Home Spa Hacks: How to Turn Your Space Into a Blissful Retreat

If you’re feeling a bit frazzled, the thought of booking a spa vacation may be appealing but may not be practical—or necessary. The truth is: while going away to a spa is an alluring idea, you don’t need to travel or spend big bucks for relaxation. There are simple ways you can create spa spaces at home for an everyday reset.

Try incorporating some of these home spa hacks into your daily routine for stress-busting benefits.

1. Level up your bath, naturally. Sure, bath bombs and fizzy treats are a nice way to create a nighttime bath routine, but many of these products may have added artificial scents or dyes that are anything but natural. They may also be too harsh for sensitive skin, triggering itchiness and even rashes.

Instead, make your body wash do double duty. Pump a few squirts of Pharmacopia Body Wash into the tub under running water for a heady scent that gets the relaxation results you need—and deserve. Sudsing up with our Body Bar of the same natural aromatherapy-based scent while in the tub will also help reduce stress-triggering cortisol levels. And pairing it with our essential-oil based, super hydrating Pharmacopia Body Lotion will complete your nighttime spa ritual.

2. Carve out a spa space, no matter how small. This may sound complicated, but it doesn’t have to be. Find an area of your home, say by a window that captures the morning light or a quiet corner in your bedroom, to dedicate to relaxation. Throw a colorful pillow there (no need to buy one, any pillow will do) and add an aromatherapy candle or even a journal and pen for some thought-capturing. You may even want to leave a bottle of our green tea and melon-based Argan Oil Body Lotion for a foot rub or even just massaging into your hands. This can become your restorative space when you just need a moment (and we all do!)

Find an area of your home, say by a window that captures the morning light or a quiet corner in your bedroom, to dedicate to relaxation.

3. Pamper your feet. Giving your feet a cursory wash while in the shower doesn’t do these hard-working extremities justice. Instead, make time for a foot massage. You can do this by simply sitting on the side of your tub. Fill the very bottom of your tub with warm water (no need to buy a separate foot bath). Add a few squirts of our Verbena Body Wash with balancing essences of lemon, orange, mint, basil, cedarwood, and more. Close your eyes, take some deep breaths, and just soak.

You may even want to play some relaxation music on your phone. Five minutes is all you need, but you may find that, once you start, you want to do it for longer. Then, lightly towel your feet dry, and use a little Verbena Body Lotion to massage your toes and feet—still listening to the music and with your eyes closed if that helps bring you to a more relaxed state of mind.

According to traditional Chinese medicine, there are important pressure points on the bottoms of feet that correspond to different areas of the body. By massaging the foot with a thumb and finger and moving in small movements, you can reach most of these pressure points—and calm the mind in the process.

4. Add greenery. You can add a calming natural greenscape screensaver to your computer. Or you may want to set out some potted plants in your home workspace. Try aloe vera (found in our Citrus product line) or herbs (we’re partial to mint and basil, found in our Verbena product line).

Whatever you do, nature at home can help you relax. While getting out into nature for a walk or quiet time is ideal, researchers say you don’t actually need to, to reap the restorative benefits of nature. In one study, British researchers found that just viewing nature can help to calm anxiety.

Researchers found that just viewing nature can help to calm anxiety.

5. Give yourself an all-over dry brushing. Before you start your day (you can do it before you get in the shower), give your skin a head-to-toe dry brushing. (A dry brush is one tool you may want to invest in; look for one that’s made from sustainable wood or bamboo and natural, sustainable bristles.)

Dry brushing is an Ayurvedic technique used by spas to help exfoliate the skin, stimulate the lymphatic system, and rev up circulation and energy. Just the act of dry brushing can also be a home spa ritual that helps slow down your mind, particularly if you mindfully focus on the act of dry brushing while breathing.

To get started, use upward strokes toward the heart. And when dry brushing the stomach, do so gently in a clockwise direction. You may want to follow up by massaging in our Citrus Body Lotion all over.

With natural essences of orange, bergamot, and grapefruit, our uplifting Citrus Body Lotion helps contribute to the invigorating effects of dry brushing.

6. Create a gentle shower scrub. There’s no need to buy a scrub or invest in a spa body treatment. You can simply use your Pharmacopia Body Wash and what’s in your pantry to give yourself an all-over body treat.

In a glass jar, add two pumps of our body wash to half a cup of granulated sugar and a cup of olive or coconut oil. Then, while in the shower, gently scrub in circular motions, paying special attention to your feet. (You can also add a foot scrub to your bath time foot ritual.) You may even want to close your eyes and breathe in the essential oils we add to all our products to enhance the spa-like effect.

7. Treat your lips. Many spa facials add on a lip scrub and hydrator to their treatments. But you can do this yourself at home. Simply add a pinch of granulated sugar to a bit of our vegan Lip Elixir, with olive oil, vitamin E, and hemp seed oil (and a touch of tangerine essence). Then gently rub into lips in a circular motion. Gently rinse off with lukewarm water, pat dry, and add a layer of our super hydrating lip balm. What you’ll find: your lips will be softer, smoother, and more kissable!

8. Pay special attention to your hands with a hand massage. What we love about this: you can do it while you’re working at your desk—at home or at your office—watching TV, or just sitting and relaxing. All you need is a sustainable bottle of your favorite non-greasy, quick-absorbing Pharmacopia Body Lotion (our Citrus Body Lotion is for uplifting, our Verbena Body Lotion is for taking things down a notch, and our Argan Oil Lotion is all about gentle relaxation). Add a pump to your hands, close your eyes, and simply work the tension out of your hands. You may even want to add in a few gentle hand stretches, too.

9. Don’t forget your scalp. One of the easiest ways to make your shower more spa-like: spend an extra minute (or two) massaging your favorite Pharmacopia Shampoo and Conditioner into the scalp.

All of our better-for-you ingredients are not only designed to pamper hair strands for shinier, silkier, and healthier locks, they’re also designed to calm and nourish skin on the scalp.

By allowing the natural essences in our Pharmacopia products to linger on the scalp just a bit longer (with an added circulation-boosting and overall relaxing fingertip massage), you’ll be able to reap even more benefits from their nourishing essences.

10. Rub your cuticles. This spa hack is quick and easy—and doesn’t require booking a spa nail treatment. Simply rub some of our Tangerine Lip Elixir onto cuticles and gently massage in circular motions. You may want to turn on some relaxing music while you do it just to amp up the relaxation benefits. It’s a simple way to feel more relaxed—and nourish dry cuticles, too.