ROSIE GREEN SPA STRUCK

National Spa Week may be a marketeer’s ploy, but mercifully we have moved on from the days of giant paper pants and cricked necks

Spas, like Cristal and 600-thread count bed sheets, used to be the preserve of the “have yachts”. Not anymore. Booking in, donning paper pants, knowing our Swedish from our Shiatsu, choosing between facial sandblasting, sorry dermabrasion, or vaginal steaming (OK maybe not the latter) is now a commonplace activity. Women, men, children, pets, we’re all at it.

If you need proof that spas are firmly lodged in the nation’s psyche, they now have their own celebratory week sandwiched between National Kissing day and Pension Awareness day.

But back to National Spa Week. An idea surely dreamt up by a public relations person in an effort to get press for their client’s business. It obviously worked (courtesy mention to Spabreaks.com, official booking partner of the UK Spa Association’s National Spa Week, who are offering some serious discounts and day spa package deals for the dates

Sept 10-17).

As well as the discounts on offer, apparently the feeling of September makes us more predisposed to spa-ing too. Pinterest has done a whole load of research about how the

“back to school” vibe of September makes us grown-ups want to make positive lifestyle shifts (I’ll take some new pencils too, though, please).

They call it “back to life”. In 2018, instead of buying new boots or seasonal cushions, their research shows people are looking to balance their chi. Or at least blitz their sun-induced pigmentation. Over half of Britons interviewed agreed that the end of summer gave them the impetus to make small lifestyle tweaks. If that includes booking in for more treatments, then thank God spas have moved on from the Eighties and Nineties. I remember 20 years ago, when my aunt was given an aromatherapy massage voucher from my cousins. She practically hyperventilated, as if it was the slippery slope to witchcraft. Now I suspect she’d be overjoyed. The past 20 years have seen these significant improvements. intuitive, no?). In posh places you’ll be staring down at a flower bud floating in a vase. In not-so-posh places it’ll be the therapist’s toes. In very unposh places it’ll be the toenail clippings of the last pedicure customer. Downside – the older you are, the longer those towel impressions on your forehead will last. go to dinner looking like one of the cast of Shameless/ Orcs from Middle-earth, so now they ask before they use oil in your head massage. known for boosting participants’ wellness. Until now. The Miraggio Thermal Spa resort in Halkidiki is appealing to hens that want to look and feel better, rather than worse, after their getaway. For Insta brides who don’t want to ruin their hardwon gym body, they promise healthy food, a thermal spa, a salon to gather in for manis and pedis, plus group yoga, PT and aqua spinning sessions. Look for ‘Beauty Luxury Package’ at miraggio.gr/en

So go on book in! Enjoy. Just don’t put those paper pants on your head.

Follow Rosie Green on Instagram @lifesrosie

Oil magnet: now an optional extra