Alkaline Spa - the ultimate in luxury detox

I love massages. Love 'em. If I could have a massage every day I would (Fiance: hint hint). Being quite the connoisseur, I feel qualified to say there are good massages, great massages, and terrible massages. Perfect pressure - good. Too much oil - bad. Long, even strokes - good. Scratchy fingernails - bad. Heated bed - oh so good. Feeling uncomfortable because the therapist doesn't respect your personal boundaries - oh so bad.

Swoon!

I was invited to visit Alkaline Spa in Potts Point last week to experience their signature Alkaline Detox Massage. Sounds amazing, right - a massage that will detox me. The premise of Alkaline Spa & Clinic is a holistic approach to health - they focus on overall health and wellbeing with a combination of naturopathy, colon cleansing, Omnilux, nutrition, massage and spa treatments. The insides are just as much a priority as the outsides.

This is all well and good, but I wanted to understand what exactly made it so detox-ing. Thankfully my therapist Zara was a fountain of knowledge (and youth - she had great skin) and she talked me through exactly what she was doing.

Image courtesy of Alkaline

1 - Feet wiped over with a hot towel. Most massages start this way, and I have a pavlovian response to it these days - it always signifies that heaven is on the way.

2 - Three deep breathes of eucalyptus oil. Eucalyptus is incredibly uplifting and energising, as well as anti-bacterial, so this action has two purposes.

3 - Dry body brushing. Not only does it remove dead skin cells to keep skin smooth, but it improves circulation, releases toxins and helps with lymphatic drainage. Make sure if you dry body brush at home that you always start at the end of your extremities and stroke the brush towards the heart.

4 - Lymphatic drainage massage. Alkaline use aromatherapy-based philosophy with the selection of oils for the massage. Lemon uplifts the body and is a gentle exfoliant, it's brightening to the skin and it's also an alkaliser (what a show off). Black pepper is good for digestion and soothing the bowel, plus it warms the muscles. Frankincense detoxifies liver and kidneys, and finally grapefruit brightens the skin. It sounds like a weird combination, but it's a really subtle and elegant scent. This is all worked into the skin through long, rhythmic strokes that work to move fluid and toxins around the lymphatic system, focusing particularly on areas where the glands are, as well as reflexology pressure points (there are key spots on the feet that stimulate the liver and kidney, so I enjoyed quite an amazing foot massage). The idea of a lymphatic massage is to reduce blockages in the lymphatic system, which makes for a healthier body.

5 - Three more deep breathes of eucalyptus oil to refresh the mind before having to get dressed and face the rest of the day.

Image courtesy of Alkaline

While you can't necessarily do you own lymphatic massage (gosh I wish I could though), you can put elements of this amazing treatment into your everyday life. A bit of dry brushing before a shower (I got m brush for about $20 at Priceline), some frankincense massaged into the stomach, perhaps a sniff of eucalyptus before a big meeting to clear the mind. Or you could just visit the salon, either/or.

Alkaline Signature Detox Massage
Price: $130 for 75 minutes
From: Alkaline Spa & Clinic - Shop 7, 91 Macleay St, Potts Point NSW 2011
Why you need it: To flush the toxins out and refresh your body. Plus it feels good.

This treatment was offered to Stuff That I Bought or consideration - for more details see our disclosure policy
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