Body scrubs and wraps at a beer and wine spa in Prague

Body scrubs and wraps: why they belong at the spa

Mention a beer or wine spa and most people picture the same scene: a wooden tub, warm water and a glass within easy reach. What rarely comes up is what happens to your skin before you step into that water, and what happens after you climb out. Yet a body scrub and a wrap are exactly what turn a pleasant spa visit into proper, head-to-toe care. At Lázně Pramen in Prague's Dejvice district, both are part of the offer, though not as afterthoughts tacked onto a price list. They are built into the longer programmes held in the Emerald Spring (Smaragdový pramen), and they are complemented by mud and peat treatments in the salt cave.

It helps to be clear on the difference first. A scrub is the active step. A fine, grainy mixture is worked into the skin in small circles, loosening the surface layer of dead cells so that the skin feels smoother and looks brighter. A wrap is the opposite: the quiet phase. A prepared mixture goes onto the body, you are wrapped up, and for the next half hour or more nothing much happens beyond lying still in the warmth. One cleans and refines the surface; the other lets it rest. Together they make perfect sense.

So why not simply do this at home in the shower? For a few good reasons. After warming up in the cedar barrel your skin is noticeably softer. The scrub is applied by experienced staff who know how much pressure to use and how fast to go. And there is no rush after the scrub. Instead of a quick rub with a towel, you move on to the bath and then to a heated daybed of wheat straw. The evening has a clear shape, and you don't have to organise any of it.

In this guide we cover everywhere you'll come across scrubs and wraps with us:

• the beer V.I.P. programme, where you can swap the massage for a scrub
• the wine V.I.P. programme, with the same choice and a bottle of wine
• our most extensive wine programme, with a scrub, a wrap and a massage for a single guest
• mud and peat treatments in the Sapphire Spring (Safírový pramen) salt cave
• aftercare once you're home, including our own beer cosmetics range, sold at reception

The scrub before the bath: what it does for your skin

The outermost layer of skin is constantly renewing itself. Old cells flake away and new ones take their place, though not always evenly. In the colder months especially, when central heating and frost both dry the skin out, more dead cells linger on the surface and it starts to look dull and feel rough. Dermatology sources describe exfoliation as a way to lift that layer gently, and they stress the word gently again and again. Press too hard or scrub too often and you irritate the skin rather than help it.

In our programmes the scrub has a fixed place in the sequence. First comes the cedar phyto-sauna, a cedar barrel you sit inside with your body enclosed and your head outside, so you breathe freely throughout. For around fifteen minutes herbal steam warms you through, the skin softens, and the scrub then glides on far more easily. Only after that does the scrub itself begin, followed by the bath. On freshly smoothed skin, water at 35-38 °C, close to body temperature, feels all the more pleasant, and the natural ingredients of the bath can settle onto a clean surface.

Crucially, you don't have to work out the order or keep an eye on the clock. Staff prepare the barrel, the scrub and the bath so that each step flows into the next. All you do is move from one kind of warmth to another.

If you're planning a visit, a few practical pointers will make it more enjoyable:

• Skip any strong mechanical scrub at home on the day of your visit and the day before, or your skin gets a double dose.
• Do any shaving or hair removal a day or two beforehand. Freshly shaved skin tends to be more sensitive to a grainy mixture.
• If your skin is sensitive, tell the staff in advance so they can adjust the pressure.
• Skip the scrub if your skin is broken, irritated or sunburnt.
• Arrive a little early, so you start relaxed rather than breathless from a dash out of the metro.

That dash is a short one, incidentally. Our address, Dejvická 255/18, is roughly a two-minute walk from Hradčanská metro station.

The beer V.I.P. programme: a scrub instead of a massage

The most affordable route to a body scrub here runs through the V.I.P. Beer SPA. It takes place only in the Emerald Spring, lasts 150 minutes, a full two and a half hours, and is designed for one or two guests. The appeal lies in the choice you make at the second step: a 30-minute relaxing massage or a 30-minute body scrub. If you want an evening devoted to your skin, go for the scrub. If your back mostly needs loosening, take the massage.

Here is how the programme unfolds:

1. Cedar phyto-sauna for about 15 minutes, body in the barrel, head outside.
2. Body scrub or relaxing massage, 30 minutes.
3. A beer bath in a larch wood tub with an automatic whirlpool, usually 20 minutes, up to 30 on request.
4. Rest on a heated wheat straw daybed beside an electric fireplace.
5. Throughout, unlimited light and dark Petrovické zlato craft beer on tap, with snacks on the side.

