If you keep up with the health, wellness, and beauty space, there’s a good chance that you’ve heard the term hydrotherapy a lot recently. Hydrotherapy was formerly referred to as hydropathy and has even been called the “water cure.”
In its most basic sense, hydrotherapy is the use of water for healing. This type of treatment can usually be found in holistic healing spaces such as naturopathy or physiotherapy, for example. At Isle De Soleil, we are endlessly passionate about harnessing mother nature’s gifts to heal and nourish our bodies and souls. So naturally, we’ve always got eyes on the ocean and hearts focused on healing.
Hydrotherapy dates way back to ancient Egyptian, Greek, and Roman practices. The practice re-emerged in the 18th century as a personal health practice and it has been increasingly popular more recently.
Hydrotherapy empowers people to use water, something so familiar, to elevate their holistic health and even their happiness in a really beautiful way.
What Does Hydrotherapy Do?
Water is incredibly powerful and its healing powers, like that of the sun, simply can’t be replicated. Hydrotherapy can be used to treat a number of illnesses and conditions such as chronic pain, acne, inflammation, colds, depression, headaches, depression and anxiety, joint and muscle problems, sleep issues, stress, nerve problems, and so much more.
There are tons of different methods for hydrotherapy, but many of them contribute to health and healing by stimulating the lymphatic system, increase blood flow and blood supply, boosting the immune system, increasing metabolic rate, increasing digestion, hydrating the body’s cells, encouraging relaxation, loosening tension, and relieving pain.
As we all know, staying hydrated is one of the most simple and most effective ways to elevate your health daily. If that one method of using water for wellness is so effective, why not integrate water in more of your self-care practices?
There are so many other ways to invite hydrotherapy into your life.
Hydrotherapy’s Healing Methods
If you’ve ever visited a Scandinavian spa, this is an example of many hydrotherapy methods all in one place. In fact, this type of wellness practice is a staple in Scandinavian culture.
Hydrotherapy is the use of water for healing in any form. Some of these forms can be done at home, and some require a visit to a specialist or a specific facility.
Some of the various methods include: warm water baths, cool water baths, cold plunges, foot baths, water circuits (plunging in pools of various temperatures), wraps and compressions, saunas, steam baths, immersion therapies, aquatic massage, floats, and so many more.
If you are using water, steam, ice, or humidity for healing or nourishment in any way, you are practicing hydrotherapy!
Hydrotherapy For Your Skin
Our entire bodies are connected. How we treat our bodies internally presents externally and vice versa. Anything good that we do for our inner selves can be communicated through our skin. For example, drinking lots of water to stay hydrated will offer plumper, more glowy skin. Drinking water is one (very valuable) form of water therapy for your complexion, but there are tons of other ways to harness hydrotherapy for your skin.
First and foremost, what can hydrotherapy do for your skin? It detoxifies, promotes blood flow and circulation, enhances elasticity and suppleness, contributes to a hydrated glow, can work to prevent and treat acne, and can reduce dryness and excessive oils. Something as simple as a warm bath or cold plunge can significantly benefit your lymphatic system, among other things.
There are many different methods to lean on when trying to invite water therapy into your skincare routine.
One method is ice therapy. This can be practiced by using an ice cube or ice roller on your face and neck. Another option is submerging your face in ice water.
Other, less chilly, ways to incorporate hydrotherapy into your skincare include face steaming, warm water compress, or sweating out toxins by sitting in a hot bath, sauna, or hot tub.
Introducing both international and external hydrotherapy into your skincare practices can cleans your skin, unclog your pores, improve your skin texture, and promote healthy, glowing skin.
Our Favourite Hydrotherapy Practices
We are big fans of hydrotherapy at Isle De Soleil, in fact, we’re big fans of anything that harnesses the power of mother nature’s endless gifts. Here’s a bit about our Founder’s favourite practices.
“My two favourites are using saunas and cold plunges and ideally the combination of both,” said Erikka. “ I am part Finnish so this is definitely in my roots, my grandparents have two Saunas, one by the river and one in the house. We spend hours going back and forth from the river to the sauna.”
Erikka is no stranger to a cold plunge. “In the winter my Pappa will carve an open area into the ice along the shore for us to plunge in and then we run back through the snow to the sauna. The rush of endorphins and seeing what you're capable of feels so good,” she shared. As an athlete, she utilized this form of hydrotherapy after ski races to promote muscle rejuvenation and circulation.
These are both practices that she's carried into her current life on the West Coast. “I try to do cold plunges in the ocean a few times a week or finish my shower with cold water.
I also have a dry sauna in my building and use that a few times a week.”
It’s all about finding what works for you and make your body, mind, and soul feel nourished and cared for.
If you have any questions about hydrotherapy or would love to share a practice that has worked wonders on your skin, please don’t hesitate to reach out!
