The old ways are the best: seaweed steam bathing

Gio is continuing in her quest to sample every single beauty treatment and therapy on the island of Ireland. This time she tried out the legendary seaweed baths of the West coast. Famous for their health giving, detoxing and beautifying properties, seaweed bathing has been popular for a long long time. Gio visited the Killcullen Seaweed Baths in Sligo. Here's what she made of the experience.
"To start off with you are enclosed in this - it has to be said - fairly antiquated looking chamber for a super hot steam. You are in a private room (with a seaview!), enclosed in your individual cedarwood cabinet with only your head exposed to the light of day.

"You then breathe fresh cool air as your body is gently steamed with pure moist vapour. You control the temperature in the steam chamber yourself and you can stay in for as long, or as short a time, as you like. Just across the room, your warm seaweed bath is ready, waiting and beckoning to you! Once you’re nicely steamed, you then hop into the bath when you’re ready or you go back and forth between the two. (You’re either in your swimming cossie or completely starkers – whatever you prefer yourself! As you have the room to yourself anyway, it doesn’t really matter!)

"Above the bath is a really large shower head and you can pull the lever to release cold sea water which is REALLY invigorating but wow, what a shock! It’s so powerful though, you feel great afterwards!

"The seaweed bath is lovely, the water is just deliciously warm and is not at all gloopy. The water is an amber colour and this, apparently is caused by the extraction of iodine from the seaweed and the atlantic seawater, one of nature’s richest sources of this theurapeutic element.

"It is fantastically moisturising for the skin (a seaweed bath has the consistency of olive oil!) and so good for you; it’s completely natural, nothing added, nothing taken away.

"I visited Kilcullen Seaweed Baths while on a week-end away in Enniscrone, Co. Sligo. It costs just €20 for as long as you want to stay in!

"P.S. Enniscrone is lovely! There is a beautiful beach there, (the seaweed baths are just on the cliffs opposite almost 2 miles of beautiful strand). There are some great little pubs too so you can continue your chilled and relaxing day out."

Hmmm yes Gio and ruin your detox in the great little pubs? As if anyone reading Beaut.ie would do that. For more information check out www.kilcullenseaweedbaths.com

I know a few of you have visited the delightful old fashioned baths at Kilcullen and raved about it - or if you've tried a West Coast seaweed bath at another location leave a comment and let us know!