I was only 22 when I visited a luxurious spa for the very first time. It was in the early 2000s, when Ananda in the Himalayas had opened its doors to the (more discerning) public. I was at my first job at a fashion magazine, and this was the location for our shoot. Despite, or because, we were working all day, the stylist and I made time in the evenings to enjoy their lush hydrotherapy rooms till our fingers puckered in water. Nothing could be more luxurious, I thought. But obviously, I was wrong. Since then, I have been to many beautiful spas. In India, nothing beats Vana, near Dehradun. It offers authentic treatments based on Ayurveda, Tibetan and Traditional Chinese Medicine. I also had a brief stint at The Farm in the Philippines for the detox program, a dip at Chiva Som, Thailand and a few days at the Bulgari Spa in Bali.This summer, a health condition forced me to look into the world of panchakarma, which scores much lower on the luxury scale, but ranks higher in terms of efficacy. Obviously it’s just my personal preference, but I do love the more hard-working, almost cringe-worthy Ayurvedic techniques. But panchakarma isn’t for the faint-hearted. You could get an enema of bone soup or smoke from a bitter, medicated cloth thrown into your nostrils. However, if you do manage to get through it all, you will be rewarded with beautiful skin that lasts longer than a laser facial.I visited the Tanman Ayurvedic Research Centre near Pune, to help treat my endometriosis. Panchakarma stands for five therapies: nasya to clear the chest; virechana to clean the intestines; basti for the colon; vamana to detoxify the stomach, and raktamochan, that’s blood-letting using leeches. Yes, leeches. I didn’t get the last two because these weren’t suitable for my dosha type, but I got the other three.For a week, I drank medicated ghee every morning, with the quantity increasing alarmingly from 15 to 150 ml. When my body couldn’t take it any more, they gave me pills that helped purge all the heat. I was also given water from boiled rice for three days to give rest to the intestines. The first thing that I noticed after virechana was the aversion I felt for social media. Over the years, my right hand had basically mutated into a phone, but for the first time in years, I didn’t want to look at it.The second thing I noticed was that my nails had become super-smooth, my skin was moist and buttery — and this was after I had not used any skin products after stepping into the Centre. What was this sorcery? Next up, a week of enemas that were administered twice a day. Alongside, I was given medicated oil massages every morning and shirodhara every alternate day throughout my three-week stay. I didn’t wash the oil with soap; the longer you keep it on, the more benefits you reap. By the end of the treatment, every pore of my skin and strand of hair was dripping with oil and ghee. Two weeks after coming back to Delhi, the detoxification still continues.I’ve lost some weight, but my skin and hair are in excellent shape. There was pre-panchakarma skin, which was nice enough, but lacked the creaminess that’s apparent now. It’s not inexpensive but it costs less than cosmetic detoxes at spas. The real cost is time — 10 days minimum, but six weeks recommended.I plan to do it again later this year, at Aatma (near Thrissur) which is run by the sixth generation of Astavaidyans, Dr ET Ravi Mooss.So have I given up luxe skincare forever? Not a chance. As I write, my face is slathered with The Medical Beauty Research Cross Lift Serum Ultrapeptide. This brand is formulated by plastic surgeons and is considered the La Mer of clean skincare. Old habits die hard, but more on this next time.
