OCEANS OF CALM
Our beauty editor puts Thalgo’s ocean-inspired treatment to the test
If winter has been harsh on your skin, @Sandton Spa’s restorative treatments are the SOS you need. Nestled in the trendy @Sandton Hotel in Benmore Gardens, Johannesburg, the outlet stocks various treatments from skincare brand Thalgo, which uses the ocean’s power, in particular algae, to re-energise the body and skin.
The luxurious Joyaux Atlantique is a must-try as it harnesses the revitalising powers of the Atlantic Ocean (minus its bone-chilling cold), combining it with marine stones and rock crystals to heal mind, body and spirit.
FIRST IMPRESSIONS
With a serene atmosphere fashioned with leafy motifs, calming greens, blues and light woods, it’s easy to relax as soon as you enter, even though the spa is in a busy hotel. After filling in the mandatory forms, the therapist guides you to the locker rooms to change into a robe. Come prepared to have every surface of your skin treated and yes, we suggest you take the therapist’s advice and don the disposable underwear and shower cap.
THE EXPERIENCE
Having a big event lined up, I was happy to know I was in for a two-hour head-to-toe experience. The first half of the treatment is semi-hands-free and requires you to rinse off or apply products to yourself.
The therapist starts with a welcome ceremony which entails cleansing the feet and some tension-releasing breathing. The skin is then prepped with an oily, olivine extract balm.
Once the balm has been applied to your entire body, you head to the sauna for about 30 minutes to help the product seep into the skin. As you sweat, the oil balm emulsifies. Thereafter, it is rinsed off, leaving your skin feeling unbelievably silky.
Part two involves the therapist massaging your body with a pink sand scrub containing white quartz crystals. This gently exfoliates the skin, ridding it of dead cells. After another shower to rinse it off, you are ready for the final part of the treatment.
The treatment room is fragranced with a relaxing fruity-floral spray while you lie on the bed breathing deeply. The therapist then performs a 60-minute fullbody massage using lithotherapy and marine crystals to gently work out tension, reinvigorate and heal the body. The treatment ends with relaxation in the lounge with a warm cup of Thalgo Les Infus’Oceanes Silhouette organic herbal infusion, packed with brown algae and green tea.
THE VERDICT
At first, the treatment may not seem relaxing as it doesn’t immediately start on the massage bed, but overall, it is. Despite applying and rinsing off products, it is unbelievably calming.
Having that 30 minutes in the steam room while the skin absorbs the balm also allows you time to settle into your treatment, calm down and self-reflect in quiet tranquillity. The combination of the steam, star-like lights and ambient blue lighting is very calming and seems to slow down the body and mind.
The use of different textures (balm, sand scrub and massage oil) is not only sensorial, but leaves the skin feeling super-soft, smooth and polished — and that feeling can last up to three days.
The treatment is highly recommended before big events or a holiday, when you need your skin to look and feel amazing, or at the end of winter to slough off dry cells in preparation for summer.