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H is for... Hammam, Hellerwork, holistic, hydrotherapy and more.
Hair removalHammam
Heat treatment
Hellerwork
Herbal bath
Holistic
Hot poultice
Hot stone massage
Hot tub
Hydration
Hydrotherapy
Hair removal
Pretty self-explanatory. There are various ways of removing hair you don't want to be there, along a spectrum featuring: discomfort > inconvenience > mess >pain.
All of the options for hair removal are vastly improved experiences when carried out by a third party in a professional establishment, particularly if you can follow the hair removal with a soothing body treatment, massage or water therapy.
Different types of hair removal
Depilatory creams and foams: The coward's first port of call, seeming like the gentlest option. But:
* leave it on for too short a time and you'll have almost as much hair as you started with
* leave it on for the right amount of time, which, incidentally, depends on your skin and the type of hair you have as much as the producer's recommendations, and you may still have some stragglers that you have to pluck
* leave it on too long and you may get minor burns.
Electrolysis: Electrolysis removes hair and discourages it from growing back so quickly. But it does involve mild electricity, a lot of patience and accuracy. Electrolysis is effective but very time-consuming and potentially expensive.
Light/laser therapy: The most hi-tech option, this procedure definitely falls into the pseudo-medical category, as it involves a full consultation, a doctor on site and in many cases the wearing of goggles by you and the person carrying out the treatment. It isn't cheap and it is very time-consuming but should give you permanent hair removal.
Plucking: In the category of "mild discomfort", plucking is usually only feasible for eyebrows and stragglers, as it's time-consuming and a bit tricky.
Shaving: Shaving is an effective but short-term solution. For women, shaving should only be carried out on legs, and underarm, never on the face. For men, the opposite is true. Only ever to be carried out with care, cream and a high-quality razor.
Sugaring: This sweet-sounding option is similar to waxing but the sugar applied is cooler and sticks to your hair more than your skin so is more comfortable. Some say it is ultimately less effective than waxing, but a good "sugarer" will do as good a job for less pain, and that can't be a bad thing.
Waxing: The most effective means of removing hair, it is also (in what we'll describe simply as "some areas') the most painful. It is many people's chosen method of holiday hair removal as you can depend on it lasting for a few weeks without embarrassing regrowth. You have a choice of hot and cold, molten and glue-like strips and, probably, spatulas: some to apply the wax and another to bite down on hard during the procedure to prevent you from crying out.
See also: Electrolysis; Sugaring; Waxing
Read more about Hair Removal here
Hammam
A hammam can be either one tiled steam room, or a suite of steam rooms and pools for communal use. In UK spa-terms, "hammam" usually describes a single room, with central water taps, and recessed bench-seats, decorated in blue, silver and gold-tinged tiles in the style of the Turkish Ottoman bath. They are often referred to as "chambers" (serail mud chamber, for example) but don't be alarmed; they are more like exotic luxurious grottos.
In a more traditional Turkish hammam, you will find many different rooms and chambers, each offering different water-based benefits. There is often a proposed order for using the facilities to gain maximum benefit. Your visit may include a luxurious and rigorous soap-wash, and a short massage with essential oils.
Part of community facilities, a trip to the hammam may well not be viewed as a luxury, and men and women may go relatively often to a hammam to bathe with friends and relatives. A hammam is usually single sex. You can spend the whole day in one of these; it's a great, inexpensive experience if you're on holiday in the right place.
Hammam-style baths can be found not only in Turkey, but also in Arabic, North African and even Eastern countries such as Korea.
Good for: Getting really clean and chilling out in a deeply sensuous environment.
See also: Saunas; Steam rooms; Sweat lodge
Read more about Hammams here
Heat treatment
A heat treatment uses wet or dry heat – in a steam room or sauna respectively – to cleanse, relax and relieve your body of aches and pains. In a steam room, hot wet air is pumped into the room. In a sauna, the heat is dry and either pumped into the room using vents or generated by stones being heated in the room.
Heat treatments can:
* cleanse your skin by opening up the pores and drawing out dirt and toxins
* stimulate your circulation, boosting your immune system and encouraging your body to heal itself of infections and scarring
* remove calcium deposits from the blood vessels and so break down scar tissue
* help shift a cold, opening your airways and helping you breathe more easily, and relieving headaches and sinus problems
* ease back, rheumatic and muscular pain, as the heat warms and soothes the muscles and encourages better mobility in your joints
* relax you, as stress and tension melt away.
Good for: Health and relaxation benefits for your whole body. Strangely, a good way to think about a heat treatment is to compare it with having a fever. A fever is one of your body's natural tools for healing itself. In many ways, heat treatments recreate your body's own natural state of fever, and offer the same benefits. The difference of course is that steam rooms and saunas are a pleasant experience, and you don't have to be ill to use them!
