3 Homemade Body Wraps: Detox, Relax & Revitalize

Make your own body wrap at home using our step-by-step guide, which includes 3 super simple recipes you can try today!

All the Benefits of a Spa… Without the Nasty Chemicals or the Cost!

Off you go to the spa, where they slather you with all kinds of weird goop and leave you to relax – then stick you with the exorbitant bill. Your restful relaxation and feeling of revitalization quickly fades away.

You have no clue what nasty chemicals and substances they’ve covered you in, they’ve charged you a small fortune for the privilege, and whatever small benefit you felt is quickly lost as you pay the bill and walk back out the door straight into all those pollutants you just spent all that money to get rid of.

Why put yourself and your wallet through all that, when you can take a little time out in the comfort of your own home and make a healthy, fresh, effective wrap at home that costs barely anything at all?

You don’t need chemical-laden wrap mixtures that have been fermenting on the shelf in the spa or beauty store, filled with preservatives and synthetic substances that you can barely pronounce. You just need a little quiet time, an old sheet or some inexpensive bandages, and a few natural ingredients. 

It’s a Wrap: The Benefits

There’s a huge range of homemade wrap ingredients to choose from, with different elements providing different benefits. For example: you could create a wrap to cleanse your body and your skin, drawing out toxins and sloughing away dead skin. These wraps also replenish your skin with vitamins and minerals, helping you to feel revitalized.

Depending on the ingredients you select, your wrap could help you to: 

The Process

It’s super simple. Once you’ve chosen and made your wrap mixture (see recipes below), you’ll need:

1) Make Your Wrap: Prepare your wrap from the selection below and set it aside.

2) Hydrate: Drink plenty of water before you begin to ensure you’re properly hydrated.

3) Shower: Take a warm shower, but only use a very mild soap. This helps to open your pores for deep penetration. Avoid shaving, however, as it can cause irritation and be counterproductive.

4) Get Ready: Lay an old cotton sheet in the bath or across a massage table or lounger – wherever you plan to lay during your pampering session. Have a few old towels standing by, too, along with your wrap mixture.

5) Wrap: Then simply slather the mixture all over you, wrap yourself in the sheet as you work in the mixture from your feet upwards. Once covered, lay the towels over the top of you and the sheet. The towels help to trap body heat, keeping you warmer and creating more perspiration.

5) Relax! Each recipe below has a recommended time frame. Adhere to the time frame so you don’t dehydrate yourself. Once your time is up, unwrap yourself and wipe away as much mixture as you can with the sheet. Take another warm shower, without using soap. Once you’re clean and dry, drink some more water to replace some of what the wrap has drawn from you. 

NOTE: For a tighter wrap, you can use cheap bandages, but cotton sheets and towels work well. Some wrap recipes advise using cellophane kitchen wrap, but this can cause excessive perspiration, too much heat, and can quickly dehydrate you. It’s also wasteful and bad for the environment, so we recommend sheets and towels. 

How Wraps Work

The theory behind wraps is that the mixture draws toxins from the body through the pores in the skin and replaces them with valuable nutrients.

Homemade wraps can also help alleviate muscle and joint pain and reduce water retention. With the right ingredients, some wraps can act as cleansers, help to rid your skin of fungus and bacteria, and speed up wound healing time; as well as soothe irritated skin and conditions such as eczema.

Weight loss wraps are popular, and there some wild claims out there; however, the (unfortunate) reality is no wrap recipe can suck fat off you, or melt it away. Weight loss might occur by removing toxins which are stored in fat cells or by drawing off retained fluid (temporary results). 

Homemade Body Wrap Recipes

We put together 3 of our favorite recipes for you to try…

Moisturizing, Revitalizing Papaya Antioxidant Detox Wrap

Papaya has some amazing properties. It’s been used for thousands of years as a poultice to help heal wounds, fight fungus, and destroy viral bacteria. This is due, in large part, to the protein-dissolving enzyme papain.

