Spa Xperience – Sasafied!

Location

Bolton Hills Historic District (Baltimore)

SaSa’s  Spa

1111 Park Avenue, Baltimore MD  21201  (410) 383-SASA (7272)

www.sasasspa.com

Hours:  By appointment Only / Open 7 days a week

3 treatment rooms -  1 w/steam shower

Hydrotherapy bath (tucked away in a corner of the spa)

Manicure/Pedicure Station

Make-up Bar/Station

First Impression & Ambience

When I entered the spa, I had a feeling that this was going to be a good spa xperience.

(It actually turned out to be a GREAT Xperience!)

SaSa’s  Spa is a boutique’ ish  (is that even a word???) Organic/Natural Day Spa.  As a lover of interior design – I loved the curves in the design of the spa. I also loved the use of natural materials along with frosted glass and glass block.  The décor is welcoming and the complete design of the spa is calming.

And Yes! It goes right in line with my goal of Reasonably & Gradually Green!  Support of Eco-Friendly establishments is always a plus.

Service

Lisa Karasek is the owner of Sasa’s Spa.  When we entered the spa, Lisa and her husband make you feel as if you have been invited into their home for a special event.

The service was impeccable and the staff professional and friendly.

We were given a tour of the spa, along with an explanation of the products that are used and the benefits of those products.

Treatment

Hydrotherapy & Hot Stone Massage

What can I say?

DIVINE!!

AWESOME!!

Hydrotherapy

I started my experience at this spa in the hydrotherapy tub, tucked away in a corner, with a curving wall that had glass block.  The tub allowed me to select the color of light in the water.  For this experience I chose yellow. Don’t ask me why.  As I went through all the colors, yellow was the one I wanted to stay with.

From this point forward, I will not get a massage w/out some form of water treatment beforehand!

Hot Stone Massage Therapy

Therapist: Lauren

Experience: I have had countless numbers of massages, so I know the massage routine from one body part to the next.  While I am relaxing and enjoying my massage, in the back of my mind, I am saying to myself “ ok, now he/she will be moving to this body part next….they have spent the allotted time for this body part.”

Lauren was NOT going through the motions of giving a massage – completing  the massage routine.  She focused on the areas where I needed to be massaged.  While I still received a full-body massage, the areas that needed more work, received the most attention.

And get this!!! After the massage, she met me on the way out to discuss my session.  She talked to me about the areas that I need more work on and also gave me suggestions on things that I can do at home.

Lauren definitely ranks in my top 3 of full-body Massage Therapists!

Recommendations

1. Fix or replace the massage table.  It was squeaky at times, during the session, and I definitely noticed it.
2. Improve the web-site  – this spa is truly a gem, and the web-site does not do it justice. I have been bragging about this spa to all who will listen!

Summary of the Xperience

This Xperience indulged 4 of 5 senses!

Sight – design, look and feel of the spa

Touch – Hydrotherapy Tub – relaxing,  a great start to the whole experience, preparing me for the hot tone massage

Smell – aromatherapy during the hot stone massage

Hearing – the sound of water during the Hydrotherapy treatment, and then the silence during the hot stone massage

Spa Xperience R&R Rating

Relaxing – I have heard the following tag line at another Spa – “Give us your body and we will give you your mind” – This is exactly what Sasa’s did for me.  The proof was when I walked back into the lobby, people who weren’t there when I came in commented on how relaxed and calm I looked after my treatment.  If only they knew just how relaxed I truly was.

Renewing – This experience renewed the desire to really take care of me.  Not just going to the spa to be pampered, but to really focus on the mind and the body.

P.S. Javonnia – I look forward to our next Spa Xploration!

Extractions

What are they?

An Esthetician manually removes pore blockages from the skin.

My experience

Depending on how my skin is doing between scheduled visits, I honestly think extractions could be used as  form of torture.

(For those of you that have flawless, gorgeous, supple skin – I ENVY YOU!)

