Baby Elephant Mud Bath Eduardo Z on flickr

I am always looking for things to add to my mental file of How To Pace Yourself Through a Setback. This month, I’ve been too busy, or too lazy,or too flu-ey, to get back into working out.

But I felt FLABBY. I once had a gift certificate to an herbal-wrap salon, and it was fantastic – lie down for an hour, get up feeling tighter.

There is a plethora of information on the internet about clay, mud, and herbal wraps. Here’s the best source I found.

The Wrap Yourself Slim Blog

Basic ingredients –
1 cup of seaweed clay
1/4 cup sea salt
2 tbsp. olive oil
2 cups water

Easy-peasy, right?

I chose Aztec Clay for the mud and Organic Apple Cider vinegar for the base and wetting agent,just because they are awesome and I had them in the house. Epsom salts, Ace Bandages, Green Tea Powder(detoxifier), and even the recommended thermal blanket were ALL available at the dollar store.

Seek and ye shall find. Dollar Store Items FTW

Once your Mud/Clay solution is mixed and cooled, prepare the area to be wrapped with a good, brisk skin-brushing, and start wrapping!

I recommend you take approximately twice as much time and space as you think you will need, preferably outside.

Wrap Mix, wrapping cloths, foil blanket, towel. Pic by RaggedyAnnarchy

(Okay, that looks fun. But did it work????)

I chose the thickest part of my thighs, from knees to hips. The wrappings left marks, but afterwards my peeling sunburn was smooth and even, and my legs felt like I’d done an hour of Pilates.

Relaxing with a good book = part of the treatment. Pic by RaggedyAnnarchy

I had much more obvious immediate results with a modified clay/yogurt mask (1 part clay, 1 part Apple Cider Vinegar, 1 Part Plain Yogurt). I used it on the speckley parts of my face and the backs of my hands. LAY IT ON THICK, at least 1/2 inch, and let dry for 20 minutes. WOW. I’ve never seen such skin…smooth, even-toned, glowing.

Oh, and this was without needing to put on pants or leave my backyard. For under ten bucks.

Try it! Playing in mud is fun.