Milk It!

Continued from our Retreat & Renew Daily Tip.

Cleopatra’s beauty has long been attributed to her legendary milk baths. More than an indulgent experience, bathing in milk has historically been utilized for its healing properties.

Today, milk is known to do your body and your beauty good. It is being used in a slew of skincare products to increase moisture, brighten dull skin, slough-off dead skin cells, and reveal younger, smoother looking skin.

Similar to the effects of a moisturizing scrub that you might pay a premium for at a spa, milk treatments leave the skin with a baby soft glow. The naturally occurring alpha-hydroxy acids gently exfoliate, dissolving dead skin cells, and revealing supple, younger looking skin beneath. While the old cells are being turned over, the milk proteins act as humectants, drawing moisture to the skin’s surface. This means of moisturizing is more effective than simply slathering lotion on your skin.

Ranella Hirsch M.D., president-elect of the American Society of Cosmetic Dermatology and Aesthetic Surgery, explains that the lactic acid obtained from milk sugar is great for acne-prone skin and is actually used as an ingredient in several over-the-counter products. Hirsch also suggests the use of milk to soothe irritated skin. For a quick at-home soothing concoction, combine milk with equal parts cool water and apply to inflamed or sunburned skin.

Erich Worster, founder of Anakiri Bioenergetic Skin Care, recommends utilizing milk’s essential proteins, amino acids, and vitamin A on sensitive skin. “Milk’s natural beta-hydroxyl acids act as skin conditioners to exfoliate, soothe, and soften. They also act as a natural skin brightener. Lactic acid cleans and softens, and stimulates cell renewal”

Milk is considered to be safe for pregnant women and often used as a moisturizer in pregnancy-specific skincare products. Robin Brown, co-creator of Erbaviva, an organic skincare line with a celeb following, utilizes milk and milk lipids to help moisturize and minimize itchiness and dryness associated with an expanding belly.

Because of milk’s luxurious history (it’s hard to compete with being Cleopatra’s beauty secret), spas around the world are developing treatments that utilize the soothing substance. At the Inn and Spa at Loretto in Santa Fe, New Mexico, SpaTerre’s Milk And Honey Wrap is one of the most popular wet room treatments. Combining honey (a natural humectant, antioxidant, antimicrobial, and antifungal ingredient) with milk creates an extremely nourishing treatment that helps attract and lock in moisture. Suzanne Chavez, the resort’s spa director, reveals that “This body wrap is so decadent, guests almost feel naughty choosing it! The lovely thing is this wrap is extremely therapeutic. The milk and honey combination will leave you with completely nourished skin, a feeling of well-being, and a healthy glow”

The trend of milk and honey is also popular in wine country. At Meadowood Napa Valley, guests are treated to the Luxury Body Wrap with a milk and honey body butter head, neck, and foot massage.

Grand Velas All Suites and Spa Resort in Nuevo Vallarta, Mexico, offers guests a Milk Bath as a post-sun tanning treat from their ‘Solar Collection’ menu. The spa’s milk bath instantly soothes sun-stressed skin, taking away the sting and stopping the burn.

Other types of milk

It’s not just cow’s milk that is being utilized in skincare. Goat and even plant milks are being put to work and proving to be equally beneficial.

In North America, milk is associated with cows. But much of the rest of the world drinks more goat’s milk than cow’s milk. Goats milk has made its way onto upscale cheese trays in fine dining restaurants across the country, being touted for its flavorful, creamy consistency. Now it is gaining a reputation as a valuable ingredient in skincare. In fact, goat’s milk has twice the vitamin A and 50 percent more vitamin B than cow’s milk. It also packs a more powerful calcium and protein punch. Goat’s milk is said to gently absorb into the skin and is recommended by dermatologists for people with sensitive skin or those who suffer from skin conditions.

If you believe in using vegan products on your skin, try plant milks! Plants have naturally occurring nutrients, hydrating proteins, polysaccharides, and soothing and protective lipids. In an attempt to extract the healing compounds residing in plants, skincare companies have pressed and extracted plants’ flowers, seeds, stalks, and roots. Unlike cow’s or goat’s milk, plants produce several types of milk (based on the particular plant it comes from), which can be used to treat different types of skin, from sensitive or troubled to oily or dry.

Baudelaire’s LAIT, a new bath and skincare line, uses European plant milks created from emulsions of plant essential oils blended with floral waters. The unique blends naturally nourish, moisturize, and restructure the skin.

Mixed studies have been surfacing about milk’s health benefits when ingested. But we seem to know one thing for sure ‘milk does your skin good’ 

Try this Refrigerator Spa Treat:

Have extra milk in the refrigerator that is on the verge of exceeding its expiration date? No need to let it go to waste. Slather it on your skin or add it to your bath water for a spa-like treatment at home.

For a milk bath:

Mix a generous amount of whole milk into a warm bath (2-3 cups).
Add honey to increase the indulgent benefits, or rose petals or whole oats to help calm your skin.
Let your skin lap up the nutrients for 30 minutes.
Wash the tub very well in order to remove any milk residue.
Repeat once a week.

Excerpted with permision from The Guru’s Guide to Serenity by Laurel House (HarperCollins, 2006).

Milk your Spa Experience:

Milk Bath
Grand Velas Spa Resort
Nuevo Vallarta, Mexico
(877) 398-2784
www.grandvelas.com

Awa, Honey, and Milk Wrap
Waikiki Beach Marriott
Resort & Spa
Honolulu, HI
(808) 922-6611
www.marriottwaikiki.com

Luxury Body Wrap with Milk and Honey Body Butter
Meadowood Napa Valley
Napa Valley, CA
(800) 458-8080
www.meadowood.com

Fruits of Our Shore:
Fig Milk Bath
Lake Austin Spa Resort
Austin, TX
(800) 847-5637
www.lakeaustin.com

Shopping List:

Anakiri Radical Rejuvenation Liquid Mask
www.anakiri.com

Au Lait Milk Bath Powder
www.target.com

Baudelaire LAIT Jasmine Cleansing Face Milk
www.baudelairesoaps.com

Canus Goat’s Milk Lotion with Marigold Oil
www.canusgoatsmilk.com

Curel Natural Healing Renewing Overnight
Lotion with Milk and Evening Primrose & Jasmine extracts
www.curel.com

Erbaviva Mommy-to-be Milk Bath
www.erbaviva.com

Juara Milk and Red Sandalwood Facial Mask
www.juaraskincare.com‚ 

Lather Cucumber Milk Facial Cleanser
www.lather.com

Sisley Cleansing Milk with Sage
www.sisleyskincare.co.uk

Skinsational Skin + Body Spa Lavender Cleansing Milk
http://skinsationalspa.com/store

Sothys Softening Beauty Milk
www.sothys-usa.com

By Laurel House