While our minds just might be rejuvenated, our bodies scream for some TLC after a summer vacation. Sun-damaged skin and dehydrated tresses are often unwanted souvenirs of a really great beach holiday.

Bring in long flight hours and that’s a recipe for disaster ... for your skin and body. Before you get back to the humdrum of daily routine, plan a strategic getaway to your local luxury spa to inject life back to your skin and body.

Jet lag
Fatigue, sore muscles, headaches, lethargy or insomnia are all symptoms of jet lag. It is defined as a physiological condition which results from alterations to the body’s circadian rhythms resulting from rapid long-distance transmeridian (east–west or west–east) travel on an airplane.

Remedial treatment: The ‘after workout’ treatment, Oberoi Spa, available in all Oberoi city hotels at Mumbai, New Delhi, Bengaluru, Kolkata and Gurgaon.

The promise: This powerful 60/90 minute full body treatment is designed to relieve aching muscles and joints after periods of physical strain and stress. It is also beneficial after a hard gym workout with weights to ease the tenderness and pain.

How does it work? When you are at the Oberoi Spa, you are entitled to feel like royalty. The attention to detail is flattering. The ambience is peacefully plush: green with lush potted plants, fragrant with scented oils. The treatment room is like an ode to luxury. Hand printed linen and rose-infused foot soaks appeal to your aesthetics. After a brief consultation with the spa manager, this deep tissue massage begins. The therapist works on the entire body, focusing on your tired zones -– legs, shoulders, upper and lower back with just the right pressure. Sweeping and kneading movements increase the blood circulation, inducing a state of calm. The body is gently stretched at various parts to ease tension and increase flexibility. Tiger balm along with aromatherapy oils is used, as the double layer penetrates the muscle and tissue to provide long lasting relief. Deep tissue techniques ensure effective absorption. Invariably the guests are lulled to sleep only to be awakened by the gentle tinkling of bells at the end of the treatment.

DIY TIP
“Relieve tired legs by soaking them in lukewarm water infused with bath salts. Follow this with a friction massage using tiger balm and oil,” suggests Husnavaz Dastur, Spa Manager, Oberoi Spa, Mumbai.

Dry, lifeless tresses
After a prolonged period in the heat, hair can look like a mass of tangled straw. Post-holiday, your erstwhile crowning glory bears the brunt of sun, salt and chlorinated water, looking lacklustre and teeming with split ends.

Remedial treatment: Kerastase Nutri Thermique

The promise: Here’s a tailor-made treatment for dry, sensitised hair that amplifies the effect of nutritive ingredients and locks them deep inside the hair fibre for a long-lasting nourishing effect.

How does it work? Dehydrated hair cannot retain the nutrition inside the hair fibre and tend to lose the nourishing elements quicker than healthy hair. Nutri Thermique treatment ensures deeper penetration of the nutrients. Conventional beauty wisdom proclaims heat as one of the main culprits of hair damage. But what makes this treatment unique is the Thermo Intense Technology, an exclusive formula based on thermo-reactive agents catalysing nutritional power under heat. In other words, heat is required as a catalyst for the products to unleash their optimal nutritional benefits. While at the salon, Masque Nutri-Thermique (intense, deep conditioner) is heated under the expert care of the therapist, at home it is advised to wash hair with hot water before applying the mask (when applied on hot hair, the formula gets activated). Then comes the pampering bit, with the therapist massaging the warm mask on the mid lengths and ends. Deeply conditioned hair is treated to hair mist wherein the gentle heat helps in better absorption of the product. After ten minutes, hair is finally rinsed off again with warm water. As a finishing step, hair is gently blast-dried and set.

DIY TIP
“After applying the hair mask/conditioner, wrap your hair in a hot towel for 5-10 minutes for deeper absorption of the product. This is a great at-home deep conditioning treatment for nourishing dry hair,” advises Jashmina Jain, senior stylist, Jean-Claude Biguine.

Tanned, sun-damaged face
Unless you have spent your beach holiday hiding under a parasol clad from top to toe, chances are that your sunburnt face is waiting for you to make amends for all the prolonged UV exposure despite slathering on copious amounts of sunblock.

Remedial treatment: The White Performer Facial treatment available at Clarins SkinSpa, Mumbai and Bengaluru.

The promise: This brightening treatment evens out skin tone, reduces pigmentation, dark spots and freckles.

How does it work? The treatment begins with an in depth skin analysis with the beauty therapist who takes into account your lifestyle, skin concerns and beauty goals. Using the new Clarinspro Formula products, this indulgent treatment delivers the optimum benefits of Clarins’ breakthrough sea lily-enriched White Plus High Performance formula to activate complete brightening lock-around at the root of pigmentation – melonocyte. After cleansing the face, the therapist uses clear softening peel and gentle exfoliator to remove dead skin and impurities. What follows is the signature step of Drain and Shape with light rolling movements. The Shaping Facial Lift sequence drains fluid and toxins so that your facial contours become more defined. Halfway through the facial you realise that this treatment is unique not only due to the high-performance plant-based formulations used but also because of the series of manual massage techniques used. The therapist deft hands work in the gentlest manner on the face. One of the highlights of the treatment is the Intensive Whitening Smoothing Serum that delivers a boost of unprecedented brightness to the skin. Reinforced by an intensive two-mask system, it targets pigmentation-prone areas of the face, and dark spots and uneven skin tone are visibly minimised. To prolong the benefits of the treatment, a customised home care regimen is recommended.

DIY TIP
Pick up the Clarins ‘Intensive Whitening Botanical Programme’ that claims to deliver advanced whitening results. In three weeks, dull, tanned skin makes way for a brighter complexion.

Subscribe to Verve Magazine or buy the Verve issue on stands now!