The bath itself is the same as our classic beer bath. Into the tub go real craft Petrovické zlato beer, Žatec hops, brewer's yeast and malt. The natural blend is added to the water in front of you, so you can see exactly what goes in. After the scrub your skin is smooth and clean, and that is precisely why the beer bath makes sense at this point in the sequence.

The programme starts at €293 per room, not per person. Come as a couple and you pay a single price for the whole booking. For comparison, a beer bath on its own, without the barrel or the scrub, typically in the Ruby Spring (Rubínový pramen), starts at €148 per room and lasts 90 minutes. The difference in price buys you an extra hour, the cedar barrel and either the scrub or the massage. For couples marking an anniversary, or simply after a longer evening, the V.I.P. option is the most straightforward choice.

The wine version: scrub, wine bath and a bottle to share

If wine is more your thing than beer, there's the V.I.P. Wine SPA. It too is held only in the Emerald Spring, suits one or two guests and runs for 150 minutes. The structure mirrors the beer version: cedar phyto-sauna, then a choice of a 30-minute relaxing massage or scrub, then the bath, and finally a rest on the straw daybed by the electric fireplace.

The difference lies in the tub and on the side table. Instead of beer, you soak in a wine bath: red wine, grape seed extract, vine leaf, honey, herbs and French lavender flowers. The water turns a deep ruby, and the scent is subtler than you might expect. The programme comes with a bottle of wine and a plate of fruit and cheese. Unlike the beer programme, then, this isn't an unlimited draught offer but a single bottle, shared however you like.

Why choose the scrub on the wine programme? If you think of the wine bath as skincare for the whole body, it makes sense to step into the tub with skin as clean as possible. A scrub beforehand is the natural preparation. The massage, on the other hand, is better for anyone who arrives with aching shoulders after a punishing week and simply wants to unwind.

The V.I.P. Wine SPA starts at €326 per room. To give you a sense of how the wine options compare:

• Wine bath in a single tub, 90 minutes, 1-2 guests, without barrel or scrub: from €201 per room.
• Two wine tubs side by side in the Golden Spring (Zlatý pramen), 2-4 guests: from €268 per room.
• V.I.P. Wine SPA with cedar barrel and a choice of scrub or massage, 150 minutes: from €326 per room.

If it's really the bath you're after and the scrub isn't a priority, the classic wine bath is the more economical route. If you want the whole ritual, the V.I.P. is worth it.

Wine scrub, wine wrap and a grape seed oil massage

The most complete skincare we offer in Dejvice is the Delux Wine SPA. It is the only programme that brings a scrub, a wrap and a full-body massage together in a single visit. It takes place in the Emerald Spring, lasts two and a half hours and is strictly for one guest. This isn't a couples' programme; it's time you set aside for yourself, or a gift for someone who has genuinely earned some peace and quiet.

The running order is fixed:

1. Cedar phyto-sauna: the cedar barrel warms your body while your head stays outside.
2. Wine scrub, 20 minutes. The skin sheds its surface layer and is readied for what follows.
3. Wine wrap, 40 minutes. The mixture is applied, you're wrapped up warm, and you simply rest.
4. Full-body massage with grape seed oil, 40 minutes.
5. Rest on the straw daybed by the electric fireplace, with a glass of wine and a cheese platter.

This sequence shows neatly how a scrub and a wrap work together. The scrub opens the skincare, the wrap follows as the still phase, and the oil massage brings it to a close. Your skin experiences three quite different kinds of touch and ends up smooth and supple. The Delux Wine SPA is also the only programme that includes a bathrobe, so there's nothing to think about between steps.

One thing worth knowing: the wine scrub, the wine wrap and the grape seed oil are part of the treatment and are used only within our wine programmes. We don't sell wine cosmetics. Our own range, available at reception, is entirely beer-based, and we'll come back to it in the section on aftercare at home.

The Delux Wine SPA starts at €326 per booking. It is also the longest stretch of uninterrupted skincare a single guest can enjoy with us. If you'd like to add a classic massage in the salt cave as well, it's best to discuss it in advance so the two visits fit together sensibly.

Mud and peat treatments in the salt cave

Most people associate a wrap with wine or herbs, but in Dejvice there's another option: mud and peat treatments in the Sapphire Spring. This room is unlike the other three. There's no tub; instead it's a salt cave lined with ten tonnes of three kinds of salt: rock salt, Dead Sea salt and Himalayan salt. Inside you'll find a massage table, salt lamps and a lymphatic drainage device. The atmosphere is hushed and the lighting low.

