Mud rasuls and mud therapy spa treatments - what are they and where can you get them?

Mud therapy has been around for thousands of years, introduced to different cultures around the world with their own variations, but all with a view to cleansing, nurturing, and supporting wellbeing. Mud baths are used for their range of wellbeing benefits, but they are also a popular part of luxury spa experiences in the UK as well, whether you're simply looking to relax, nourish your skin, or share a therapeutic experience with a friend or loved one. So, what are they, what's all the fuss about, and where can you go to give it a try?

What are the therapeutic benefits of mud therapy?

For centuries, people have indulged in mud baths, allowing mineral-rich mud to soften and heal the skin as well as promoting deep relaxation, which can work a myriad of benefits from improving sleep to detoxifying the body. Some of the much-reported benefits of mud therapy include:

• Reduced stress
• Better sleep quality
• Mud therapy can ease low mood
• Hydrated and moisturised skin
• Detox
• Improved circulation
• Reduced inflammation
• Immune support
• Relaxation
• Exfoliation

What happens in a mud rasul treatment?

Mud rasuls are amongst the most popular type of mud therapy in spas. The self-administered spa therapy can be experienced on your own or shared with others, so it's brilliant for small groups and romantic spa breaks. It's also lovely for people who want the benefits of a spa treatment but prefer not to be touched.

Essentially you go into a dedicated, private steam room, where you are given special mud for mud therapy to apply to your face and body. You can also help your friend or partner apply it as well. Sometimes the spa will suggest applying a scrub to your skin first to prepare it for the moisturising benefits of the mud. You then relax in the steam room, letting the mud work its magic in the heat, detoxing, softening, and nourishing the skin.

The mud's benefits are enhanced by the steam in your private chamber, before you shower it off, leaving skin feeling cleansed and hydrated. At the end, the spa will often provide moisturisers or oils for you to apply to the skin to complete the experience and add to the benefits.

Which spas offer mud baths?

There are lots of spas across the UK that offer mud baths in different shapes and sized. For example, Bryn Meadows Golf, Hotel and Spa are experts in tailoring their mud treatments to the season, and Celtic Manor has a famously beautiful mud chamber. Here are a few favourites:

The rasul mud room at The Bridge Hotel & Spa, North Yorkshire

Close to the spa town of Harrogate in North Yorkshire, famed for its reputedly healing ‘chalybeate’ or iron infused waters, The Bridge Hotel & Spa really know what they are talking about when it comes to relaxation. Celebrating their traditional Arabian body bathing ritual experience, The Bridge's rasul mud room is a wonderful way to benefit from a complete top-to-toe treatment instead of just focusing on one area of your body. Enjoy the self-administered muds as they come or add an extra scoop of their Alpine mud for extra relaxation. For the total deluxe treatment, finish by cleansing with natural sea salts infused with peppermint or wild rose for a truly luxurious or revitalising experience.

A rasul for two at the Nàdarra Spa @ The Coniston Hotel, North Yorkshire

The enchanting Nàdarra Spa @ The Coniston Hotel, is a breathtaking location, where you enjoy spectacular views of the Yorkshire Dales from just about every space. Here, they offer a mud therapy with a Gaelic twist. Start by applying natural and mineral muds and body scrubs from the pure, clean waters of the Hebridean Islands off the coast of Scotland. As the heat and steam opens up your pores, the products will stimulate the body to start the detoxifying process. After approximately 20 minutes, a warm shower mist descends, to gently wash away the remaining products, leaving you revitalised from head to toe. As you take a few moments to relax and enjoy the moment, your private bubble bath will be prepared, allowing you to soak up the atmosphere, and ease away any tension.

