Forget a nice pedicure or a simple shoulder massage...
Here are five of the most wonderfully weird spa treatments on the face of the planet.
1. The Spa That Slithers:
Ada Barak’s Carnivorous Plant Farm, Talmei Elazar, Israel
Creativecommons.org/TheReptilarium
Snakes. Why’d it have to be snakes?” If you fear our reptilian friends as much as Indiana Jones, then this spa treatment may not for you.
The snake massage at Ada Barak's Northern Israel spa does in fact use snakes – all kinds of snakes – from small milk snakes, which give a relaxing massage, to large corn and king snakes that provide a deep and penetrating massage.
Barak says that she discovered the therapeutic value of snakes after letting people hold them. So lie back, relax and allow Barak will to watch over you as the creatures writhe along your back, legs, stomach, hair — even your face. The non-venomous snakes are supposed to ease aches and pains… if you can relax.
And what better place to relax than a “Carnivorous Plant Farm”? I can almost feel my stresses melting away already...
2. Mmmm... Lagery Goodness:
A Beer Bath At The Chodovar Family Brewery, Chodova Plana, Czech Republic
A nice long soak in a bath really is one of the best ways to relax. What could be better? Well, you could add a load of beer into the mix for a start.
At Chodovar Brewery, active beer yeast, hops and a mixture of dried crushed herbs are heated to 34 degrees and poured into a bathtub. The bubbly brew apparently exfoliates, revitalizes and detoxifies the skin and is beneficial to the muscles, joints and immune system.
While you’re soaking up the mineral properties of foamy beer bubbles, treat yourself to a pint of natural non-pasteurised Chodovar, which is believed to have a positive effect on the digestive system. Just don’t be tempted to drink it straight from the bath!
3. Consider Yourself Lucky:
Bird-Poo Facial At The Hotel Wailea Spa, Maui, Hawaii
Creativecommons.org/Feroze Omardeen
“Uguisu no fun” – which translates as “nightingale powder” in Japanese – is also known as the bird poop facial or Geisha Facial. Nightingale-poop to be precise.
Uguisu no fun has been used in Japan throughout the centuries by geishas and kabuki actors to get rid of heavy make-up. This 80-minute treatment is said to bleach the skin and fade scars, cleanse pores and heal and revitalize sun damaged skin.
If you are picturing Tippy Hedren with birds pecking at her face, think again, as this bird poop is thankfully treated and ground into a fine powder before being mixed with water to achieve the relaxing facial that stars like Tom Cruise, Oprah and Victoria Beckham are all flocking to swear by.
Yep, that’s because mixing untreated bird poop with water would just be plain gross.
4. ET Phone Home:
Sound Bath, Integratron, Landers, California
Creativecommons.org/Edward stojakovic
Created by author, inventor and controversial UFO advocate George Van Tassel, the Integratron is a strange white-domed building found in the middle of California’s Mojave Desert.
It was apparently designed on a powerful geomagnetic vortex that was inspired by an alien visit and it’s described as a “resonant tabernacle and energy machine” – a wood dome that was designed to be an electrostatic generator for the purpose of rejuvenation and time travel.
Even stranger than that is the facility’s sonic-healing “sound bath”, which claims to be capable of rejuvenation, anti-gravity and time travel.
While relaxing on the floor of the dome, music from multiple quartz crystal singing bowls bounce around the room creating a relaxing and spiritual atmosphere. The result? Apparently visitors experience “waves of peace, heightened awareness and relaxation of the mind and body”. And all for just $20.
5. Vampire Facelift:
Prasad Medi Spa & Cosmetic Surgery In Manhattan & Garden City, Long Island
The Vampire Facelift – although not technically a facelift – gets its name from the actual process of drawing blood from victims – erm, sorry, I mean “clients” – which is then spun in a centrifuge then re-injected into their faces.
Heavens above.
And if you’re feeling just a little vampish, perhaps opt for the less-invasive Vampire Facial, which doesn’t actually include any injections with a syringe. Instead PRP – that’s Platelet Rich Plasma to you and I – is simply spread over the skin and the fine needles of a micro needle device create “entry pores” to the top layers of the skin. Consider this treatment to be “Vampire-Lite”.