Two weeks into my detox and I think its time for a heavy duty detox spa treatment. I have chosen the Mermaid detox treatment at the Mulia, which includes a rather divine ‘wellness suite’ (Georgio Armani has the same wellness suite in one of his manisons – so I know I am in good company) With hydrotonic pools, steam room, ice room and specially designed hamam tables (think warm stone) I know I am in for quite a treat.
Far more than a spa and salon, Mulia Spa provides an holistic escape into wellbeing, with aromas providing the key. Pure essential oils extracted from food and plants are powerful tools in physical and emotional healing and can be inhaled, bathed in or applied as a massage oil.
The scent of lemongrass
Arriving at the spa reception my senses are immediately alerted to the intoxicating scent of lemongrass that infuses the air. This magical and highly medicinal herb is a mood elevator and has a wonderfully fresh and cleansing fragrance that calms and freshens the mind. A refreshing chilled towel is also perfumed with lemongrass, and a glass of chilled ginger coolant provides a zesty ginger kick. Thoughts of the outside world are already fading!
The healing power of water
The Mulia Mermaid treatment is a detox and purification ritual that incorporates the ancient spa practice of healing through water. Oxygenated hot and cold hydrotonic pools are filled with waterfalls and underwater jets that massage my body, increase blood circulation and ease away tension, while the tingling sensation of the bubbles sends me floating off on a wave of contentment. Utterly relaxed I am ready for the state-of-the-art wellness suite, the only one of its kind in the Asia/Pacific region. Leaving the sunny courtyard pools behind I enter the ice fountain room, cooled to a chilly 1 degree Celsius. As in the adjoining sauna, steam and hammam rooms – chromotherapy bathes me in soft, chakra cleansing light, gently changing from violet, to lavender to yellow.
A peppermint blast
The sultry aroma steam room is fitted with emotional showers, so when I start to feel too hot I can press the ‘breeze’ button and a light spray from the ceiling infuses me with the heady perfume of peppermint. This cool icy fragrance is fresh and invigorating, and chills both my mind and my body. When the heat intensifies again, I push a different button to receive a refreshing and fruity passionfruit infused shower. Next I am lead to a specially designed, gently heated Hammam stone table, where my body is brushed, then scrubbed and sloughed with organic Balinese sea salt warmed with lemongrass and peppermint. Once again I am adrift in a sea of scents and sensations. A sea salt glow scrub draw the toxins from the body and increases skin blood circulation, promoting the growth of new skin cells. According to the International Journal of Dermatology, the presence of magnesium sulfate in marine salts, stimulates the liver and adrenal glands to dump their toxins. Finally I am drenched in ocean-rich nutrients of a seaweed mask.
Showered, changed and replenished with fresh fruit and peppermint tea, I barely recognise myself in the mirror, stipped bare of tension and toxins all that remains is the radiant glow of wellbeing.
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