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Warming herbal compress facial at The Sanctuary
Kirstin Watson tried a facial with a difference at London's Sanctuary day spa
The treatment: Warming herbal compress facial
The location: The Sanctuary day spa, Covent Garden
Duration: 50 minutes
Cost: £75 (evening spa membership starts at £43, day spa £67)
I always think it's fun to pick something a bit different when planning a facial, that way, the element of surprise is just as exciting as the seeing the end result.
That's why I chose to have the warming herbal compress facial when I visited The Sanctuary in Covent Garden recently.
The treatment started with me being instructed to breathe deeply and inhale the lovely scents of a herbal-infused cloth. The cloth was then used to wipe my feet! A strange place to start a facial perhaps, but the attention to this much-neglected part of my body was instantly relaxing.
Next, my therapist cleansed, toned and moisturised my skin before bringing out the big guns; the herbal dumplings. It's hard to find a way to best describe the dumplings but imagine a giant mushroom made of muslin, the top section is stuffed with seasonal Thai herbs and the 'stalk' is the handle.
The dumplings were used to gently massage my face, neck and collarbone before my therapist applied pressure to the pressure points on my face. Next, she massaged my face with the dumplings again before applying a collagen face mask.
I usually hate the bit during a facial where the mask is applied and you are left alone for 10 to 15 minutes so I was relieved when, during this treatment, my therapist used the time to massage my legs and arms with the dumplings while we waited for the mask to do its thing. What a bonus; a facial that doubles as a mini-massage!
Once the mask was removed I was thoroughly cleansed, toned and moisturised again and couldn't help but comment on how refreshing the toner was. My therapist explained that she was using the Sanctuary's non-astringent instant hydrating toner, which is alcohol-free.
Before I left, she also carried out a few simple Thai stretches on me then handed me my dumplings in a bag. Apparently you can use them up to three times each again (six times altogether if you are frugal and just use one at a time), either putting them in the bath or using them to massage yourself in the shower.
For more information or to book a spa day visit www.thesanctuary.co.uk
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