Papaya also has anti-inflammatory properties and is rich in antioxidants and flavonoids, destroying free radicals and preventing further damage, helping to promote a healthy body and reduce signs of aging. The huge amounts of vitamins and minerals, including A, C, and E, are incredibly good for your body and skin.

This recipe provides a huge range of benefits for your body, and you can use it on your face too.

Ingredients

• 3 cups of grated papaya
  (see benefits above)
• 2 cups of yogurt
  (nutrient-rich & soothing for skin)
• 2 cups of rice bran (or oats) 
  (exfoliant)
• 1/2 cup of coconut milk
  (soothing and moisturizing)
• 15 drops of cranberry seed oil
  (carrier oil for deep penetration/rich in antioxidants, vitamin E and minerals)
• 1 cup of Epsom salts
  (relaxes muscles/opens pores/gives trace minerals)

Application Time: 20 to 60 minutes

Process:  Mix everything together in a big bowl, apart from the Epsom salts. Remove a small portion of mixture and set aside to use on your face.

Then add the Epsom salts to the bowl for your body. Stir well. So simple and incredibly effective.

Simply sit in the middle of your sheet and slather all over yourself, then wrap yourself up and apply the mixture without the Epsom salts to your face. 

Anti-inflammatory and Rejuvenating Green Vegetable and Seaweed Detox Wrap

Kale, spinach, and nori are the standout ingredients here. This wrap will help relieve water retention, is anti-aging, full of nutrients, and has anti-bacterial, anti-fungal, and anti-viral properties.

Ingredients

• 2 cups of kale
  (rich in flavonoids, antioxidants, phytonutrients, anti-inflammatory compounds, minerals & fatty acids)
• 2 cups of spinach
  (rich in flavonoids and antioxidants, phytonutrients, anti-inflammatory compounds, minerals & fatty acids)
• 2 sheets of nori
  (rich in antioxidants, high concentration of minerals and vitamins, anti-inflammatory, anti-bacterial, anti-fungal, anti-viral)
• 1/2 cup of coconut milk
• 1 cup of Epsom salts 
  (relaxes muscles, opens pores & provides trace minerals)
• 15 drops of evening primrose oil
  (soothing, carrier oil & rich in essential fatty acids)

Application Time: 30 to 60 minutes

Process: Blitz the kale, spinach, nori, and coconut milk in a blender until you have smooth paste. Add the remainder of the ingredients and mix thoroughly. Job done! Now apply, wrap, and relax.

Making Your Own Concoction

The different ingredient and recipe combinations are infinite – there’s way too many to list here. The three recipes above are basic, inexpensive, and incredibly effective. Each one contains a range of benefits for your skin, from soothing irritation and ridding your skin of bacteria to cleansing and nourishing your skin for a bright, fresh appearance. The BIG secret? With a little research and a bit of trial and error, you can make your own recipe that suits your needs and your skin type.

Creating a DIY detox body wrap isn’t rocket science. Practically anybody can do it. Experiment with different oils, fruits, herbs, vegetables, clays, and liquids. Just remember not to go crazy at first. Simple is usually best, so try to limit yourself to no more than six ingredients at a time. You can choose a clay and sea-salt wrap, adding a little extra moisture and the herbs of your choice, or go with a liquid wrap mix like those listed above. 

Consider what you want from the wrap – are you interested in soothing irritated skin or alleviating eczema and psoriasis, or are you more keen on a little temporary weight loss and skin toning? Do you want to promote wound healing or lessen the impact of oily skin? There are fresh, inexpensive ingredients to help you with all kinds of issues. So do your research and make your own wrap.

Just remember never to leave a wrap of any kind on for more than 90 minutes, and make sure you hydrate yourself before and after. This is necessary for maximizing toxin reduction and skin nourishment, but also to maintain your health. 

Do you have any tips for us? What are your favorite wrap ingredients and recipes?