Bali Kopi Scrub

If you swoon when you pass a city coffee bar, imagine that smell for a full 45 minutes while the most fragrant of blends is smothered all over your body. Admittedly this coffee body scrub was only recently invented to cater for our addiction to the aroma of freshly ground beans. In Indonesia, where this scrub is offered, people stick to drinking the stuff, less as an excuse to sit and chat and more to give them energy while they work.

This scrub, rougher than some and ideal for male skin, is offered at all Mandara Spas (at The Chedi, lbah, Bali Padma and Nikko in Bali), the Novotel in Lombok and Malaysia's The Datai) according to this recipe.

Ingredients
200 gms (6 oz) Balinese coffee beans, ground
40 gms (3 tbsp) kaolin clay (or cosmetic clay available at health shops)
pinch ground pumice stone (optional)
1/4 kilo (1/2 lb carrots, grated or blended
10 gms (1 tsp) gelatin, already set (optional)

Steps
1. Balinese coffee is the most fragrant of all Indonesian varieties, but you can substitute this for your favourite blend. Crush the dried beans quite finely and mix with the kaolin clay and ground pumice. Add a splash of water.
2. Rub over the entire body, later rubbing more vigorously so that the mixture sloughs off.
3. Rub the carrot, which can be mixed with the gelatin for easier application, into your body to replenish any lost moisture during the exfoliation process.
4. Shower and moisturize.

Papaya Body Polish

This erotic-sounding elixir has become synonymous with TheOriental Spa in Bangkok. Around the world people talk with titillation about their pureed papaya, smeared into all the body crevices which are left to sweat under a plastic sheet. Papaya contains certain enzymes, biochemically known as papain (it is used as a meat tenderizer) which soften and revitalize the skin when absorbed. The papain also settles the stomach, making it one of the best things to eat for all upset tummy. It is also perfect as baby food.

At home use ready-to-eat rather than unripe papaya (as the acid is too strong), puree it and spread it everywhere, without rubbing. Allow your body to sweat by rolling yourself up in a plastic for 20 minutes. Wash off and feel the results!

Just as Cleopatra used to bathe in sour milk to keep her skin smooth, tropical Asian women daub mashed, ripe around their eyes to keep their wrinkles at bay. Due to the fruit’s mild exfoliating properties, the skin loses a layer and wrinkles appear less noticeable. The enzyme contained in papaya works like an alpha hydroxy acid (a natural fruit acid that acts to remove the flaking cells on the skin's surface) without the tendency to cause skin irritation.

Coconut Body Glow for Sensitive Skin

Some 60-70 percent of women believe they have sensitive skin; if you fall into this category, try one of nature's treats: freshly shredded young coconut (rich in nutrients but not over-abrasive). The Mandara Spa at The Chedi in Bali offers this scrub using nutritious coconuts from Sulawesi.

Ingredients
half young coconut, freshly grated
1/4 tsp turmeric powder (or 1 cm tumeric root,grated)
1/4 kilo (1/2 lb) carrots, grated or blended
2 tbsp gelatin, already set

Steps
1. Mix the freshly grated coconut with the turmeric (the latter is used for its cleansing properties and high vitamin C content).
2. Gently rub the mixture all over your body.
3. Leave for- five minutes and wipe off with a wet, warm cloth.
4. Mix the carrot and gelatin and apply to the skin. This adds conditioning nutrients to the skin after the exfoliating process.

Mandi Kemiri for Mature Skin

If your skin tends to be a bit rough and leathery, you'll go nuts for a Mandi Kemiri, which literally leaves it glowing and feeling like silk. The pale, round keimiri or candlenut oozes so much oil that when crushed, it both exfoliates and deeply moisturizes the body. This luxuriant skin scrub is exclusively offered at jamu Body Treatments in Jakarta and Jamu Traditional Spa, Kuta, Bali.

Ingredients

10 pieces peeled candlenuts

a few shavings galangal (can substitute with ginger or omit)

Steps

1. Grind the nuts coarsely in a pestle and mortar and add the white ginger so that the mixture looks and smells vaguely like crunchy peanut butter.

2. Rub gently over the entire body and then rub harder with the palm of your hand. The nut oil extracts dirt from the skin's pores so that when the scrub sloughs off with rubbing, the granules, which started out as a taupe colour, have turned dark with dirt.

3. Rinse under the shower. If you like the oily feeling on the skin, which is neither heavy nor clogging, don't use soap. Enjoy the lingering nutty aroma.

Thai Herbal Wrap

Enjoy this soft and aromatic body wrap only in 'Thailand where the healing properties of the country's mineral-rich mud remain both a mystery and a secret. For a particularly seductive herbal wrap, which looks and smells more suitable for the dinner table than the body, visit The Oriental Spa, Bangkok. Here the hotel chef mixes a closely guarded recipe of white Thai mud, milk and turmeric, herbs and sesame oil which smells divine and feels soft and silky when applied to the skin.

Your body is wrapped in a plastic sheet, topped with towels while the creamy Thai mud concoction draws out any infection and impurities from the body and heals blemishes on the skin's surface. After perspiring gently for 20 minutes, take a shower, pat dry and feel the smooth, satin texture of your skin. There is no need to moisturize.

Alternatively the magic mud mixture used for the wrap at Chiva-Som (opposite) is dark and viscous like treacle. It feels warm and velvety on the skin and likewise is applied over the entire body, which is wrapped in a plastic sheet and covered with towels. This mud comes from the north of the country and is mixed with turmeric, marjoram and natural spring water.

Cucumber Wrap for Sunburnt Skin

Feel the heat seep out of your sunburnt body using cucumber and essential oils. The best Cucumber Cooling Wrap is offered at the spa at bali hyatt. here's their recipe.

Ingredients

2 kilos (4 lb) cucumbers, plus skin and pips, whizzed in a blender

2 drops lavender oil

2 drops tea tree oil

2 drops camomile oil

Steps

1. Cover your body with the cucumber mixed with the essential oils.

2. Wrap the body in a gauze or cotton sheet; leave for 30 minutes.

The cucumber feels cool on tender skin and you can sense the heat being drawn out of your body.

3. Cucumber leaves the skin soft, so moisturizing afterwards is optional.

Volcanic Clay Body Scrub for Cellulite

Sadly there is no quick fix for beating that orange peel look that decorates the thighs of 95 percent of women. Improved diet, drinking water, dry skin brushing, swimming and yoga all help. And luckily the volcanic island of Bali is home to mineral-rich clays, which seep into the skin to break down those fat cells that are packed in a mattress effect underneath.

25 gms (2 tbsp) Balinese clay (or any clay with purifying properties)
30 gms (2 tbsp) sea salt
water

Steps
1. Mix ingredients together, adding a little water to make a light paste.
2. Wipe cursorily over entire body. It leaves a thin, white film and feels prickly as it penetrates the skin.
3. Once the paste is dry, rub the skin so that it is sloughed away.
4. Shower and massage. The best essential oils for cellulite are nutmeg and rose. Add a few drops to a carrier oil or your favourite body cream, and apply liberally.