Now imagine this:

A petite, 4 foot something, thin, soft-spoken esthetician on a mission to rid the world of zits.

Me! A  5 foot 5 inch, 145 lb woman (ok…155 lb women – and that’s all the info you get on me) going into the treatment room

The treatment room is peaceful,  with relaxing music in the background.  As Toni (my esthetician) begins, it feels so relaxing, makes me want to go to sleep  – applying various products to my face, rinsing the skin with warm water, using techniques that they learn to massage the face.  THEN, she puts the cloth over your eyes, and I know THE BATTLE IS ABOUT TO BEGIN.

As she is extracting, at times I hear her say, ‘I am making sure to get next week’s zits’.  And I think to myself, next week is not promised to us, heck tomorrow’s not promised to us.  Why should I be tortured for something that  may never come to be?

At the end of the session, Toni emerges, pleased with what she has accomplished, and yes once again, the victor.

I , on the other hand, emerge feeling as if I have been man-handled for the past hour, by this petite, soft-spoken , 4 foot something women.

One thing I can say, Toni Iacoboni knows skin!  It doesn’t matter if she is working on a teenager, woman or man –  Caucasian, Latino, African-American, or Asian, extreme case or normal, TONI KNOWS SKIN!!!!

In my opinion if Toni can’t help you, you most likely can not be helped! (And I have been to estheticians on the west coast, east coast, and in Europe)

This post is dedicated to Toni Iacoboni.

Toni Iacoboni
Professional Esthetics – Hunt Valley, MD
Market Street Manor – York, PA

Spa Week 2009

Zina’s Day Spa & Salon

I am going to start this blog out by giving my R&R Rating First, and then provide the Details.

R&R Rating - Rushed & Ridiculous!

Location

The Fells Point area is a nice, hip area, but it is a challenge to find parking. We were quite frustrated by the time each of us found a parking space.

Zina’s Day Spa & Salon
2832 O’Donnell Street Baltimore, Maryland 21224
Phone 410-988-4114 FAX 410-342-6347

Hours: Mon 9am-6pm Tue, Fri 9am-8pm Wed-Thu 9am-9pm Sat 8am-6pm; Sun by appointment

Appointment

I called to make an appointment for myself and a friend at 6:30 PM. I know this was the time I made the appointment for because I knew I would not be able to get there any sooner than that.

When making the appointment, the phone was handed off in the middle of our conversation to another person – So there it is! - The reason for the mix-up.

On my way to my appointment, I receive a call with an irritated voice on the other end, telling me that my appointment was for 6:00PM, I am late, where am I?  I politely advised that my appointment was requested for 6:30PM. The voice then told me that they confirmed my appointment yesterday. Ummmm LIAR! I never received a call confirming my appointment. (and I let her know that…that being the owner, with whom I was speaking)

First Impression & Ambience

Now, remember in my previous article about First Impressions, when you first enter a Spa, it usually sets the tone for the type of experience you are about to encounter. There may be some exceptions to the rule, but….

When I entered the spa, my first thought was, Hair Salon that offers spa treatments. The décor was non-impressive.

The front desk/personnel are very unprofessional. The girls seem like they would be a lot of fun to party with, but not suitable for a spa environment. The check-out process definitely is a horrible conclusion to a spa experience:

• Complaining about issues and mistakes at the front desk
• Patrons being charged the incorrect price
• The gratuity/tip must be paid for in cash (reluctantly via debit card, I found out later), however you don’t know this prior to the appointment, and then they send you across the street to a bank machine.

Treatment

The treatment I received was the AROMATHERAPY SALT SCRUB WITH STEAM SHOWER. The treatment itself was good.

• The music took me to another place
• The scent of the scrub was refreshing and my body felt great after the treatment
• The Vichy Shower was at a good temperature and very soothing, however, it got chilly once the water was turned off.

Down-side was that I was dismissed from my treatment while still lying on the table. Once I was dressed, they pointed me in the direction of the reception area.

