Some of us take the practice of looking and feeling good to extreme measures. We have all seen friends and relatives walking around the house with their faces covered in a slimy green substance in the vain hope of looking ten years younger, or heard tales of people bathing in mud with a view to improving their skin. Some of us may find it more incomprehensible that their wives or girlfriends swear by a put of gunk costing the same as a small second-hand car to hydrate their skin. All this pales into insignificance however when we shop around for some truly outlandish beauty treatments. Around the globe all manner of sickening substances and creepy crawlies are alleged to help men and women edge ever closer to health nirvana, here are my top five:
1.Leeching off you
This involves sitting in a vat of water with hundreds of slithery black leeches swimming around in it. The Leeches have around 100 teeth which they use to gently bite the skin, their saliva contains anti-clotting, painkilling and antiseptic enzymes, all believed to improve circulation.
2. Beer Baths
This does exactly what it says on the tin, a 43C bath full of real ale accompanied with a massage is reputed to relieve muscle tension and boost the immune system. Just don’t drink the bath water!
3. Tequila Therapy
Remaining on an alcoholic theme, this age-old Mexican treatment involves having agave pulque (a close relative of Tequila) applied to the skin with the spines of a cactus plant. Ouch!
4. Ice Ice Baby
This may sound somewhat alien to us Brits who seem to be on a constant mission to warm ourselves up, but an Ice spa is available in Las Vegas to allow dessert dwellers to escape the heat. The temperature in the spa stays at 12C as snow flake fall from the ceiling. What a great way to chill out!
5. Slippery Customers
This one is not for the faint-hearted, in south-east Asia snakes are substituted for humans in the practice of massage. Nerves of steel are a must!
So there we have it, five unique treatments to turn your luxury spa breaks into an adventure into the unknown!