Mud experiences at South Lodge, West Sussex

South Lodge is a luxury hotel in the South Downs, with an eco spa in the grounds, complete with a grass and sedum roof as well as green oak cladding and lots of natural light all make for a peaceful setting. After a dip in the outdoor hydrotherapy pool and swim pond visit The Spa Mud Room. The experience is a traditional Arabian inspired cleansing treatment that combines relaxing enhancing properties of heat, steam and mud leaving your skin beautifully exfoliated and moisturised incorporating English Countryside ingredients that stimulate skin cell regeneration visibly improving the skin’s appearance. The luxurious, self administered, cocooning ritual for two in the privacy of your very own private steam room, it incorporates Pelegrims x South Lodge products which encompass the grape leaf extract from South Lodge's very own vineyard.

Mud treatments at Pennyhill Park, Surrey

A famously luxurious spa destination with a whole world of wellbeing experiences available, a mud treatment is the perfect complement to a day at Pennyhill Park. After relaxing in their thermal pools, which move seamlessly from inside to outside, head to their mud room for a chance to enjoy applying muds and scrubs before indulging in the warmth of the relaxation chamber. It's an experience that will leave your skin smooth and hydrated, perfect for sharing and for anyone who prefers a self-applied therapy.

The rasul room at Whittlebury Park, Northamptonshire

The perfect place for group gatherings and wellbeing with friends, Whittlebury Park is well known for its wide variety of spa experiences including an extensive thermal suite. Amongst them is the rasul chamber for mud bathing, using self-applied Chakra mud, herb-infused steam and heat to provide a detoxifying, relaxing and nourishing spa experience, cleansing the body inside and out. This fun and welcoming destination is perfect for feeling pampered, preened and getting party ready together.

The Elemis herbal steam chamber at Celtic Manor, Wales

Celtic Manor is known as a destination that has something for everyone, with its vast array of facilities. One of the stand out offerings is the Elemis herbal steam chamber in the Forum Spa. A unique steam room, where small lights in the ceiling mimic the constellations, it takes the mud rasul idea to a whole new level. Here, guests enjoy 45-minutes of pampering bliss, beginning with a full body exfoliation using Elemis Lime and Ginger Salt Scrub, then you shower and apply four types of mineral mud, and relax in the heat listening to soft music. Towards the end of the treatment it starts to rain lightly in the chamber. When the mud washes off the treatment ends and the therapist comes in to take you into the relaxation room.

Seasonal mud treatments at Bryn Meadows Golf, Hotel and Spa, Brecon Beacons

Bryn Meadows Golf, Hotel and Spa is well known for being a welcoming and thoughtful spa destination that pays attention to the details. Set in 100 acres of meadowland, it's all about relaxation, and when it comes to their mud rasul therapies they always put in the effort to give them seasonal twist. For example, that might mean using orange, cinnamon and clove muds to warm the muscles around the festive season. Guests shower before going into the chamber where there is a bowl of salt scrub and a bowl of mud. They start with the scrub - applying it all over the body in circular motions and paying particular attention to dry areas. You then add the mud over the top of the salt and activate the steam so it effectively becomes a steam room. It is on a timer and stays on for 20 minutes, and then a rain shower starts to rinse off the products. By the time you leave your skin is left soft, exfoliated and moisturised.

The Mud Rasul Steam bathing ritual at Rockliffe Hall, County Durham

Rockliffe Hall has everything you could ask for from a luxury retreat - five-star facilities all the way, from the golf course to the hotel, and the award-winning spa. Amidst 50,000 square feet of facilities, they have just about every experience you could ask for - including a Mud Rasul Steam bathing ritual tailored to the estate. The 45-minute experience is available for groups of two to six people, and is inspired by the ancient Middle Eastern custom of herbal steam and mud bathing. You start with a self-administered salt scrub, before you shower, then apply dead sea mud to aid with relaxation and detox. Then the steam room warms up, and you take a seat - while steam rises, you simply enjoy the space. As the steam comes to an end, be prepared for a tropical monsoon. This will wash away all mud from the skin and refresh the body as the temperature moves from hot to cold. To finish, apply nourishing coconut oil to the skin to lock in moisture.