The winter season can be especially harsh to your skin and face. Moisturizing your face, body and especially your lips and hands becomes a necessity for comfort. Avoiding the signs that your body needs to be hydrated can cause skin to become irritated and cracked. We can address our bodies’ needs by re-hydrating with various types of moisturizers specific to our different body parts. In addition, there are also spa services that can assist by refreshing your skin and allowing it to better accept and hold in the much-needed moisture.
Body and Face Exfoliation Products and Services
You may notice that, although you put lotion on your skin, it still feels dry. As we look at our cracked elbows and flaky lips, we wonder how many times we can possibly apply moisturizing products to them.
Healthy blood circulation allows your skin to constantly renew itself and generate new skin cells. As our old cells die off, the dead skin cells collect at the surface. Our blood circulation tends to slow down as we age, therefore, we may notice that new skin cells are not being produced as quickly as they were in our younger years. This collection of dead skin cells is what gives us a dry and dull appearance.
Exfoliation products and services help refine your skin texture by removing dead skin cells. Body exfoliation services help make your body glow, giving you a refreshed look and feeling while increasing your blood circulation to help balance dry skin. The removal of dead skin cells allows moisturizing products to better penetrate your skin for smoother and softer results. 
Exfoliation products and services which aid in the removal of dead skin cells include body polishes, sea salts, scrubs and seaweed masques. Products and services using peels or microdermabrasion techniques should be well understood before receiving such services or using these more abrasive products. You want to make sure that the peels and/or microdermabrasion are not removing too many cells, sacrificing new skin cells. When gently sloughing the skin, natural products combined with the manual service provide the safest way to approach a more rejuvenated look and feel.
Exfoliation services can be rather pampering when performed in a Vichy shower room. The majority of exfoliation services call for the individual to jump in a shower to rinse off the product that was used. This type of shower room provides an uninterrupted service as the product is rinsed off with a waterfall approach. A Vichy shower is an invigorating and therapeutic water massage with many benefits. During this relaxing service, you lie down on a waterproof massage table in a completely tiled room as several showerheads cascade over your body.
Body Wrap Services
Imagine being cocooned in warm blankets as your body indulges in moisture which is absorbed by your skin. Body wraps are great treatments, helping to soften and hydrate your skin. During this service, your skin is normally exfoliated and smoothed, followed by a period of time where your body is allowed to absorb the aromas and lotions that are used. This service is ideal during the winter months when skin is driest.
Some body wraps claim to help you lose weight, but this is not a miracle service which causes permanent weight loss. Any weight loss that is claimed through body wraps is a loss of water weight. When people are cocooned in warm sheets or blankets, their body may perspire; therefore, water weight is being lost through heat. This is the same response your body would have while in a sauna. Alas, in the spa world, the body wrap does not allow this weight loss claim to be made. TPW
Paola Hinton is the owner of Five Senses Spa and Salon, Peoria’s first full-service spa and salon for men and women. Their staff is trained by Aveda specialist in the latest hair, nails and spa trends. Five Senses is located in the Jones Bros. Plaza at the Shoppes at Grand Prairie and online at www.FiveSensesSpaAndSalon.com.