Editor's Note: This story originally appeared on The Penny Hoarder.
Who doesn’t look forward to a day of spa treatments? The massage, the facial, the steam bath. Ahhh. Well, you can create a DIY home spa.
Spas and the services they offer often are expensive indulgences. But you can create that pampered feeling for a whole lot less money. After all, the seclusion of a bathroom with running hot water is a good start for your DIY home spa.
With just a few affordable ingredients — many you likely already have in your pantry — you can easily recreate a memorable spa day at home. And a few small purchases can turn your run-of-the-mill bathroom into the perfect location for a luxurious at-home spa experience.
Here are some of our favorite ways you can pamper yourself at home.
1. Use coconut oil
Get coconut oil — everything you’ve heard about it is true. Skip the expensive body lotion and the deep conditioner and use this low-cost alternative instead.
Cost: A jar of coconut oil costs about $9 and will last for months.
2. Prepare a mask
Prepare an avocado or egg mask for hair at the beginning of the spa routine, then wrap the head in a warm towel. Let it work its magic for at least 20 minutes.
Cost: One egg will set you back about 17 cents, and an avocado is between $1 and $1.50.
3. Korean sheet masks
Korean sheet masks, cotton-based sheets that address various skin care issues, make your skin look amazing, but they can be awfully pricy.
I picked up a handful at my local dollar store for a buck each and discovered they work just as well as the expensive brands. If you buy in bulk, you can save even more.
Cost: Sheet masks can be found online or in dollar stores for $1 or less.
4. Score a free mask
Speaking of masks, if you use Lush cosmetics or know someone who does, hang onto those little black pots and bottles the products come in. You’ll score a free face mask when you turn in five clean empties. That’s a savings of at least $11.50.
Cost: The cost of the five products.
5. Use yogurt
A container of plain yogurt can help with blemishes and fine lines. Whether you use it alone or jazz it up with extras like a dash of honey or oatmeal, your skin will thank you.
Cost: A small container of plain yogurt can cost anywhere from 60 cents to $1.25, depending on brand.
6. Refresh lips
Go for a lip scrub so lips feel soft and refreshed.
Cost: The basic ingredients — olive oil and sugar — are probably in your kitchen. So are the add-ons you can use to spice it up, like cinnamon, brown sugar and coffee.
7. Exfoliate
This homemade sugar scrub is both luxurious and exfoliating. Add favorite essential oils, such as eucalyptus, to slough off dry, dead skin, leaving behind a tingly clean that smells luxurious.
Cost: Less than $1 worth of sugar, coconut oil and salt, plus around $6 for eucalyptus essential oil.
8. Make a DIY scrub
Mix things up with this three-ingredient coffee body scrub that you can make with the used coffee grounds left over from your morning brew.
It reportedly also reduces the appearance of cellulite. (Don’t tell me if that’s just an old wives’ tale — I don’t want to know.)
Cost: Free, if you’re a coffee drinker.
9. Give a gentle scrub
Sometimes your skin just isn’t up for a harsh scrub down. That’s when a recipe like this one from WholeElise on YouTube comes in handy. Rather than abrasive salt or sugar, this scrub uses oats, water and glycerine (or honey).
Cost: About $3 for the oats (free if you already have them in your pantry) and $4.50 for the glycerine.
10. Be hands-on
Give your hands some love. This lemon-sugar scrub is easy to make, smells amazing and is perfect for making your hands silky soft.
Cost: A lemon is about 50 cents, and you probably already have sugar and oil in your pantry.
11. Soothe eyes
Do you know why every movie spa scene depicts someone with cucumber slices on their eyes? Because they work! You can use the leftovers for cucumber-infused water to really amp up that luxe “I’m in a spa” feeling.
Cost: About $1 for a cucumber.
12. Treat feet with a restorative soak
Treat feet to a restorative soak with whatever gentle bath wash you have on hand. Follow it up with a homemade foot scrub.
Simply stir one part coconut oil into two parts sugar, and scent with a few drops of essential oil. A dash of lemon juice adds extra oomph.
Cost: Peppermint essential oil costs about $10, or you can use eucalyptus oil if you have it on hand. The rest of the ingredients are likely in your pantry.
10 Easy Ways to Spa-ify Your Home
Here are some ways you can get the home spa feeling.
- Splurge on a soft, thick towel.
- Pick up some pretty containers from the dollar store to hold all the scrubs and potions you make.
- Have a fluffy bathrobe to wear while relaxing.
- Get some inexpensive candles to create ambience — or make your own.
- Get a plant or vase of flowers for the bathroom, because greenery makes everything better.
- Get frosted contact paper to diffuse bright sunlight that might harsh the mellow.
- Get a few sprigs of eucalyptus for the bathtub to create a clean, refreshing scent when the hot water runs.
- Buy a bathtub overflow drain cover so you can fill the tub extra deep.
- Cue up this chill Spotify playlist.
- Use the cucumber you bought for eyes to make some cucumber and lemon-infused water to sip.
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