Mud Mud Everywhere!

This is a bit of a read  but is an account of a recent and very liberating experience!

Last weekend I went to a Spa for a friends hen do, I am no stranger to spa hen weekends and weddings in general (seriously I'm starting to feel like the Katherine Heigl in 27 Dresses!) but I have never had a treatment. I guess being bigger than the average spa goer I was never really keen on about being massaged by a random stranger. Anyway this hen do was for a good friend from work who is getting married (in 2 weeks time - eek!) as a result one of the other invitees was my other friend Emma. Now then I used to work with Emma and she is lovely, we see eye to eye on a lot of things including fashion. I don't know anyone who owns more shoes! When Emma turns up for a night out she generally brings 2-3 pairs of shoes - usually unworn virgin ones too! At this point I am going to show you a lovely photo of Emma and I - taken today at a christening.

Isn't her dress lovely? (its from NewLook by the way! Pity I didn't take a photo of her shoes because they rocked!) My dress is Evans but I've already shown you - although I am wearing high wedges here and I think it makes it the perfect length)

Anyhow Emma is such a good friend and very outgoing (as am I - I can't claim to be a shrinking violet, but nor am I exceptionally loud, I'm somewhere in the middle, and as Clover says 'there's nothing wrong with the middle!') Emma persuaded me to try a Rhassoul mud experience, here is the blurb:

The Rhassoul was inspired by the Ancient Egyptians as a cleansing and exfoliating process. This memorable experience is best shared with a partner or close friend. Having received advice from one of our experienced therapists you are left alone to apply the therapeutic muds to your whole body. The different coloured muds each offer a different level of exfoliation. Having applied the muds, you then sit and relax on heated mosaic chairs and enjoy 40 minutes of bliss, whilst the room fills with herbal steam. The ceremony ends with a tropical rain shower leaving your skin feeling silky smooth

Source: Horstead Spa website Click Here

Sounds exotic doesn't it! Well having settled into the main spa the therapist collected us and lead us through the corridor to our treatment room. We were both feeling ever so slightly uncomfortable but up for trying something new. The lady was lovely she said that we would really enjoy it and that people often had mud fights etc.! Comfort levels increased at that point.

When we got to the room it was very dimly lit and there were pretty candles - comfort levels increased a bit more. Then the lady produced the paper pants (argh mild comfort wobble!) Having established that my paper pants would not fit in any way shape or form, I decided to keep my swimming costume on (I was planing on having to do this anyway!)

The therapist then left us to get ready and put our robes on. Once we were ready she came back in and explained the room and the shower then she left us to it! 

We bravely entered the steam room and started applying our mud! You get a plate of mud in the shape of a man so you don't have to worry about remembering what goes where. It started off being just plain strange but as the room was dimly lit and steamy we couldn't see each other let alone the mud! We just mudded ourselves and giggled. (I tried to start a mud fight but Emma was the more mature person and didn't throw any back!)

The time you get to sit and steam isn't 40 minutes (the whole thing lasted about 40 mins) although the steam is quite intense (and beautifully fragrant) so by the time the shower started we were ready for it. There is also a separate monsoon shower -which you really do need the mud gets everywhere!

Having giggled for pretty much the whole time we both felt thoroughly relaxed and happy. I wasn't expecting my skin to feel any different - as I was going for the experience more than the benefits. So you can imagine my glee to discover that my skin felt fantastic, very smooth and soft, it really was fabulous! (in fact my neck and chest still feel fantastic!) Having spoken to Emma today she says she still feels great after a week.

In conclusion I'm so glad that I did this, and that I didn't let my dress size stop me! If you are thinking of doing this you need to pick a very close friend  (there's no one in else in the world who I would cover myself with mud with and have such a great time!) The whole experience was £80 for both of us, so for £40 quid I got an experience that I will remember for ever!