Lying on a cushy treatment bed at natural beauty haven Tonic Room, I couldn’t help but wonder: Have we been doing dry body brushing all wrong?
Auckland’s Tonic Room is well known for its holistic approach and extensive natural beauty offering of products and treatments intended to support topical, physical, emotional and spiritual wellness.
I am there to try the new Tronque Summer Body Prep treatment. From your neck down to the tip of your toes, your whole body is given a delicious re-set, using the nourishing and considered formulations from luxe local body care brand Tronque.
This isn’t so much your drift-off-into-a-state of bliss treatment (we can recommend About Face’s Pure Fiji treatment if that’s what you’re looking for). Instead, it’s a scrub and rub that leaves you feeling smooth, toned and full of energy.
As my experienced treatment therapist Natalie explains, it’s intended to invigorate and brighten skin on your body and prep for all that exposure thanks to the fashion we embrace when the weather is warmer. But it also goes beyond surface level, with a number of repeated deep lymphatic drainage motions, the aim being to stimulate your metabolism and help rid the body of toxins.
“It’s like flipping the switch from winter to summer for your skin and your body,” she explains of the 75 minute treatment, perfect to smooth away dry skin as well as nurture your insides too.
“Someone said it’s like being plugged into an electrical socket” she smiles, of the resulting state of wellbeing and invigoration.
Invigorating from head to toe
So back to the brushing. The Summer Body Prep treatment starts with a full body scrub down (or should I say up, as body brushing motions traditionally flow upwards, towards the heart) with Tronque’s special body brush to slough off winter skin and encourage a smoother, brighter tone. The unique brush is unlike those with the long handle with sisal bristles we have come to know and love. This one is a paddle shape and has copper bristles, said to create negative ions, re-grounding for a more natural and relaxed energy state.
Natalie uses incredibly quick and vigorous motions and the bristles feel rough and surprisingly scratchy as she works away.
I have to say I must have been using a far too pleasant and leisurely approach whenever I have done this at home. I do wonder if the movements here are too intense and too much for me to bear. However the thought passes as it is over quickly.
As I move on the table to change sides I feel the pure silk my skin has already transformed to thanks to the brushing and concede I’m in the right place.
With the sun shining brightly outside, I’m ready for summer dresses, but have been a little too lackadaisical with the body lotion, so there’s definitely dry skin to vanquish.
The second ‘act’ of the treatment, is an application of Tronque’s Vitamin C Oil, worked into skin with Tronque’s wide and smooth metal body Gua Sha tool, guided firmly across skin to aid lymphatic drainage.
The combination of warm hands, oil and cool metal is amazing, and far more enjoyable than the prior section. I do reach a state of deep relaxation here and Natalie admits she has had clients catch a z or two.
Lastly, Tronque’s luxurious Firming Butter is massaged into skin to soothe, hydrate and moisturise, but using vigorous stroking, chopping and deep massage movements that bring me back to that state of energetic wellness.
Emerging afterwards I am handed a cup of Tonic Room’s special ‘skin tea’ before I head out into the sunshine. I walk away struck by what a unique offering I’ve just experienced. My skin glows and feels incredibly soft and I feel fantastic.
Tronque Summer Body Prep is the perfect experience to help reveal fresh skin and reset your mind, plus it’s a good introduction to Tronque’s lush body products before buying a full size. You also get to take home the Tronque Ionic Body Brush which is used on you in your treatment.
If you’re looking for a perfect gift, a voucher for one would make ideal Christmas idea, especially for someone who’s active, or would benefit from a little mental and physical reset.
- Tronque Summer Body Prep, $230 including complementary Tronque Ionic Body Brush, is available at Tonic Room in Kingsland, Auckland, until January 2024.
