Scrub a dub dub
Abu Dhabi Week loves nothing more than to ease gently into the weekend with a spot of pampering, so on Thursday evening we left our office and went straight to Eve Fit to try out the Moroccan bath treatment.
Eve Fit is tucked away on a side street so we had some difficulty finding it. We advise you to allow for extra travelling time just in case you have the same problem.
On arrival we’re given a quick tour of the centre. The range of services available in one establishment is pretty impressive, Eve Fit houses a gym, hair salon, nail salon, make-up room, café, massage room, henna room and a Moroccan bath. We’re told that all of the Moroccan bath products are specially imported from Morocco, and are made from herbs and other natural ingredients.
Firstly, we change into tiny, paper briefs and enter a tiled steam room. We sit on a plastic chair in the middle of the room while our Moroccan therapist, Meena, applies a lavender-smelling gel to our body, that’s used to soften the skin. We sit and relax in the steam for five minutes before Meena returns to rinse off the gel.
After that we lie on towels that are sprinkled with incense and laid out on a marble table. Our therapist rubs our skin using a special, coarse exfoliating mitt. She begins rubbing our feet and works her way up our body. It feels slightly uncomfortable in delicate areas such as the underarm, but apart from that it’s a relaxing sensation. We are amazed by the amount of dead skin that’s being removed from our body. We have never had such a thorough exfoliation and by the end of the process our skin feels silky smooth.
A soothing, mint lotion is applied to our skin, which has a slight, cooling tingle. For the final part of the treatment our hair is shampooed and then rinsed clean. We splash our face with rose water, apparently this is a moisturiser rich in natural oils and is used to sooth irritated or dry skin. By this stage our poor therapist is as drenched as we are and we can’t help but laugh.
The whole experience reminds us of when we were a child and our mum used to bathe us, so it is slightly odd; but we say embrace your inner child and go for it! We left the spa feeling rested, with glowing, smooth skin so clean that we pretty much shone from head to toe.
As mentioned earlier, you will only be wearing the briefest of briefs, so if this is going to be a problem for you or the thought of it makes you feel uncomfortable, then your better off grabbing you're rubber duck, a shop-bought exfoliator and bathing at home.
What? 45-minute Moroccan bath
Where: Eve Fit, between 15th and 13th Street off Kaleej Al-Arabi
We say: A worthwhile treatment that won’t break the bank
Cost: AED 150 for 40 minutes
Contact: 02 666 9616
If you are feeling a bit strapped for cash then make your own exfoliator using ingredients found in your kitchen cupboards. The following tried-and-tested homemade exfoliators are cheap and easy to make.
Strawberry Facial Scrub (for sensitive skin)
Ingredients:
- ½ a tin of strawberries
- 2 teaspoons olive oil
- 8 teaspoons sugar
Method:
- Crush the strawberries then stir in the sugar and oil
- Mix ingredients together until it forms a smooth mixture
- Massage the scrub into your face
- Leave the scrub on for five minutes
- Wash it off with tepid water then gently dry your face by patting it with a towel
Oatmeal Scrub
Ingredients:
- 1 cup of oats
- ½ cup of honey
- 2 egg whites
Method:
- Beat the egg whites until theybecome frothy
- Stir in the honey and oats
- Mix together until it forms a thick paste
- Spread over your face evenly avoiding the delicate eye area
- Leave the mixture on for ten minutes then rinse off using your usual cleanser
Catriona Doherty
