Need a delicious and thrifty way to thank your bridesmaids for their unselfish dedication to your Big Green Wedding?
How about treating them to a luscious, organic Spa Day. And, if you host the spa day at your place, you can give your bridesmaids the experience of a first class organic indulgence, while keeping the expense within bounds.
If you can afford to, hire a personal masseuse for a few hours or keep it as simple as pedicures, manicures and facials. Among the first considerations (other than your time allotment and budget) are your friend’s personalities. Do they tend to be Super Femmes or Extreme Sport Athletes, or somewhere in the middle? Some people are put off by strong fragrances or have sensitive skin. Those who favor citrus scents don’t tend to like strong flowery smells. Make a list with their likes and dislikes. You can whip up a selection of potions, if your friends fall into two camps.
For food and refreshments, serve a light organic lunch paired with organic, fruity ice teas. (We are all addicted to Republic of Tea Apricot Honey, sweetened with organic raw dark agave. You can serve if hot or iced, depending on time of year.)
For decoration, display the organic cosmetics you make in lovely bowls. The same scrubs and facials can be jarred up in lovely antique containers as gifts for your friends to take home with them. You can go all out crafty here. Consider decorating the room with your presents for each of them. (These can be as extravagant as organic robes, or as personal as bamboo towels bundled together with homemade soaps and your custom potions.) Create ambiance with candles and soothing music or romantic poetry readings.
Have a fondue pot? Make a finishing moisturizer with raw organic shea butter, kept warm and liquid over a low flame. (Be really careful about the temperature!!) You can buy organic, unrefined shea butter, bulk from Nature’s Shea Butter in New Jersey.
There are great recipes for organic facials, scrubs and moisturizers all over the web. Finely ground seasalt and lemon juice make a great scrub — as does sugar and aloe vera gel with some essential oils. Organic almond flour is a classic base for scrubs. Oatmeal calms the skin and sour cream was my mother’s secret for super soft skin. If you have a local farmers market, avacado and cucumbers are great basics for facials.
Supplies: You will need a good blender and an ample selection of bowls and containers to be efficient.
A practical reminder: If you are going to include pedicures, remember to include a good padding of absorbent towels under your decorative spa towels. If you don’t have a stock of old towels you can use, your local Goodwill or hospital resale shop should have an inexpensive selection to choose from. (As any seasoned animal lover or vet tech can attest to!) Recycled, too.
The spa treatment stages are:
1) Exfoliation: Scrubs or African Black Soap. (I dare you to find a dead skin cell on your skin, after a soak and scrub with organic African Black Soap. And I am a red-headed pasty white girl!) It is not the most frilly, feminine soap, but it is amazing. You can buy the real thing here, free-trade:
Salt soaks are especially good for the athletically inclined. I’ve bought bulk supplies from Auntie Godmother at the Hollywood Farmer’s Market for years. (Don’t let the humble website fool you, I’ve seen many a celebrity at her booth.) The Megabath is my favorite. She also has a good selection of floral soaks, which you can also buy bulk.
2) Feeding the Skin: This is when you apply the facials of choice. Foot massage or reflexology is an extra treat.
3) Sealing the nutrients in: Big no-no, any product with petroleum oil. Petro-based oils actually pull moisture from your skin. Nothing is better than raw organic shea butter, or coco butter. You can liquify the shea with warm water, and follow with organic cotton gloves.
After a delectable lunch or light dinner, send your goddesses home with their smell-good presents and they will feel completely well-nourished and well-loved.
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