multi-tasking spa products

By: kyle roderick

TABLE OF CONTENTS

use less, get more

I don’t know about you, but when I am deciding whether to spend my hard-earned cash on the myriad of personal care products that are out there, I think about lots more than groovy packaging. Cost-conscious, multi-tasking chick that I am, I constantly ask myself: apart from smelling like paradise and looking great on the shelf, will this product serve more than one purpose in my time-crunched, low-budget, but beautiful life?

In most cases, it won’t. But in some lucky-star convergences, it will. This is good news, because I don’t have the time or money to cultivate a forest of hair care bottles and/or a curio cabinet of skin products. Herewith is a guide to the best multi-tasking spa products and where to find them. 

1. Imagine a lemony shampoo and body wash that’s also an excellent cleanser for lingerie and fine washables. Women and men love it; children are at risk of using mass quantities because it smells so uplifting. Containing botanical extracts, Golden Door Citrus Fresh Drops leaves skin feeling soft and never dry. Its price is justified by the fact that it is the most versatile and effective spa product I have ever used. Also important: it suits even sensitive skins. Besides saving space in your travel bag and helping you clean everything except your teeth, Citrus Fresh Drops will also look great on your shelf. – goldendoorskincare.com.

2. If you are on the fence about whether aromatherapy can heal anyone, least of all you, check out the bedroom spray/cologne/air freshener Lavender Pillow Bliss from find-bliss.com. A blend of three high-grade lavender oils, this spray can change your sleep and dream patterns for the better. (Recent research from the Smell and Taste Treatment and Research Foundation in Chicago, Illinois confirms that lavender promotes relaxation by positively affecting the occipital lobes in the back of the brain. Lavender helps speed up sleep onset as well as the time it takes to start dreaming your first dream.  

3. The Detox Kit (hayhouse.com) by Jane Alexander encompasses a bevy of spa regimens fairly bursting out of it turquoise box. The kit contains a natural bristle body brush, expert-blended detox aromatherapy oil, delicious detox tea, daily detox cards plus affirmation cards to help reprogram your mind/body/emotions.  There are plans in here for two-week detoxes, Ayurvedic cleansing, and even a “cheater’s detox” for those who dig a party as much as they dig purity.

4. Want a perfume, relaxation balm and moisturizer all in one? You’ve got it in Buddha Nose Bodhi Balm. This organic and wild-crafted essential oil balm exudes  floral and woodsy spirits. Rub this soothing stuff on computer-thrashed wrists or the back of your neck. Love bomb your tension headaches and scent your temples with it, or rub it into your lower back for pain relief. Made with love by New York shiatsu therapist Amy Galper – buddhanose.com

5. Although it smells good enough to eat, resist the urge. Instead, use Pure Fiji Coconut Exotic Bath & Body Massage Oil for bath oil, as an all-over body moisturizer, or as a hair conditioner. (I also use it on my face, which is normal to dry.)  This tropically perfumed product is a unique blend of cold-pressed, natural oils that closely resemble the skin’s naturally occurring oils. It absorbs quickly and rejuvenates skin. – kinaraspa.com.

6. Evolu Healing Lip Treatment: it’s a lip balm, a moisturizer, a cuticle cream…I even used it once to heal a burned thumb sustained during a holiday baking marathon. (It spared me from blistering.) Leave it to ingenious New Zealanders to invent a multi-tasking lip balm, which contains anti-bacterial Manuka Honey and fragrant notes of New Zealand clean and green essential oils. Check this out and the whole Evolu line at evolu.com.

7. Despite the fact that there are thousands of shampoos on the market, it is difficult to find a chemical-free shampoo that cleans and conditions hair/scalp with style and scent. But Fauna shampoo with tea tree oil and lavender essential oil does just this – and is a bona fide dandruff shampoo that leaves hair looking and feeling as clean as a spring breeze. Fauna shampoo is sublime for shampooing you, your partner, your kids and even the family dog. Fauna owner/founder Renee Garracochea invented the shampoo for people and their pets, so they could shampoo with fresh and non-toxic flair. – faunapet.com 

8. Saving space and saving time are two 21st century obsessions.Spa Claremont Noni Face and Body Mist services these by working as a facial toner, uplifting office spray and jet lag recovery mist. I also spray it on the sheets before climbing into bed. On stuffy autumn and winter days, I have been known to spritz this tropical fresh spray on my clothes to make them smell like spring. 

9. The British-based spa line Elemis runs several eponymous upmarket spas around the world. They also make superb spa products, namely, the Elemis Sin Nourishing Milk Bath. Suitable for all skin types, but especially fine for sensitive and dry skins, I use this as a milk bath, skin cleanser, dry skin lotion, scalp and hair conditioner. Order it from Elemis Spa at Mohegan Sun – mohegansun.com

10. We all need to meditate; we all need to feel loved, and we also need to breathe clearly and smell like gods and goddesses. The people at Anakiri understand these urgent matters very well. Their organic Aromachord Connecting Essential Oil Blend fosters meditative clarity. And it is delicious as a unisex scent.  Connecting also works as a brilliant head cold or sinus clearing steam when a few drops are boiled in water. Just make a tent with a bath towel over your head and you’ve got a stovetop spa. $24 for 10 ml. and worth every penny. – anakiri.com 

Spahhhhhhhhhh. Now you know what the best multi-tasking products do and where to get them…good luck with these and may you make more serendipitous spa product discoveries. 

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