How about a good sand bath to recharge your batteries this summer? The idea may make you smile, and yet… In some countries, such as Egypt, Algeria, or Japan, sand therapy is considered a real source of well-being, beneficial for health as well as for the skin. We will explain everything to you !
Known for its onsen – to understand hot springs – the Japanese town of Beppu also offers tourists and locals the possibility of enjoying much more unusual baths… based on sand. At the Beppu Kaihin Sunayu, for ten dollars, men and women have been able for several years to ask to be buried in the sand to benefit from the virtues of each grain deposited on the whole body. A practice simply called ‘sablotherapy’, which is also being emulated in other Japanese cities, as well as in other countries such as Egypt.
A hot sand bath
Parent friends, you have inevitably, one day or another, found yourself in this embarrassing situation during which your children begged you to cover yourselves completely with sand. You probably thought twice about it, then capitulated, despite a certain claustrophobia associated with the fear of being abandoned under a blazing sun. Well, know that your children gave you the benefit of a free sand therapy session. Isn’t life beautiful? This therapy by sand, as we could call it, is actually practiced under supervision, and it is not a question of digging a hole in the sand to be buried there, but of being covered with hot sand.
More supervised, sand therapy – also known as psammatotherapy or arenotherapy – is not practiced on an average beach, let alone in direct sunlight. This practice consists of taking a real sand bath. It involves being completely covered in sand, expertly molded around the body. Only the head, which itself rests on a cushion of sand, remains exposed. Some will say that this position is not pleasant, but it is nevertheless a source of many benefits for those who are used to indulging in it, starting with a total feeling of relaxation and well-being.
Eliminate toxins
Heated by the sun without burning the skin, the sand offers virtues identical to those of a sauna session, for the simple and good reason that it makes the person it covers sweat. Something that would eliminate toxins, and therefore impurities from the skin, activate blood microcirculation, and in return benefit the skin tissues from all the minerals present in the sand. The skin therefore emerges more radiant and healthier. A point not to be overlooked.
Sand baths would also be beneficial for relieving certain rheumatisms. However, it is better to talk to your doctor before throwing yourself… in the sand. Finally, grains of sand are known to be effective exfoliants. Sandotherapy therefore makes it possible to get rid – also – of dead skin. Multiple virtues that everyone can benefit from in baths ranging from 5 to 15 minutes only. Something to be aware of, because burying yourself in the sand for too long can obviously be dangerous.