What's old is new again.

Day spa owners on the cutting edge recognize that incorporating ancient rituals developed from cultures throughout the globe into their spa menus pleases their clients, and nowhere is this more evident than with baths. Traditional bathing customs common to other countries have met with resounding success in North American spas. What follows is a closer look at the spa translations of these exotic bathing regimens, including their histories, their uses and even some of their pitfalls.

The Hammam

In many cultures hammams—now a general term used to describe bathhouses—have been dubbed “silent doctors” because of their numerous healing properties. The Turks often turned to the hammam during the 1800s for a ritualized cleansing of their bodies. The traditional hammam ritual begins with bathers relaxing in a room heated by a continuous flow of hot, dry air, which allows them to perspire freely. Bathers then either move to an even hotter room or opt for a plunge into a cold pool. This is followed by a full-body wash and massage, after which the bather retires to a cooling room for another period of relaxation.

Gradually, with the invention of modern plumbing, the use of hammams in Turkey faded. However, North Americans seem to find the tradition soothing and very relaxing. Surinder Bains-Kassour, owner of Miraj Hammam Spa (www.mirajhammam. com) in Vancouver, British Columbia, is reaping the rewards of offering hammam services to her clients. She was inspired after her first visit to a hammam; she became so addicted to the experience that she decided to open one in Vancouver.

“I've tried to achieve the best of the old world made better with the comforts of the new,” says Bains-Kassour. “At Miraj, bathers feel as though they're on an adventure.” When a client arrives at Miraj Hammam for the hammam treatment ($125 with 30-minute massage/$225 with 60-minute massage), an attendant leads her to a locker area for a quick shower. She then dons a sarong and retreats to the hammam, where she's cleansed with a low mist and high-intensity steam that stimulates all her senses. Afterwards, she receives an invigorating full-body gommage (exfoliation) and massage. To prolong the soothing, pampered feeling, the client retreats to the spa's Sultana Lounge to relax atop a velvet bed with scattered silk cushions, sip Middle Eastern tea and indulge in a snack of sweet cake.

Bains-Kassour reports great success with her spa even as she admits she had little idea what she was doing when she opened it. She credits her singlemindedness. “I believe the secret to our success is that we created one concept and used it all the way through the spa,” says Bains-Kassour. Focus is the key. “Don't spread yourself too thin,” she advises. “Be more about quality than quantity.”

Reshon Dixon, spa director of The Hammam (www.thehammam.com) in Atlanta, incorporates other services like manicures, pedicures and reflexology into regimens that include hammam facials and massages. The hammam helps to relax the client, remove impurities, increase circulation and optimize hydration.

The Hammam's full hammam treatment (55 minutes/$75) also offers a relaxing flower bath that features therapeutic fragrances and flower petals in the bath water. Dixon says the ritual restores elasticity to the skin while hydrating and polishing it. Basic use of the hammam area is complimentary when a client purchases another service, or it can be purchased a la carte for $25.

Dixon feels that there is really no downside to having a hammam, but it does require a certain amount of maintenance; the whirlpool needs a thorough cleaning every day and must be drained every three days.

Russian Banyas

Russian banyas are traditional steam baths. Seventeenth-century Russian tsar Peter the Great was quite fond of them and, while working abroad, had one built for himself and his workers. For centuries Russian women have used the banya to purify and beautify their bodies.

Brad Van Horne, operations manager at Banya 5 (www.banya5. com), discusses this Seattle-based spa's do-ityourself approach to the banya (day rate/$30). “Patrons change into swimsuits, shower and then enter the hot room,” he explains. There, 20 tons of cascade granite have been heated to an average temperature of 190 degrees.

After the hot room, patrons either catch their breath while resting on a bench or dip into the cold plunge pool. The last step in the process is entering the tepid pool. Visitors repeat the cycle as many times as they like. Afterward, they might retire to the tea lounge or opt for a massage or salt scrub for an additional fee. Van Horne says that clients typically stay between two and three hours.

Asian Bathing Rituals

For thousands of years the Asian culture has revered the healing power of hot water. However, historically, living conditions in Japan have been very tight. “For a long time bathing facilities weren't included in Japanese living quarters so the people went to soaking spas and hot springs as part of their cleansing ritual,” says Michael Modiri, director of Juvenex Spa in New York City.

Traditional Japanese bathing took place in freestanding wood tubs called “ofuro.” At Juvenex, three Japanese-style soaking tubs are filled with hot water infused with one of three restorative ingredient formulas: lemon and lime; seaweed; and ginseng and sake. “Yes, that's the same sake that people drink,” says Modiri. “It helps break down dead skin.” (Modiri reports that the sake and ginseng bath is the most popular with his clients.) The tubs are situated in an open area, but Juvenex maintains one additional soaking tub in a private room. Clients who want privacy can choose any additive they want for that tub.

