Pamper yourself with exquisite spa procedures

The world is going mad with wild and whacky spa treatments – a mixture of massage, aromatherapy, and sauna designed to pamper body and soul.

Kyiv is also beating through the mud and weed of regular spa practices and is proud to present a list of extraordinary therapies.

The world is small, as we are told, but there are people with hands of gold. Buddha’s Gold massage tops our list of the most extraordinary ways to relax in Kyiv beauty centers.

Golden lady

Brace yourself for an hour of golden touch in Diva Spa, located at Opera Hotel. In candlelight, a mix of shea butter and gold leaf, which is about 92 percent pure gold, will be rubbed into your skin. For Hr 500 a session, it is designed to be as luxurious as it is relaxing. It may be even somewhat healthy.

Some gold salts have anti-bacterial and anti-inflammatory properties. Historians have long maintained that Cleopatra slept in a gold mask every night to preserve youthful skin. It was also regarded as a key to youth in ancient Chinese medicine.

If not for the health aspect, you will most likely remember this posh ritual every time you look in the mirror. The gold apparently remains in the skin for up to 28 days after a treatment, thus leaving a radiant glow and fighting off damaging free radicals to prevent premature aging.

Tea party

While most health addicts switched to properly brewed tea, Spa Studio in Obolon district is still using teabags, on our back though. Masseurs take small steamed parcels stuffed with 20 different kinds of Thai herbs to detoxify your body and fight the autumn blues. For up to two hours, not just you, but all the visitors in the spa center will smell ginger, lime and other invigorating herbs from the teabags used on you. After the ceremony, you will be left for a little nap and then sent home in a cab. Beauticians do not recommend driving after the Herbal Siam treatment, which will cost you Hr 530.

Sci-fi spa

Remember Leeloo, the “perfect woman” from Luc Besson’s science fiction thriller “The Fifth Element” played by Milla Jovovich? Fitness club 5th Element has a spa jet capsule that’s likely to make you feel a bit like Milla.

As you lie wrapped in seaweed, warm infrared light will penetrate your skin, making you feel rejuvenated, according to the specialists of the club. This procedure (Hr 360) is especially recommended for those suffering from jetlag.

Champagne with chocolate

For an intoxicating bath with detoxifying effects, dive into a champagne bath at the Oriental Spa Center. Natural carbonic acid is likely to strengthen your immune system and make your skin feel tight and soft. The pleasure comes with bill though. For soaking in five bottles of popular Soviet champagne mixed with water, rose petals, and candles, be prepared to pay Hr 700. Otherwise, get the same make of fizzy wine for Hr 18 in a local supermarket and make a little alcohol feast for your body and soul at home.

If a single chocolate square can put a smile back on a woman’s face, imagine what a chocolate bath could do! Stress relief hormones – endorphins, found in ‘black gold’ are responsible for making a woman happy. And caffeine is known for its anti-cellulite qualities. A variety of these treatments in Kyiv spa centers is as large as a choice of candies in a supermarket. They are a lot more expensive than sweets though, up to Hr 500 for a session.

Ultimate pleasures

If chocolate gets women going, a bath with essential ylang-ylang oil supposedly works its aphrodisiac powers on men. This small flower with an exotic name comes from cananga trees that grow over five meters high per year. Beauty experts at Allegranza center add its oil to a turquoise jacuzzi bath which then works its magic powers on a client together with a special tonic laser. We are told that you will feel a tidal wave of sexual energy in less than an hour just for Hr 122. In Indonesia, ylang-ylang flowers are traditionally spread on the bed of newlywed couples, so there must be something special about them.

To feel like a cupid bouncing off the clouds, no need to travel to Asia for an authentic experience. In Wai Thai spa in Kyiv's center, real Thailanders will dress you in a linen robe and recite a prayer to Buddha’s doctor, who apparently invented the legendary Thai massage. As you lay on a firm mattress, a masseur will draw the so-called “sen” energy lines on your body with his hands, elbows or feet. Warm herbs, peelings and wraps should work magic against skin problems, muscle aches, cellulite and stress.

Hair magic

And finally, washing your hair with a shampoo just does not cut it any more. At Diva Spa, experts start with Moroccan clay to cleanse and nourish the scalp. For radiance and protection, they use shea butter masks and finish a ritual with a “bride’s elixir” made of orange and rose petals for Hr 250.

There are also honey wraps, wine spas, and volcanic stones – all intended to make you feel light and natural. Some of them you can even replicate at home to break a daily shower routine.