Casey Pochert, lead esthetician and treatment coordinator, Sanctuary Spa at Sanctuary Camelback Mountain, A Gurney’s Resort & Spa, Paradise Valley, Arizona: Our favorite skin care treatment for summer is our Sanctuary Jewel Facial for all skin types. It includes Naturopathica’s Manuka Honey Cleansing Balm, which delivers results without over-stripping or losing the moisture we need during summertime in the desert. The facial is wonderfully relaxing and leaves skin looking fresh and glowing.
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What are your favorite summer treatments?
Casey Pochert, lead esthetician and treatment coordinator, Sanctuary Spa at Sanctuary Camelback Mountain, A Gurney’s Resort & Spa, Paradise Valley, Arizona: Our favorite skin care treatment for summer is our Sanctuary Jewel Facial for all skin types. It includes Naturopathica’s Manuka Honey Cleansing Balm, which delivers results without over-stripping or losing the moisture we need during summertime in the desert. The facial is wonderfully relaxing and leaves skin looking fresh and glowing.
Erin Marano, national director of sales, Pevonia International: I love body treatments that really soften, smooth and alleviate dry patches. Keeping the body soft and locking in moisture helps clients look and feel their best in their favorite summer outfits. Pevonia’s Crepe-No-More No Rinse Body Wrap and coordinating self-care Body Cream is formulated so that the guest’s skin drinks in the benefits of longan fruit all day long for a smooth, ultra moisturized appearance.
Tania Alves, spa director, Six Senses Ibiza, Spain: Our favorite summer treatments are the After Party Detox, Body & Spirit Recovery and The Alchemist’s Treatment featuring a personalized anti-aging gua sha facial. The After Party Detox awakens the senses with a body scrub, followed by a full-body massage and completed with a soothing facial massage using cool gua sha tools—perfect during those summer months to reveal a fresh, radiant complexion.
Our Body & Spirit Recovery treatment helps melt away muscle aches, calm the nervous system, boost immunity and immerse the body in deep relaxation to help prepare for the ideal summer getaway.
The Alchemist’s Treatment allows guests to work with our expert alchemist. They learn about seasonal, local herbs and produce, and create a unique natural product that is then used in a personalized gua sha treatment that calms and nourishes the face after a day in the sun.
Kimberlee Geng, director of education and training, Pure Fiji USA: After a long winter, summer is the perfect time to renew and revitalize dull, dry skin. A natural, exfoliating sugar scrub nourishes and seals in moisture to reveal softer, smoother, glowingly healthy skin.
My favorite treatment is our Radiant Vitamin C Facial, which features four different types of vitamin C that boost collagen and hyaluronic acid synthesis. Vitamin C is a potent antioxidant that protects skin from environmental damage and helps reduce the pigmentation caused by harmful UV rays.
Whitney Campbell, marketing manager, Beauty Prophet/Cinq Mondes: The Cinq Mondes Sublime Tahitian Monoï Scrub offers a deep yet hydrating exfoliation. Drawing inspiration from the beauty rituals of the Polynesian Islands, this scrub is developed for parched skin in need of deep hydration and renewal.
We also love the Deep-Cleansing Back Facial for summer, which clears blocked pores and minimizes imperfections in the hardest place to reach on your own. Guests can bare their skin at the beach or pool with confidence.
Fanny Martin, spa director, Sense, A Rosewood Spa at Rosewood Le Guanahani, St. Barth: As summer approaches, it’s time to revamp skin care routines and pampering spa treatments. One of my favorite summer treatments is the Island Glow Facial from Haeckels. This facial oxygenates the face and enhances the complexion; we also use an oxygen machine to further enhance the benefits. The treatment’s natural ingredients are inspired by the ocean and include lemon verbena and soursop.
Another treatment that I highly recommend is our signature Le Morne Sense Journey. This holistic experience uses local products and includes a custom mindful movement class to help guests relax and prepare for the massage. The massage itself is enhanced by the use of ice balls, which deeply soothe and relax the body.
Related: 4 Summer Treatments that Heal Sun Damage
What ingredients do you prefer, and why?
