
When you visit the spa, it’s a great time to try new products. But since you can’t do it in person right now, pamper yourself by sampling what you already have at home.
If you’ve ever shopped for skincare products, you probably have a stash of samples gathering dust in a drawer somewhere. Or, maybe you have products that you bought, but never got around to trying. If you’re leaving the house less often thanks to COVID-19, now’s the perfect time to sample them and see how your skin reacts.
Usually, trying new products is a risk, since they might leave you with a visible reaction, like a breakout or red skin. But if you’re not going out and seeing people as much as usual, that’s no big deal. You’ll have time for any potential issues to clear up before life returns to normal.
DIY Haircare
Feeling frustrated by the lack of access to salon cuts and color? Don’t be. Instead, see this as an amazing opportunity to cultivate healthy hair.
Hot tools, like flat irons or even blow-dryers can damage your hair over time. Now is the perfect time to take a hot-tool break and embrace your natural texture or air-drying more often. Try easy, heat-free styles, like ponytails, buns, or headbands for a lowkey, spa-like vibe.
Similarly, you might also want to take some time off from hair dye. Frequent dyeing damages your hair, as well. Anyway, you won’t be the only person embracing grown-out roots right now.
This is also a great time to wash your hair a little less. Washing too frequently dries out hair, but if you’re used to daily shampooing, washing less might feel strange at first. Take this opportunity to get used to it, and let your over-washed hair recover. You can also experiment with more hair-friendly cleansers, like co-washes.
Simply cutting back on styling, dyeing, and washing for a few weeks can make it look like you’re fresh from the salon or spa. But for a truly spa-like experience, you can make one of these DIY hair masks using ingredients from your kitchen.
Hand Pampering
The responsible thing to do right now is to diligently wash your hands more often. Proper handwashing is a surefire way to reduce the spread of viruses. However, it can leave your skin looking a little worse for wear.
Give your hands a taste of spa treatment—they deserve it. After washing them, apply a rich hand cream to keep them hydrated and give yourself a little hand massage in the process. Use a moisturizing face mask on the backs of your hands, or buy a hand mask. You can make a gentle scrub using salt or sugar and a plant oil (like olive or coconut) to keep dry skin at bay.
Your hands always deserve care, but they definitely need some special attention right now. You can also apply these treatments to your feet if you want a more traditional spa experience.
Bathroom Revamp
Sure, cleaning your bathroom isn’t exactly part of a spa treatment, but it’s an important precursor. Why not take this time to clean up and/or redecorate? Make your bathroom a space where you can really unwind.
In addition to your usual cleaning tasks, try to get rid of or hide clutter that makes it hard to relax. Consider repurposing items from another part of your home, or order some new bathroom decor to make the space feel fresh and more welcoming.
If your garden is blooming, arrange a vase with some fresh flowers on the counter—and don’t forget the candles. Set out some magazines or books you can read while you soak, mask, or scrub.
Sure, you might be missing your local salon or spa, but re-creating those treatments at home can save you lots of money! You’ll also have the chance to try some new things, like DIY hair masks. So, don’t be discouraged by the lack of pampering opportunities; there’s lots to love about creating your own home spa!
