Traditional Kese Body Scrub

And so I’ve spent the last couple of weeks on holiday; the week before last I was staying at the fabulous Xanadu Resort Hotel on the Brodrum Peninsula, and in true Lizzi style one of my first actions was to book up my spa treatments for the time I was to be there.

Shang-Du was a tranquil and luxurious spa; with all the usual kind of treatments to offer – their packages were great value and even better you could split this throughout your stay, so I opted for this. 

Starting with a traditional kese body scrub to prepare my skin by removing all the dead skin.   And then towards the end of my break,  I opted for an all over body massage, which involved a lot of elbows being used on my back, much more pleasurable than it sounds!!

Now I’ve had the occasional body scrub, it’s not usually a relaxing treatment; this experience took place in a warm Turkish harma, I had to lie on the large stone bench in the middle of this room.   The masseuse then covered me with lots of hot water, which was a lovely feeling as you are lying on warm stone.

Next she used a hand mitt and started working across my body, beginning with my feet and moving up, whilst slightly unpleasant it was much nicer than the scrub salt versions you usually get.  Once completed, this was all rinsed off again with lots of hot water, pleasurable and really relaxing.

She then moved on to covering my whole body in foam, I’ve never seen this foam technique before and I’m not sure my explanation will do it justice!  It looked like she had a very thin pillow case that had been placed in soapy water and then by waving it in the air the bag filled with foam, which she then released it across my body.   She did this several times – and then massaged my whole body using the foam, and then rinsed again.

I simply loved this treatment, and I’m glad that I decided to leave the massage to later in the week as you get a full massage with this anyway.

To be personally bathed is a slight weird but pleasurable experience, and should you be getting married abroad then I think this would be a lovely treatment to have done the morning of your wedding.  The room is so grand, you feel that you a being prepared as part of a ritual – so for a wedding it would be perfect.

Later that day, my body was so soft and smooth, it lasted all week – probably helped by the vast amount of sunscreen being used in 36-38 degree heat!  SPF 30 was definitely needed as I could feel that my new skin was so fragile and it needed lots of protection.

One ladies to look out for!   And a holiday is not a holiday without a Spa treatment (or two!).