Campbell: Tahitian monoï is made from coconut oil infused with tiaré blossoms, plus raw sugar and ground coconut powder that deeply rehydrate dry, sun-parched skin and awaken the spirit for summer renewal. Natural fruit acids (alpha hydroxy acids) help keep pores unclogged, and detoxifying kaolin clay masks minimize imperfections on the face and body for fresh and radiant skin.
Martin: Aloe vera is known for its hydrating properties and is perfect for treating sunburns. Cold mint, on the other hand, has a cooling effect on the skin, making it ideal for hot summer days.
Geng: My favorite ingredient, other than vitamin C, is cold-pressed dilo seed oil. Dilo oil contains unique essential fatty acids that alleviate irritation and inflammation while supercharging the healing and repair process.
Alves: Citrus zest is one of our favorites, as it’s made from local ingredients to Ibiza, and it has a little tang to it that awakens the body. We also use lemon verbena in quite a few of our treatments, thanks to its relaxing, healing and toning effects on the skin.
Marano: Another summer must-have ingredient is fragmented hyaluronic acid (HA), since we tend to get more dehydrated during this time. Fragmented HA weighs less than the typical macromolecule, penetrating through the stratum corneum and hydrating cells as they work their way through cellular migration. This is very important for maintaining the function of the skin barrier.
Pochert: Manuka honey and calendula are our favorite ingredients due to their humectant and protective nature. They have luxurious textures and add elements of luxury to the summertime self-care routine when the endless days of heat seem to linger on.
How can spas add holistic elements to summer services?
Gina Preziosa, vice president of sales and marketing, Shankara: Summer is a Pitta season (fire element is predominant) so you want to use products and tools that will bring back and maintain balance while reducing excess heat. Shankara’s Calming Mask and Soothing Body Oil are ideal, as well as tools like rose quartz or kansa wands for massage. Emotionally, when Pitta gets aggravated we might feel more irritable. Therefore, it is important to begin treatments with a cooling aromatherapy oil.
Marano: Aromatherapy is one of the best ways to add a holistic element to face and body treatments. Start with a nice inhalation ritual at the start of the service, helping guests
relax quicker while also elevating the experience. Choose an aromatherapy oil that has a fresh, bright scent, like grapefruit, chamomile, rose and lavender. The combination is lovely and prompts a relaxing yet uplifting sensation.
Pochert: Our sound meditation events provide guests with self-care tools that extend beyond their time at Sanctuary Spa. The use of singing bowls, breathwork and meditative practices help them discover a deeper sense of peace and relaxation. It is a perfect prelude to our Thai massage, which includes a traditional foot bath and relaxing foot massage.
Geng: For a massage, you can incorporate guided breathwork with a botanical oil to calm the mind and body, as well as hot herbal poultices, singing bowls and a gua sha facial.
Alves: Weaving in holistic and wellness elements is essential for creating a well-rounded guest experience, especially during summer when the heat can take a toll on their bodies. We offer biohacking treatments such as compression boots, cryotherapy face masks and co-factors masks to encourage the body’s natural recovery systems.
Martin: The movement class included in Le Morne Sense Journey takes place facing the ocean, adding a spiritual dimension to the experience. We also use ice balls during the massage, which not only enhances the benefits but also providing a cooling effect, helping guests further relax.
What are clients surprised to discover about your summer treatments?
Alves: We often surprise guests by providing with them a variety of additional amenities to enhance their summer wellness experience, including treatments that involve cold stones, which are refreshing for the hot months; gua sha add-ons for an anti-inflammatory and nourishing feeling; cold compressed towels infused with local, fresh essential oils; and cold beverages before and after treatments.
Preziosa: They love how much more even and balanced they feel in both body and mind, as well as how much redness or irritation has subsided after the treatment.
Marano: What clients find interesting about our summer treatments is that they are so well balanced. For example, you can still use products with a small amount of retinol in them, if it’s balanced with hyaluronic acid and vitamins C and E. Pevonia’s Micro-Retinol treatment and products work this way to fight free radicals and sun damage while maintaining a hydrated barrier.
Campbell: Customers always return for the performance factor, in addition to the thoughtful, beautiful aromas in our summer treatments.