As a tropical people, the Balinese live in fear of the cold and the health problems It can bring, so the whole family has a boreh both as a curative and preventative treatment. It feels really hot; it's good for fever, headaches, muscle aches, arthritis and chills. It increases the blood circulation and its exfoliating ingredients - cloves and rice - soften the skin.

The boreh is not recommended for pregnant women as the penetrative ingredients direct the heat away from the womb area to the bodys extremities.

While most Balinese spas offer the boreh, this recipe comes from the Nusa Dua Spa.

Ingredients: 20 gms (4 tsp) sandalwood, 10 gms (2 tsp) whole cloves, 10 gms (2 tsp) ginger, 5 gms ( I tsp) cinnamon, 10 gms ( I tsp) coriander seeds. 10 gms (1-2 tsp) rice powder (finely ground rice), 5 gms (I tsp) turmeric, 10 gms (I tsp) nutmeg, 10 gms ( I tsp) lesser galangal water or spice-blended oil, 3 large carrots, grated The first eight ingredients are ground together in a pestle and mortar or bought prepared in powder form or dried in balls.

Steps : Add a little water or a spice-blended oil to the herb and I spice mix to make a thick paste. For those who cannot tolerate a strong heat sensation, mix a greater proportion of ground rice powder to reduce intensity. Cover your body; leave for five to ten minutes; feel the heat! Rub the skin vigorously so that the mixture flakes away. Gently rub the grated carrot into the skin.This replenishes moisture after exfoliating, Shower and moisturize.

Traditional Lulur

The queen of treatments literally, this spice and yoghurt exfoliation and body polishing process has been practised in the palaces of Central Java since the 17th century. There, the pursuit of beauty has long been a daily ritual and the Javanese Lulur an integral step, leaving skin soft, supple and shining. Today, the Javanese Lulur {lulur is Javanese for 'coating the skin") Is more usually administered each day during the week prior to one's wedding day. This stems from the belief that a bride should be at her most clean and pampered in preparation for child bearing - her first and foremost duty as a married woman. This lulur is on the menu at all Indonesian spas offering 'traditional' treatments; it includes a massage, a spice-wrapped and yoghurt-coated body blitz, and a blossom-filled bath. It is an aromatic experience and lovely for all skins, although, if you're having difficulty choosing a body treatment, this one responds best to younger skins. The turmeric content can turn skins temporarily yellow, but generally this is a favourite, all round body treat. For a traditional lulur that really makes you feel like a princess, the Pita Maha Private Villa Spa in Ubud, Ball, offers an hour and a half treatment using this recipe.

Ingredients : small bowl a favourite body oil, 30 gms (2 tbsp) rice powder (finely ground rice), 10 gms (2 tsp) turmeric, 5 gms ( I tsp) sandalwood ,3 drops jasmine oil splash water, 500 gms (2 cups) natural yoghurt handful a selection of fragrant flowers like rose, jasmine, ylang-ylang, frangipani...or whatever you like. The rice powder, turmeric and sandalwood are ground together in a pestle and mortar or bought packaged as a powder.

Steps : Massage your body with your favourite oil. Pulverize the spicy ingredients into a brown, granular paste, with a splash of water, and smear onto your body. Once dry, gently rub the paste off the body in order to exfoliate and polish the skin. Rinse your body under the shower. Splatter your body with natural yoghurt using your hand to cover all crevices.Yoghurt contains a form of lactic acid that restores the natural pH to your skin and moisturizes it. After rinsing, soak in a warm, flower-filled bath. Petals float over your body and the scent envelops you in a floral haze.

Volcanic Clay Body Scrub for Celluite

Sadly there is no quick fix for beating that orange peel look that decorates the thighs of 95 percent of women. Improved diet, drinking water, dry skin brushing, swimming and yoga all help. And luckily the volcanic island of Ball is home to mineral-rich clays, which seep into the skin to break down those fat cells that are packed in a mattress effect under- neath. A good cellulite treatment is the Volcanic Clay Body Scrub at the Nusa Dua Spa.

Ingredients : 25 gms (2 tbsp) Balinese clay (or any clay with purifying properties),30 gms (2 tbsp) sea salt water

Steps : Mix incTredients together, adding a little water to make a light paste. Wipe cursorily over entire body. It leaves a thin, white film and feels prickly as it penetrates the skin. Once the paste is dry, rub the skin so that it is sloughed away. Shower and massage.The best essential oils for cellulite are nutmeg and rose.Add a few drops to a carrier oil or your favourite body cream, and apply liberally.

Cucumber Wrap for Sunburnt Skin

Feel the heat seep out of your sunburnt body using cucumber and essential oils. The best Cucumber Cooling Wrap is offered at the Spa at Bali Hyatt. Here's their recipe.

Ingredients : 2 kilos (4 lb)cucumbers, plus skin and pips, whizzed in a blender, 2 drops lavender oil ,2 drops tea tree oil, 2 drops camomile oil

Steps :Cover your body with the cucumber mixed with the essential oils. Wrap the body in a gauze or cotton sheet; leave for 30 minutes. The cucumber feels cool on tender skin and you can sense the heat being drawn out of your body. Cucumber leaves the skin soft, so moisturizing afterwards is optional,

Mandi Kemiri for Mature Skin

If our skin tends to be a bit rough and leathery, youll go nuts for a Mandi Kemiri, which literally leaves it glowing and feeling like silk. The pale, round kemin or candlenut oozes so much oil that when crushed, it both exfoliates and deeply moisturizes the body. This luxuriant skin scrub is exclusively offered at Jamu Body Treatments in Jakarta and dmu Traditional Spa, Kuta, Bali.

Ingredients 10 pieces peeled candlenuts, a few shavings galangal (can substitute with ginger or omit)

Steps : Grind the nuts coarsely in a pestle and mortar and add the white ginger so that the mixture looks and smells vaguely like crunchy peanut butter. Rub gently over the entire body and then rub harder with the palm of your hand. The nut oil extracts dirt from the skin's pores so that when the scrub sloughs off with rubbing, the granules, which started out as a taupe colour, have turned dark with dirt. Rinse under the shower. If you like the oily feeling on the skin, which is neither heavy nor clogging, don't use soap. Enjoy the lingering nutty aroma.