Winter Spa Rescue

	Soothing Sequoia Spa

Both the bitter winds of winter and the lack of humidity as we retreat indoors can leave the body's largest organ dull, dry and even painful.

Can't spend all winter languishing on a tropical island in the shade of a coconut tree while lush breezes keep your skin supple and moist?

Then let the professionals take over, and try one of these luxurious spa treatments for winter-worn skin. These lavish treatments are guaranteed to leave you glowing all over.

For the lowdown on winter skin, I spoke to Kim Dudek, aesthetician and owner of Belladonna Spa in New Orleans.

According to Dudek, there are three essentials to maintaining a healthy exterior during the winter months: hydration, circulation and exfoliation. Belladonna's buyer Margaret Lippman believes that attending to the three musts of winter skin care creates rejuvenation that is more than skin-deep.

Hydration Help

"Both inner and outer are important." Dudek stresses, "Drink plenty of water and make sure you get essential fatty acids, either from food or supplements."

Ann Marie Cilmi, director of education and development at Bliss Spa (locations in New York City, San Francisco, Los Angeles, Chicago and London) suggests using a milk or oil-based cleanser in the winter, as soap depletes moisture. Powders and mists are a no-no as well: "Powders absorb oil, and mists suck moisture from the [skin's] surface," says Cilmi.

Professional spa treatments are also essential to boost skin's hydration and battle the drying effect of winter.

The Sequoia spa at England's premier getaway The Grove in Chandler's Cross, Hertfordshire, has a rehydrating facial (about $160) that provides a massage with its replenishing face oil, which includes aromatic sandalwood and patchouli essences. "It helps ... revitalize tired and environmentally stressed skin," says Marsha Clifford, a Sequoia Spa therapist.

Belladonna Spa has a "be repaired" facial (50 minutes for $125), which includes a collagen serum and mask. Collagen helps restore moisture to the skin and reduce the appearance of fine lines; on top of the mask, the therapist applies a layer of warm paraffin. "The paraffin provides a barrier so that the collagen must go in the skin," Dudek explains.

For hydration below the neck, try Bliss Spa's lemon and sage body butter ($32). Cilmi also suggests a home remedy to use between spa treatments -- a bath with a gallon of warm whole milk and some honey. "The lactic acid in milk is both softening and exfoliating," she says, and the honey aids skin in retaining moisture.

Sequoia also lets clients choose a body oil for the masseuse to mix with mud for its luxe hydrating body wrap (about $140); Clifford favors the house-made restorative body oil blend, which contains palmerosa for firming as well as orange and myrrh to balance and calm the mind.

This treatment incorporates exfoliation and a mud wrap mixed with essential oils; a simultaneous scalp massage adds to the experience. A rich body cream is gently rubbed into the skin to finish.