World’s strangest spa treatments

Lava shell therapy

Now, this was novel. Everyone does hot-stone massages; they’ve become cliché. But at the Viceroy Zihuatanejo in Mexico, clients may be caressed by tiger-striped clam shells that, when heated, inspire relaxation through a combination of minerals, sea kelp, algae and salt water. The pairs of shells are bonded together and polished, so don’t worry about sharp edges. I predict that the firmness, smoothness and visual beauty of the shells will make them popular implements among the spa set.

(Photo: Drew Limsky)

Thai massage

Virgins to this treatment will be surprised that you don’t disrobe. You’re moved around way too much for that, and even the most diligent “draping” in the world wouldn’t prevent your modesty from being compromised. Come armed with loose clothing and a sense of adventure — this isn’t your father’s massage.

Like many, the Fairmont Scottsdale’s Thai massage takes place on a futon mat on the floor, where the specially trained therapist literally uses his or her entire body to stretch your muscles and move you into various twisty yoga-like positions. Surprisingly, I found it as satisfying as traditional massage.

(Photo: Tara Angkor Hotel / Flickr)

Watsu

Though it sounds ancient, this shiatsu water massage treatment was created in the 1980s in Northern California’s (clothing-optional) Harbin Hot Springs, where body-temperature pools are set under a moonscape of geodesic domes. The treatment is intimate, incredibly nurturing and unbelievably relaxing. I’ve also experienced the therapy at Calistoga Ranch in Napa Valley (where it’s called Healing Water Massage) and inside a lava tube at the Mauna Lani resort on the Big Island, Hawaii.

Note that your face is never submerged unless you attempt a more advanced type of watsu called waterdance, where nose clips are provided for the underwater movements (it’s awesome). Men usually require floatation bands on their legs.

(Photo: teammarche / Flickr)

Mud bath

There are many versions of this, so many that it’s prudent to ask a lot of questions about exactly what you’re getting. There are what I call mud baths “light”: self-administered experiences in which you or someone else spreads mud all over your body. In nature, this is practiced in such locales as Israel’s Dead Sea.

In a spa, it’s typically combined with time in a heated room and a soak in mineral water bath. The Mudslide — the ultra-relaxing, non-icky treatment at Solage Calistoga in Napa Valley, Calif. — is of this genre. If you want to be immersed in hot mud, there are plenty of Napa Valley places to do it, such as at Indian Springs Resort & Spa, courtesy of its Volcanic Ash Mudbath. I lasted 10 minutes and was scrubbing mud out from under my nails for a half hour.

(Photo: Leonardo Shinagawa / Flickr)

Pumpkin peel

In late fall, pumpkins are in every field and on every doorstep. But what goes on with the pumpkins inside the Ritz-Carlton Half Moon Bay, just south of San Francisco, is more unusual. The resort offers a yam and pumpkin enzyme peel that, it boasts, safely removes 16 layers of skin. (My limit is usually 12.) The vitamins A and C are said to help with hyper-pigmentation and fine lines. The pumpkin masque is less of a commitment: this hydrating treatment removes only one to two skin layers.

(Photo: Ritz-Carlton Half Moon Bay)

Moxibustion

I was a little wary when I signed up for a session of this Chinese therapy at La Samanna, an oceanfront resort in St. Martin, but just a little. I was promised that these burning mugwort sticks wouldn’t actually make contact with my skin. This is known as “indirect moxibustion” (yes, there are direct forms, but you’re unlikely to find them in a resort setting on the Caribbean).

Sometimes moxa is practiced in conjunction with acupuncture needles, but for my treatment, it was just the “cigars.” Nevertheless, as the burning sticks were placed near my skin, I felt a giddy, tingly sense of well-being.

(Photo: Bruce / Flickr)

Cupping

Jennifer Aniston, Gwyneth Paltrow and Victoria Beckham have shown up in public with the telltale signs of this age-old practice on their backs. Cupping involves suction: bells or glass cups are heated, then applied to the skin where suction holds them in place, ostensibly to salubrious effect.

If your research describes “wet” cupping (i.e. where blood is involved), never fear. I experienced the “dry” (bloodless) cupping, and that was exotic enough for me. I found the treatment oddly pleasurable, though it did leave marks that made me look like a mugging victim — or a movie star. The acquired taste is fairly rare among hotel spas, but Canyon Ranch Las Vegas lists it on its spa menu.

(Photo: Bruce / Flickr)

Olive branch massage

I thought I’d had my fill of organic spa treatments. But at the Mizpe Hayamim spa in Israel’s eastern Galilee, the bountiful farm breakfast that includes 10 different of bowls of delicious white stuff — all manner of yoghurts, cheeses and spreads — was so outrageously good that I put myself in their hands. I inspected the smoothly carved branches before things got going and remained dubious, but 15 minutes in, as the therapist worked pure olive oil into my skin with the six-inch pieces of olive wood, I was loving it.

(Photo: Jordi Payà / Flickr)