See also: Hammam; Serail; Wrap
Read more about Heat Treatments here
Hellerwork
A series of different spa treatments, each lasting on average about an hour and a half. Developed by Joseph Heller (hence the name), these treatments take a holistic approach to your health, and feature discussions about your lifestyle, diet and general health, as well as deep tissue massage and body work.
Good for: Preventing injury; posture; general health.
See also: Meditation; Pilates; Yoga
Herbal bath
A full-size or foot bath containing herbs and possibly essential oils. As you bathe in hot or tepid water, you breathe in the aromas of whatever has been added.
See also: Steam room; Fangotherapy; Ayurveda
Holistic
A holistic treatment is one which aims to do you good through and through! These are healing therapies that will usually take into account your lifestyle, health, diet and exercise routine, and tailor the treatments to you. Lots of different treatments can therefore come under the banner of "holistic'. Some spas offer holistic health services; this means you may have a health and lifestyle assessment, and receive advice on how to change various aspects of your life to make you feel and look better.
Good for: Launching into a new, healthier, happier you!
See also: Acupressure; Jin Shin Jyutsu; Lomi Lomi
Hot poultice
This is a tightly-packed muslin bag full of aromatic herbs which is heated and used to massage along pulse points on your body during a treatment. It feels similar to stones as it is pressed and rolled along your skin, and is deeply relaxing and unusual. It smells soothing and feels very comforting, and is particularly so when padded onto the soles of your feet and the palms of your hands.
Good for: Relaxation; aromatherapeutic blast.
See also: Aromatherapy; Pressure point; Relaxation massage
Hot stone massage
Also known as thermotherapy, this treatment uses heated (and sometimes cooled) basalt stones laid at strategic points, or rolled along your body to add another dimension to massage. This direct heat relaxes the muscles, which means that the massage itself is more effective and intense than it would be otherwise. The size of the stones varies, according to which part of the body they're being used on. The stones are often coated in fragrant oil to increase your sense of relaxation and calm.
Good for: Hot stones expand the blood vessels; cold ones constrict them. The warm stones sedate the nervous system and the cooler stones gently wake it up again. The combination of relaxing warmth and refreshing coolness is thought to encourage the body to detox and heal, increasing lymph flow and helping to flush out waste. The body becomes relaxed in a much shorter space of time, and the therapist can focus on a deep working of the tissues using both stone and hand strokes. And don't underestimate the feel-good factor. Hot stone massage is popular because it's so relaxing, and will make you feel nurtured, pampered and special.
Note: La Stone Therapy is a brand name for this treatment.
See also: Hot poultice; Heat Treatments; Massage
Read more about Hot Stone Therapy here
Hot tub
Similar to a Jacuzzi except that it is usually made of wood and is more for soaking in than luxuriating. Strictly speaking, not very bubbly.
See also: Pools; Baths; Hydrotherapy
Hydration
Following a spa treatment it is recommended that you drink water and remain hydrated. The manipulation of your muscles during massage, or time spent in thermal suites depletes your body of water and electrolytes. Drinking water helps re-hydrate your cells and can also reduce the potential for soreness or pain in the days following your treatment. Drinking water can also help you "return to earth" following deep relaxation.
Good for: General health; reducing muscle pain; staying alert.
See also: Heat treatment; Massage
Hydrotherapy
A therapeutic whole-body treatment that involves moving and exercising in water – physiotherapy in a pool. Hydrotherapy pools are usually different from ordinary pools – the temperature, pressure and movement of the water is controlled and changed according to who's using the pool, and why. However you could have hydrotherapy in any water or pool as it has a lot to do with movement.
Some spas have a series of hydrotherapy pools – differently powered, heated and treated pools of water where you can have fun, be invigorated or be soothed, depending on what's contained in each one and how the water is moving.
Different types of hydrotherapy
Colonic hydrotherapy: Your basic enema, colon hydrotherapy is carried out with water and is said to really sluice you out and rid you of your toxins, although the real benefits of this procedure are questionable.
Hydro-massage: Powerful jets of water massage you whilst you are in the pool. The jets of water are usually placed at different heights and areas of the pool so that you can use them on specific parts of your body. The water is usually warm, and may also have minerals or essential oils added to introduce another dimension to the massage.
Marine hydrotherapy: A form of thalassotherapy, where jets of salt water are used to massage the body.
Scotch hose/Jet blitz: As it sounds, really! Like the kind of tactic used for crowd dispersal, you pay someone to spray you with a high-pressure hose with hot, cold and in-between temperatures of water. It's supposed to relieve tension.
Good for: Being immersed, buoyant or massaged in water can relieve our bodies in a variety of different ways. Hydrotherapy can help with many physical and emotional complaints, including: back pain, rheumatic pain and arthritis, anxiety and stress, poor circulation, muscle and joint pain, headaches and even neurological conditions such as strokes or brain injuries.
See also: Flotation; Pools; Thalassotherapy
Read more about Hydrotherapy here
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