If making a trip to a spa sounds too much for you, you can easily convert your bathroom into one.

Spas actually date back to the days of the ancients. The name, 'spa' comes from the name of a renowned Belgian thermal city, Spa and can also find its significance under the Latin term, sanitas per aqua, which literally means health through water. The Romans in particular mastered the art of bathing, in hot, cold or steam water baths associated with massages and for many of them, life centred around the baths. The urban day spa, which has become popular of late, takes inspiration from those days.

The baths were a place to relax and unwind through water, salts and massages. Today, stress levels being at an all-time high, the spa is back in demand. If making a trip to a spa sounds too much for you, you can easily turn your bathroom into one. French Touch InterCosmetics CEO, Natasha Kulkina, has worked with Thalgo Products for ten years. She is now in India and hopes to open a day spa here and already Thalgo products are available at several salons in India. She says, "To relax well, is as fundamental as to eat well, sleep well, grow up well, age well, which are all part of well-being. Most laboratories have created product ranges able to promote the spa at home, an art of taking care of oneself, with maximum pleasure." So, by tuning your bathroom into your personal bliss-room, you really can revive and rejuvenate yourself. Once a week, spend an hour in your very own home spa, relax and unwind. It makes the rest of the week much easier to deal with!

First, make sure you turn off all your phones and lock that bathroom door, so no one disturbs you. Play something soothing. Natasha suggests the sound of waves or soft instrumental music. Light scented candles to add some warmth and give the room a feel of calm, comfort and composure. Highly recommended are the Diptyque candles available at Moon River (Mumbai and Delhi). Good Earth has introduced a range of home spa products and the lady behind Good Earth, Anita Lal, says, "The first step in creating your home spa is to un-clutter your bathroom. Buy a massage mat, sisal and loofah, body brushes and soft thick towels." Next, you need the right beauty products. Says Natasha, "Cleanse, exfoliate, detoxify and moisturise - these are the four steps to discover complete relaxation. Cleanse obviously means soap but, for spa days, use a special soap - you want to feel like you are indulging yourself. Try one of L'Occitane's Wood Soaps (available at Ravissant Stores), or Shiseido's Zen Perfumed Shower Gel. Make that shower as strong as you can and feel the water cleansing you. Once you have cleaned and purged yourself, you want to polish up that skin, so it looks refreshed by exfoliating. Thalgo's Descomask Body Scrub conditions and tones the skin and it is full of algae so is very reviving. Another option is Clarins Toning Body Polisher; it shapes those limbs while it purges. Massage your scrub tenderly and think positive thoughts while doing this. It is about reviving the body and mind.

Next comes the detoxifying session and this is done with a long tub bath. Use bath salts, which have therapeutic properties. L'Occitane and Thalgo stock bath salts. Those with sports injuries or aches should have a salt bath at least twice a week. Make sure the water is warm and that you soak for at least 20 minutes and enjoy the feeling of solace. It is good to be far way from the madding crowd. Or, go rustic and pour rosewater into the bath and some luxury, through fresh rose petals. Says Coline Jauneau, head of the Franck Provost Spa, Mumbai, "Immerse yourself in a tub full of rosewater and hot water and enjoy the luxury of your own company." Now for moisturising. Dry yourself off with a large, soft, comforting towel and step into comfortable bath slippers and robe. (Abraham and Thakore are your best bet). Coline recommends, "The finale is to wrap oneself in a hot, steaming self-indulgent towel and soak in the warmth that nourishes one's skin." Make sure, now, that you use a creamy and almost butter-like lotion. Try Clarins Tony Body Balm or their Moisturising Body lotion. Then, spray some of their Eau Tranquillity Deodorant. Close your spa session with a soothing cup of herbal tea. All this pampering and luxuriating over yourself is bound to make you feel more positive about life! Your bathroom may be one of the smallest rooms in your house but with a little know-how, you can convert it into a den to de-stress in.