A do-it-yourself spa job in the home

A do-it-yourself spa job in the home

By Bruce Emond

JAKARTA (JP): Spas are the in-thing at Indonesian hotels and
fitness centers.

Call it the ultimate in self-gratification or merely part of
the holistic approach to putting both mind and body on an even
keel, but spas are opening their doors across the city. They have
even received the lofty stamp of approval from major women's
magazine Femina as the latest "trend".

Several major hotels in Jakarta, Bandung, Yogyakarta and Bali
are offering clients the all-over treatment, the complete works
including facials, sauna and Jacuzzi, massage and aromatherapy.

Although spas feel good, soothing frazzled nerves and tired
muscles, they can hurt when it comes to forking out hard-earned
rupiah for all the add-ons.

The sting is even greater when the glossy brochures and plush
surroundings are accompanied by a sauna that is more often out of
service than in, untrained staff who define "gormless" and a hot
whirlpool which stubbornly refuses to whirl and never rises above
tepid.

The next best thing to having someone pamper you into the
never-never land of complete relaxation is to do it yourself, or
so says The Body Shop which recently launched its Africa Home Spa
line of products at a media conference at the Shangri-la Hotel in
Central Jakarta.

"This is all part of the movement toward people taking care of
themselves, both physically and mentally, and you don't have to
go to a spa to do that with these products," said store
operations manager Indra Sitompul.

Sourcing exotic products from deepest, darkest Africa makes
for good advertising copy, but why venture so far afield when
Indonesia has its own traditions of lulur (body scrub), mandi
susu (milk bath) and fragrant oils?

Company general manager Toha Azhary said the choice of Africa
was part of its mission to stimulate community trade in the
continent. The company is not only intent on assisting, Toha
said, "but conducting fair trade with poor communities in
Africa."

"Therefore, the communities become equal business partners
with us, and not parties which receive assistance that is passive
and ineffective," he said.

Company matriarch Anita Roddick, her of the fervent opinions
and wild-child hairdo, could not have said it better herself
(then again, she probably has in one of her country-hopping
jaunts).

There was also a little contribution from the domestic front.
Marketing and communications manager Andrei Wicaksana said the
company looked home to the Badui ethnic group of West Java to
source the string bags in which the African goodies were
presented.

The company named Ghana, Zambia and Nicaragua as some of the
countries involved, the latter a curious choice as, other than
being the homeland of that other wild child Bianca Jagger, it is
smack in the heart of Central America (so what for geography,
it's all about helping out the have-nots of the world through the
haves cosseting themselves).

Products

The launch included a product demonstration on a model who
ably withstood the glare of curious eyes and flashbulbs, no doubt
grinning and "baring" it for the greater good of community trade
with Africa.

The products included the Body Salt Scrub, a mix of shea
butter, honey and salt which is applied to wet skin as an
exfoliant; Hair & Body Honey Mud, made from rhassould mud and
organic honey, which can be used on the body and hair; the
heavenly smelling Baobab Bath Oil; Rich Cocoa Body Balm, made
from cocoa beans, shea butter, organic honey, beeswax and sesame
oil, to enhance body moisture; and Hand and Feet Body Butter.

The assembled reporters were given a goodie bag, one of those
made by the Badui, containing a loofah and one of the products
which are in big preserve jars. After a little negotiating with a
colleague's girlfriend, I ended up with the Hair & Body Mud to
try in the confines of my home.

One lonely night last week, with Celine Dion in the background
straining that she was crazy for me and would never let me go, I
did the dirty. Meaning, I slopped and slathered that body mud all
over my ample personage, plus hair, and let nature take its
course.

Was it a luxurious trash wallow? Yes, in the sense of how much
luxury can be had in a two-room boarding house in Central
Jakarta. Did it make a difference? Hard to judge, but the mud is
fragrant, it feels great and, yes, my hair positively hummed with
its sweet aroma for the next few days.

The Body Shop is not cheap, even if the salespeople try to
assure you the prices are in line with those at shops abroad. The
products come in big jars, but the Africa Home Spa products are
pricey expenditures. The Body Salt Scrub and Hair & Body Honey
Mud each cost Rp 200,000, the Baobab Bath Oil Rp 100,000, the
Rich Cocoa Body Balm Rp 135,000 and Hands & Feet Body Butter Rp
125,000.

With prices like these, a touch of spa pampering, including
the at-home kind, will remain an occasional indulgence.