Save and Create Your Own Affordable Home Spa Experience

Massages, facials and other beauty treatments make you look and feel good. But they cost so darn much at the spa and even the price of home equipment and fancy sup0plies can add up. Try these substitutes.

Pamper your feet.

Electric foot massagers can average $80, while a quality hand-held massaging tool can go for $40. It's easy to cut costs here.

• Get a shallow baking pan and spread a small towel in the bottom. Cover the towel with marbles. Keep it nearby when you sit to relax in the evenings. As you roll your bare feet over the marbles, your tired dogs will get a lift.

For a nice leg massage, dig out an old rolling pin and roll the kinks out of your calves. Total saved, about $120.

Mix up a recipe for beauty. 

A drugstore beauty mask costs around $3.25 every time you use it. Make your own.

• Mix a ripe banana with 1 cup of oatmeal and a dash of milk. Spread the paste on your face, and leave it on for 15 minutes. Rinse it off and enjoy your moisturized skin.

The homemade mask costs just over 50 cents per use, so you save about $2.75 a week or $140 a year.

Steam your Skin

Finally, save the $40 you would pay for an appliance to give your face a steam treatment. You can do a better job for no cost.

• Boil water and pour it into a shallow bowl. Mix in some herbs, like crushed rosemary or a few drops of mint extract. Lean over the bowl with your face about 8 inches from the surface. Drape a towel over your head to catch the steam. Enjoy the treatment for 10 minutes. Your pores will be opened and your skin moisturized.