Friday April 24, 2009

Friday night a lovely evening without television. We decided to go on a whim all the way. Two of my favorite things to do eat and go to the spa.

What Spa: Body & Soul Retreat
Service received: Hot Wax Manicure
Price: $30.00
Tip:Personally I usually always tip 20% - if you enjoy your service immensely than feel free to tip a higher percentage.
Note: When purchasing Spa packages tip may be included in the pricing so be sure to inquire, but again feel free to tip more if you would like.

This Spa is definitely one of my favorites. It is clean, the staff are friendly and hospitable, and the environment is peaceful and calming. The decor is colorful with low lighting and relaxing music.The fragrance is nice, clean and refreshing.

About our Visit:

We were immediately approached and recognized. We only had to wait a few brief moments before our manicurists were ready for us. A beverage was offered to us, hot tea or water and off we went.
I sat in the back at your typical nail station table in a very interesting and calming atmosphere. The manicurist was friendly and calm which is important to me in this type of environment. If I wanted to have a Chatty Kathy type, I would have opted for the malls nail salon. She shaped my nails, then placed them in a bowl of room temperature water with medium stones to play with. My cuticles were trimmed and away I went to the sink to exfoliate with some heavenly body scrub. This scrub they make homemade in the spa. The scrub left my hand feeling smooth and hydrated from the oils in the crystals. Finally, my warm wax. Every hot wax treatment I have ever had has been in those traditional heated pots of wax. The wax is heated and they dip your hand in several times before wrapping them and placing them in mittens. Though, I have thought in the past how unsanitary this technique is, I never really let it bother me. This place uses disposable mittens. It is a container that heats the wax when you close it. The manicurist poured this amazing aromatic lavender lemony oil into the machine.After a few minutes of a sample hand massage, applying lotion for the wax prep it was already ready to go. She pulled one glove out of the machine and I placed my hand inside, then the next. The warm wax squished in between each finger and on the bottom of my palms. Then came the toasty gloves to help retain the heat of the wax. About 5 or so minutes, and it was ready to remove the wax. She removed the wax filled gloves and disposed of them. This was very easy and sanitary. Following was a hand massage and polish application.

What I liked:
The atmosphere is always relaxing and calming. It is as if you are in another world when you step inside this spa. The wax was very aromatic, clean and sanitary.

What could have been better:
The water for the soak could have been a bit warmer. The hand massage could have been longer.

My Suggestions:
After the scrub for the hands,instead of rinsing the hands off the manicurist could use a warm towel to remove/massage the crystals from the hands. This may even help more of the hydration of the oil to stay and penetrate the skin more.