Services & Amenities

This Day Spa offers a wide range of services – Body Treatments (wraps, polish, scrubs), Massages, Hot Stone Therapy, Skin Care (various types of facials), Salon Services (hair, nails, and make-up)

Robes: yes

Slippers: yes

I am sure there were more amenities, but I wasn’t made aware of them.

When tipping, although you are only paying $50.00 during Spa Week, you should tip on the full amount of the treatment you are receiving. I did tip on the full amount, although I was not very pleased with my spa experience.

The purpose of Spa Week from the perspective of the Spa is to allow people to try some of their treatments at a lower price, in hopes that they will return ( a medium for advertising and promotion). This is one Day Spa that I will not be returning to.

If anyone out there has an experience during Spa week that they would like to share (good or bad), please share!!

P.s. Natalie, our next spa experience will definitely be a better one!

Facial Prescription

Some of us have good genes, keep stress to a minimum, and are in great health – resulting in fabulous, flawless skin.

Then there are those, such as myself. I would like to think I have good genes, my health is pretty good, but the stress is definitely off the charts – resulting in less than fabulous, flawless skin without the help of specific products.

Now I have heard some say that if you use a certain product, once you stop using it, your face will break out again, therefore, it is not a good product to use.

So let me get this straight –
     before you use the product your face is jacked (or maybe semi-jacked),

     once you start using the product, you look like a diva,

     and when you stop using the product, your face is back to being jacked (or semi-jacked).

Hmmmmm, I don’t know about you, but I think if the product works, I am going to stick with what works.

My facial prescription/facial regimen was actually given to me by my esthetician. For those of you that can purchase products from the drugstore, and have that fabulous, flawless skin – I envy you.

My Facial Prescription /Facial Regimen

Dermalogica Essential Cleansing Solution
This is my cleanser. I have switched to other cleansers, but this has been the best, by far.

Jan Marini Bioclear Cream
I love this product, not because she is located in my home city of San Jose, California, but this product really does work. This product is a highly moisturizing resurfacing agent that is suitable for all skin types.

Sonage Vitality Night Control Cream
A night time moisturizer that doesn’t leave my face feeling greasy.

Sonage Presage SPF 15 Daily Protection
A day time moisturizer with sunscreen protection

Sonage Luster Eye Contour Cream
A cream to moisturize around my eyes. (I know I don’t get enough rest, and like I said earlier, the stress is off the charts, but you shouldn’t be  a dead give-away when you’re looking at me.)

Once a Week Regimen

Jan Marini Clean Zyme & Skin Zyme
Green Papaya Concentrate Skin Cleanser that I use and follow-up with a Green Papaya Enzyme Mask. Both of these are home care exfoliation products…that I just love!  They are not harsh on the skin, and the Skin Zyme Mask is not a mask that drys or hardens on the skin.

What other Facial Prescriptions/Regimens are out there? Please share your stories!

Spa Xperience – What’s it to you?

Experience has been defined as:
the fact or state of having been affected by or gained knowledge through direct observation or participation.

Each of my spa experiences give me something new to reflect on. Thankfully, the majority of my experiences have been positive ones.

My next appointment is determined by what I am looking for.

For example, for massages and body treatments, I prefer certain spas, whereas, for manicures and pedicures, I prefer another type of spa environment. If I need a facial, depending on what I need (extractions vs. pampering), will determine where I go.

If I am going alone, going with friends, or going with my husband, all of these factors play into my decision of where my next spa appointment will be.

Examples of Spa’s For Different Reasons

Manicure & Pedicure
La Clinica Day Spa , Lutherville MD(www.laclinicadayspa.com/)

This is the perfect spa for me to get my manicures and pedicures. The ambience is one of calm and tranquility, and I know that my experience there will yield a good R&R rating. The staff is very friendly and very professional.

However, this is not the type of spa that I would choose to go to for a massage and body treatment, unless of course me and my girls had the run of the whole place.

