What Is a Vichy Shower?

Vichy Showers are a pretty unique way of washing off your body. Most people who shower in the bathtub usually do so standing up, allowing the water to flow down from head to toe. But a Vichy Shower would have you lie down on a table while you get showered all over by as many as seven shower heads positioned three feet above you.

When you’re ready, the showerheads will be simultaneously turned on and the water will cover your whole body instantly. As the water flows along your body and down to the drains, you’ll feel relaxed and start to enjoy the experience. The whole thing will last for roughly ten minutes, which means about 100 gallons of water trickling over you in the most intense yet soothing way.

The Vichy Shower is also known as the “table shower”, which is a more literal description of the entire process. It’s important to know this term as many spas use it in lieu of Vichy Showers. That way, you don’t think that the two are different spa treatments.

This interesting take on therapeutic showering got its name from a town located in Central France. As far as most people know, Julius Caesar first discovered the therapeutic potential of water when he took some of his horses to drink by the waters of Vichy, causing them to immediately recover from their long journey. The Romans then made the most of the Vichy springs’ by turning them into a spa.

By the time they reached the 16th century, springs have earned the reputation throughout Europe for having curative powers. Since then, people have seen the Vichy waters as a means to relieve one of all kinds of health problems including but not limited to skin diseases, digestion problems, arthritis, and more.

There are two ways that a Vichy Shower is done. First, there’s the standalone service, where guests of the spa use the shower solely for its therapeutic effects. People have learned to appreciate water therapy over the years to treat diseases and induce relaxation, and the Vichy Shower is no different. As a matter of fact, hydrotherapy is an integral aspect of traditional medical practices.

Vichy Showers use both pressure and temperature in order to induce relaxation. The process starts off with a 3-minute warm shower followed by alternative streams of hot and cold water. By switching between hot and cold temperatures, the body’s circulation alternately goes inward and outward, respectively. Think of it as your body’s circulation becoming something like an accordion.

The changing temperature is then coupled with varying pressure brought about by the water so your circulation is further stimulated with a change from mere sprinkles to solid streams of water.

More often than not, however, Vichy Showers are used as part of a larger spa experience. That is, they usually form part of a package which includes other services offered by the spa where the client benefits from healthy products like mud wraps and seaweed as well as body scrubs and essential oils. All these are then rinsed off via the Vichy Shower before the experienced is capped off with a wonderful massage with some aromatic body lotion.

Here’s a short list of all the things that a Vichy Shower can do:

- Improved circulation;

- Detoxifies the body;

- Improves metabolism;

- Strengthens the immune system;

- Promotes healthier organs;

- Firms and tones the skin;

- Loosens tightened muscles;

- Helps with weight loss;

- Helps promote sleep;

- Relieves stress

New to Vichy Showers? No worries. This should help get you started on your new spa experience.

Collect information about the service as you book it.Don’t hesitate to ask questions that come off the top of your head, especially when you’re still on the phone with the attendant booking your reservation. It’s better to ask and know as much about the service as you can to maximize your spa experience. A couple of things you’ll want to ask about could be:

What the whole process entails;

How long an entire session takes;

What kind of clothes you will be wearing;

What other facilities and services come with the Vichy Shower.

Bring loose clothes.A change of clothes is a must-have when you’re getting a Vichy Shower. You don’t want to wear the clothes you wore when you get to the spa, since you’ll want to feel brand new after all that rinsing.

Follow the schedule.In other words, don’t be late! Spas run on a tight schedule and you don’t want your entire experience cut short because you didn’t arrive on time. In fact, it’s better to come early so you have time to prepare and the therapist can orient you on the equipment to be used as well as the whole process.

Don’t wear any jewelries or loose accessories.You’re going to have to remove them anyway. Bringing them along will just make it more likely for you to misplace them.

Leave your gadgets at home as well.In addition to the same reason above, you’ll also want to disconnect from the real world so you can focus on relaxing and rejuvenating yourself. It’s not like as if you can use your phone while you’re in the shower anyway.

Be open to your therapist.If ever you feel uncomfortable at any point of the process, let your attendant know. He or she is trained to make adjustments to make sure that you enjoy the Vichy Shower as much as possible.

Finally, remember to keep your voice to a minimum since you’re sharing the spa facilities with other clients. When properly prepared for, the Vichy Shower can be a unique spa experience for veterans and first timers alike.