The mud and peat are applied to the body much like a wrap. It's a calm treatment: you lie still, let the natural material do its work and listen to the silence of the cave. Unlike the wine programmes, these treatments can't be booked online. The price is available on request, appointments are arranged by phone and payment is made on site. The same applies to mechanical lymphatic drainage, which lasts 45 minutes and starts at €23. Plan lymphatic drainage as a separate visit, since it can't be combined with a bath.

The salt cave is also where our massages take place. These are the options:

• Relaxing massage, 30 minutes, back, neck and shoulders only: from €33.
• Relaxing massage, 60 minutes, full body: from €50.
• Sports massage, 60 minutes, deeper muscle work: from €75.
• Mechanical lymphatic drainage, 45 minutes, phone booking and payment on site only: from €23.
• Mud and peat treatments: price on request, booking by phone.

A massage in the salt cave, by contrast, pairs well with a beer or wine bath; simply book the two treatments back to back. So if the full V.I.P. programme isn't for you but the combination of calm, salt and a bath appeals, the Sapphire Spring makes a fine addition. For details and available slots for the treatments, just get in touch.

After the scrub and wrap: why the shower can wait

Once the bath and the rest are over, it's tempting to head straight for the shower. Every room has one, but we'd suggest using it with some thought after your treatment. It's best not to rinse the beer or wine extract off for about two hours. Your skin stays smoother and softer that way, and the feeling usually lasts a day or two. After a scrub this matters even more: the skin has just been refined, and soap would only dry it out. When you do rinse off, lukewarm water is all you need.

Dermatology guidance on dry skin tends to echo our own advice: shorter showers, lukewarm rather than hot water, patting dry with a towel instead of rubbing, and regular moisturising. With scrubs at home, less is more. If your skin is sensitive, once a week or even less is plenty, always with a light hand. After a spa treatment, give your skin a few days' rest before reaching for a home scrub.

For care at home we've created our own line of beer cosmetics, which you can buy at reception. These aren't treatments but products to take away with you. The range consists of exactly five items:

• beer shampoo
• hair conditioner
• body peel
• body scrub
• bath salt

In other words, it covers both hair and body. The shampoo and conditioner fit into your everyday routine, the body peel and scrub are for moments when you want to pick up where the spa left off, and the bath salt is for a quiet evening in your own tub. We don't list prices or ingredients on the blog; the team at reception will happily show you everything and suggest which product suits your skin type. A reminder that this is strictly a beer range. Wine products are used only as part of our wine treatments and aren't for sale.

Choosing a programme and booking your visit

The right programme depends on who you're coming with and what you want from the evening. If you're a couple and want a scrub alongside beer, choose the V.I.P. Beer SPA. If you'd rather have wine, go for the V.I.P. Wine SPA. If you're coming alone and want a scrub, a wrap and a full-body massage, the Delux Wine SPA is the one. All three take place in the Emerald Spring and are for no more than two guests, or a single guest in the case of the Delux. If it's the mud treatments in the Sapphire Spring salt cave that tempt you, give us a call.

Prices at a glance, per room rather than per person:

• Beer bath, one tub, 1-2 guests, 90 minutes: from €148.
• Wine bath, one tub, 1-2 guests, 90 minutes: from €201.
• Beer and wine combination in two tubs in the Golden Spring, 2-4 guests: from €238.
• V.I.P. Beer SPA with scrub or massage, 1-2 guests, 150 minutes: from €293.
• V.I.P. Wine SPA with scrub or massage, 1-2 guests, 150 minutes: from €326.
• Delux Wine SPA with scrub, wrap and massage, 1 guest, 2.5 hours: from €326.

We're open Monday to Friday from 10:00 to 22:00, and at weekends from 10:00 to 23:00. Baths and V.I.P. programmes can be booked online through our booking page, or you can browse all our treatments in one place. Looking for a present? A gift voucher lets the recipient choose their own treatment, and the expiry date is printed on the voucher itself.

Before your visit, it's worth a quick look at our terms and conditions, which include the full list of contraindications. And if you'd like to read more about body care, head over to our blog. A scrub and a wrap are hardly rocket science, but done in the right order, in the warmth of a private spa room, they can turn an ordinary evening into a genuinely restful one.