Tub Rooms & Massages
Watercourse Way Bathhouse, Palo Alto CA (www.watercourseway.com)

This is one of my favorite spas to go to when I am either going alone or with my husband. The treatment rooms on the main floor and the various private tub rooms, give me the feeling of stepping into another country. This is a prime location for body treatments, soaking in one of the tub rooms, and massages. It is a romantic, stress relieving , serene place.

Because this spa is so relaxing, to minimize the sudden jolt of leaving the spa and being thrown back into the real world, I always schedule an evening appointment. When I leave the facility the streets are quiet and I can carry the experience with me.

Girls Day
Burke Williams, San Francisco CA (www.burkewilliamsspa.com)

This particular location is not a spa that I would ever go to by myself. This is definitely a prime location for A Girls Day Get Away!

This spa offers a wonderful, peaceful experience, but it is quite large, and at times has a number of people seeking that same peaceful experience. I don’t associate peace with a crowd.

When you hear the word Spa or Spa Experience, what comes to your mind? What are you looking to gain from your spa experience?

Spa week is April 13 – 19, 2009, so this will give you an opportunity to try different spas and experience selected treatments for $50.00.

Happy Spa’ing!!

R&R – San Francisco Day Spa Vacation

Itinerary

Breakfast: Boogaloos 3296 22nd Street @ Valencia
DaySpa: Burke Williams, 845 Market Street, Level 5
Dinner: Mochica (Peruvian Cuisine), 937 Harrison Street
Participants: 5

We arrived at Burke Williams at approximately 10:30A and spent the whole day spa’ing

Selected Treatments
3 Deep Tissue Massages
1 Swedish Massage
1 Spa Style Facial

Staff
Very professional and friendly, dedicated to the whole spa experience

Ambience
Soothing, calming, tranquil
The waiting section is comfortable with sofas, club chairs, and reading material.

The reception area is totally separated from the spa. Once you are past the reception area, you are truly in a spa environment.

The Quiet Room
Comfortable lounging chairs, sectioned off for a bit of privacy. This room is suitable for napping, reading, relaxing, reflecting, etc.

(I spent a considerable amount of time in this room relaxing and sipping on hot tea after enjoying their Jacuzzi)

Amenities
Comfortable, plush robes, slippers, shampoo & conditioner, lotions, blow-dryers, hot tea, cucumber water, fruit, sauna, Jacuzzi, private showers

Memories
Lasting Memories – We started the day with a great breakfast, spent all day with the girls relaxing, talking, and sharing our spa experience after our treatments. We enjoyed a great, no an outstanding dinner at Mochica’s, and ended the evening at a friend’s house, still talking about our spa experience.

Funny Memory – Watching a woman stumble out from her massage, totally disheveled from the experience, while being escorted out by her male massage therapist. (That had to have been the massage of a lifetime! )
Then seeing the look on Melinda’s face, with a granny smith apple stuck in her mouth, as the same massage therapist, then calls her name next….HILARIOUS!!

My Spa Xperience R&R Rating

Reflection – I had the opportunity to spend quite a bit of time thinking peacefully on a number of things.

Re-Connection – Reconnecting with my Cali Girls!!! We truly are Unique!

 

This post is dedicated to Cat-eyez, Mel, Shay, & Lor

Brand Loyalty – Why?

I ask this question, because within the past 6 months or so, I have been totally TRAUMATIZED!!

There are needs and wants. When a brand fulfills a need, it opens the door to more of their products, that fall into the category of “wants”.

Two of the products that have been in my ‘need’ category – absolutely could not live without, or so I thought, have been DISCONTINUED!

Body Product
Need: Liquid Loofah Body Brightener by Bare Escentuals
Want: Body product gifts for friends and families

I bought this product as a gift for my husband about 6 or 7 years ago and we have been hooked ever since. Bare Escentuals doesn’t have many stores, so on one of my quarterly trips home to San Jose, California, I would replenish my supply – 4 to 6 bottles at a time (13.2 fl oz / 390 ML).

