Must-try treatments, retreats and products for elevated self-care

We could all probably use some self-care to distract us from the world’s troubles right now. Between coping with the non-stop dailyness of our lives (which can be a bit wearying, at times), dealing with seemingly constant challenges to women’s rights — see the aftermath of the overturning of Roe v Wade in the US, for example — and fighting for gender equality, an escape to a haven of relaxation and pampering, whether at home or elsewhere, is somewhat of a necessity.

It may not cure all the world’s problems, but it can certainly help recharge your batteries to fight another day. Whether you’re looking at treating a special person in your life or keeping all the pampering for yourself, these getaways, innovative treatments, and luxurious products set the tone for a month of indulgence.

TREATMENT TO TRY

• WELNAMIS DEEP RELAXATION

If it’s good enough for the Ritz-Carlton and Vogue, it’s good enough for us. The Welnamis Deep Relaxation concept bed — a first of its kind in South Africa and only available at the Cloud 9 Boutique Hotel and Spa in Cape Town — is unlike anything you’ve ever experienced. This futuristic-looking, water-filled bed uses a combination of gentle sound waves, a vibration massage system, and the techniques of meditation and mindfulness to help you achieve deep relaxation; slowing down brain activity and aligning the body’s energies.

If you’re not sleeping well, struggling to relax, or just feeling burnt out, this bed will come as a godsend — you’ll wish you had one at home, all thanks to Binaural Acoustic & Dynamic Stimulation, the computer-controlled acoustic and vibrational therapy used in the Welnamis. Thanks to four settings — stress relief, mindfulness, awareness, and power nap — you can target exactly what your body needs, and then it’s night-night for the next 30 minutes. Amazingly, you’ll feel as though you’ve gotten eight hours of high-quality sleep.

• Welnamis Deep Relaxation, 30 mins, R595 hotelcloudnine.com

SELF-CARE AT HOME

• SPLURGE-WORTHY SKIN PAMPERING

We know this is a bit of an extravagance, but can you really put a price on self-care? When it comes to luxurious at-home pampering, we put our trust in the technologically advanced formulations and impeccable design of La Prairie’s Pure Gold Radiance Nocturnal Balm. This reenergising balm uses texture and massage therapy to enrich your nightly skincare ritual. The design stays true to the brand’s sustainability commitment, with replaceable glass vials and a three-layered vessel housing a marble massage stone, used in the energising ritual to stimulate microcirculation and lymphatic flow.

The balm’s nutrient-rich formula uses La Prairie’s exclusive Pure Gold Diffusion System to help re-energise, strengthen, and restructure devitalised skin.

• La Prairie Pure Gold Radiance Nocturnal Balm 60ml, R21 040.

TREATMENT TO TRY:

• PSAMMOTHERAPY GOLD QUARTZ TREATMENT

If you have 60 minutes to spare, run — don’t walk — to a Psammotherapy Gold Quartz treatment. It is multi-sensorial, luxurious, and holistically transformative, giving your body no option but to sink into total relaxation.

Inspired by the ancient Greeks (psammo is Greek for sand), who used sun-heated sand to treat rheumatic, arthritic, and respiratory conditions, psammotherapy is a thermal treatment that uses gold quartz sand, singing bowls, and traditional massage techniques to encourage balance, harmony, and relaxation. Mimicking the sensation of lying on a sandy beach, the trough-shaped bed is filled with warm gold-quartz sand. The therapist moulds the sand around the contours of your body and elevates your wrists, ankles, and feet on small mounds of quartz sand.

This is followed by a full-body massage to ease tension and stimulate lymphatic drainage. Finally, the bed’s built-in massage component is activated, making the sand the perfect massage medium to work out any remaining tension. Singing bowls are used for sound healing and the therapy session ends with a marmapoint face therapy.

• Psammotherapy Gold Quartz Signature Treatment, 60 mins, R995, Deluxe Spa & Hair hotelcloudnine.com

SELF-CARE AT HOME

• BATH PAMPER PARTY

Elevate your daily bath-time to a spa-like event that gives Queen Cleopatra’s milk baths a run for their money with these bath and body essentials:

1. Jo Malone Vitamin E Body Treatment Scrub, R1 350.

2. Molton Brown Labdanum Dusk Bath & Shower Gel 300ml, R575.

3. Le Labo Rose 31 Body Oil 118ml, R1 215.

4. Fornasetti Scented Candle Bacio 1,9kg, R9 275.

RETREAT TO:

• PATERNOSTER, WESTERN CAPE

Sometimes getting away from it all is just what the doctor ordered — change is as good as a holiday, right? So, book a trip to one of the Western Cape’s best-known “hidden” gems — Paternoster. The quaint fishing town on the west coast is a mere two-hour drive from Cape Town International Airport, and feels like a mini Greece with its whitewashed cottages and old-school fishing boats.

Stay at the luxurious five-star Abalone Hotel & Villas and enjoy quiet time with a breathtaking ocean view. Here you can savour some time away from the hustle and bustle of the city in your own selfcatering villa complete with private pool, sweeping sea views, and cosy fireplaces.

• abalonehotel.co.za

TREAT YOURSELF

• WHO DOESN’T LOVE CHOCOLATE?

Nothing says “pamper-me time” quite like curling up at home with a sweet treat, so you might as well savour a snack that can offer more than just a serotonin and dopamine boost. Give your confectionery indulgences a wellness twist with the Biomedcan chocolate range, which combines the benefits of CBD with high-quality Belgian craftsmanship, handcrafted by bespoke chocolaterie Von Geusau.

• Biomedcan CBD Dark Chocolate & Milk Chocolate, R129 each biomedcan.co.za.

SENSORIAL PAMPER

• BYREDO OPEN SKY

These days, when we daydream about tranquil retreats, we crave something magical. Sometimes it’s a place, and sometimes it’s a feeling that only a luxurious scent can conjure up. If you love the freedom of nature’s great open spaces, you will adore this scent, which perfectly captures the sensation of having the wind at your back and the vast blue sky up ahead.

Byredo’s Open Sky blends citrus, spice, and a woody dry down with invigorating notes of pomelo, black pepper, hemp leaves, palo santo, and vetiver.

• Byredo Open Sky EDP 100ml, R3 775.