Juvenex doesn't sell the soaking rituals separately. “They come as part of a treatment, which enhances the entire spa experience,” Modiri explains. “With three spas on every block in New York City, we had to provide unique services, and no one else has soaking tubs.

“We're also open 24 hours so we often get Broadway actors and actresses coming in after a performance or clubbers looking for some relaxation,” continues Modiri. “The soaks seem to give us a much higher client satisfaction rate.”

Unfortunately, soaking tubs are labor-intensive and expensive to maintain because of the need to change water and clean them frequently. “Adding soaking tubs to your spa is a large investment and it will take awhile to get a return on that investment,” confirms Joyce Carboni, founder and director of Skinsational (www.skinsationalspa.com) in Carlsbad, California. Carboni's spa offers several specialized soaks:

• Javanese Lulur Soak (120 minutes/$155), is preceeded by a massage, herbal exfoliation and fragrant shower. The tub is infused with a tropical fragrance and topped with flower petals that float atop the water while the bather enjoys a cup of flower tea.

• Bali Sea and Flowers Soak (120 minutes/$225) starts with an aromatic body scrub with sea salts, flower petals and massage oil. The client then soaks in a scented flower bath, which is followed by a Balinese massage.

• Milk Bath Soak (20 minutes/$65) is infused with either pineapple or frangipani along with fresh coconut milk and exotic nut oil blends. (The alternative South Seas Soak is infused with guava, mango or eucalyptus.)

Most of the soaks at Skinsational are a prelude to massage. “We recommend this because if a client is tight and tense, the soak makes the massage so much easier,” says Carboni. “Our front desk personnel stress to clients how beneficial a soak can be when combined with a massage.”

Carboni admits that the spa's soaks don't sell as well as its facials and massages but she stands by the treatment. “Right now, soaks are only about 10% of our business, but I truly believe the public is becoming more educated and they will catch on,” says Carboni. “Part of our mission statement at Skinsational is to promote the wellness of body, mind and spirit, and soaks contribute to that optimal health.”

American Bathhouses

More than a century ago, Native American tribes would travel to what's now the Bonneville Ho Springs in North Bonneville, Washington, to drink and bathe in its waters, reputed to possess healing powers for the sick and elderly. Legend has it that a store owner bottled the hot springs water and sold it for 10 cents a bottle in 1882. People believed that this water helped heal kidney problems, rheumatism and other ills.

Today, in that exact location, bathhouses at the Bonneville Hot Springs Spa (www.bonneville resort.com) invite clients to relax and detoxify in those same hot springs mineral waters, used in every spa treatment offered there. “We use clawfoot tubs in our bathhouses, which are separated into men's and women's,” says Mike Harvey, one of the bathhouse attendants at Bonneville. “The soaking relaxes the clients in preparation for their other treatments.”

Bonneville clients first bathe, then receive a 20- minute thermal wrap that encourages the body to sweat and detoxify (water-only baths run $25, herb baths $30 and salt baths $35). The client can then opt for a massage (25 minutes/$65; 50 minutes/$95; 80 minutes/$130).

If you're interested in providing banyas, bathhouses, soaks or even a hammam for your clients, you might want to take Carboni's advice. “I did my research on the Web, visited other spas, spoke to other spa directors in noncompeting locations and researched ideas at the ISPA (International Spa Association) show,” she says. “Networking helped me a great deal, especially by learning in advance what would work and what wouldn't.”

Beneficial Baths
The following ingredients help turn a simple soak into a healing experience:
• Coconut milk removes impurities, soothes and hydrates skin to make it soft and supple.
• Epsom salts draw out toxins, reduce swelling and relax muscles.
• Frangipani soothes, softens and moisturizes skin.
• Lemon and lime refresh the body, especially on hot days.
• Macadamia nut oil absorbs easily to nourish and moisturize.
• Pineapple exfoliates dead skin, leaving skin supple.
• Sake breaks down dead skin while it softens.
• Seaweed nourishes the skin.
• Sesame seed oil is a natural antibacterial and anti-inflammatory agent.
• Sweet almond oil absorbs easily to soften dry and irritated skin.

Cedar Enzyme Bath
A fragrant blend of finely ground cedar, rice bran and plant enzymes heats naturally via fermentation to mimic the body's natural metabolic process.
Offered at Osmosis the Enzyme Bath Spa in Freestone, CA.

Hot Cocoa Bath Plus
Cocoa butter, oat protein and moisturizers are combined with a nourishing Kenzoki milk powder for a skin-luscious experience.
Offered at Argyle Salon & Spa in Beverly Hills, CA

Tropical Soak
1. Pour 1 to 2 cups of Epsom salts under running water in bath.
2. Add one to two capfuls of frangipani bath
3. Sprinkle baby orchids and rose petals into bath
Offered at Skinsational in San Diego, CA.

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