At the end of last year, we were down to our last bottle, and so on my last trip home of the year, I went to Bare Escentuals to replenish my supply. For those who know me, imagine the look on my face (the shock and look of disbelief) when one of the salespeople told me they had discontinued their body line, which included the Liquid Loofah. (Dare I say that I stumbled out of the store trying to make sense of what she had just told me.)

So, I wrote the company via email to see if they had sold the body line to another company. There had to b another way of obtaining this product. You don’t just discontinue this liquid gold. Well, that glimmer of hope was quickly dashed the next morning, when they so promptly responded that the product was not sold off, and it was no longer being made…

Hair Product
Need: Aveda Sapp Moss Nourishing Concentrate
Want: Body Scrubs, Lotions, soaps, hair products, gifts for friends and families

This product came in a 4.2 oz fl oz bottle, and I purchased this product 3 to 5 bottles at a time. I have thick curly hair. This product was the master and my hair was the slave – total submission.

A few weeks ago, I drove around the parking lot of the mall for almost 20 minutes, trying to find a parking space. The whole time I am screaming in the car, at the top of my lungs (windows up, of course) – Why aren’t these people at work at 1P in the afternoon on a Friday. Don’t these people have jobs?!?! (I want you to understand my state of mind, by the time I reached the Aveda Store)

As I peruse the shelves, I am not finding my Sapp Moss Nourishing Concentrate. The salesperson then tells me it has been DISCONTINUED!! She then proceeds to tell me that some time ago, another customer who had come in and found out the product was being discontinued, purchased the LAST 50 BOTTLES! (Oh the horror!)

So, until I find another product that gives me the same results, I now have to go back to fighting with the blow-dryer and the flat iron.

If a brand is no longer fulfilling my need, the door is now open for me to try new products and to satisfy my needs AND wants elsewhere.

So I ask you again – Brand Loyalty-Why? – When the brand isn’t loyal to the consumer/customer.

Stay tuned for my spa product Xplorations!

Signed,
No longer a loyal Aveda Chick that is lacking her Bare Escentuals

Stolen Thoughts

This week, I am posting a blog, that is actually taken from another blog – http://spas.about.com/b/2009/02/20/spa-treatments-i-dont-get.htm?nl=1

After I read this article, it really made me think about the choices I make when going to a spa. During these economic times, I need to find a balance between my spa treatments and my pocket book. Some of the treatments mentioned in the article below, were treatments I was actually considering.
Let me know your thoughts after reading this article. Thank you Anitra Brown for this great article!

Spa Treatments I Never Get
Friday February 20, 2009

We’re all trying to make our money go further these days. That got me to thinking about which spa treatments are really worth the money (your basic massage, facial and body polish are always good choices), and which are a waste of good money.

Here are the spa treatments I NEVER get:

* a half-hour facial. You don’t get the extractions or the mask, so what’s the point?

* a massage where they lay semi-precious gemstones on my chakras. I believe in chakras and the healing power of stones, but I don’t need a licensed massage therapist to lay them on me.

* a soak in the hydrotherapy tub. I’d rather relax in the steam room or sauna for no extra charge. And I don’t have worry about how well they cleaned the tub after the last client.

I’m also a little suspicious of expensive signature treatments that last 90 minutes or more. It’s usually a scrub, a wrap, and a massage that doesn’t last long enough, for a hefty price tag. Get a 90-minute massage instead.

Masseuse vs. Massage Therapist

Masseuse/Masseur vs. Massage Therapist – DING! DING !

In this corner we have the term ‘Masseuse/Masseur ‘
And in this corner we have the term ‘Massage Therapist’.

Round 1 – DING! DING!
In an article/blog – ‘Spa Talk: Please don’t call me a Masseuse/Masseur’ (www.spafinder.com) – the writer wrote about the desire of those who are licensed to give massages, wanting to be called ‘Massage Therapists’ rather than ‘Masseuse or Masseur’. The writer then wrote the following:
‘…I find that a person who uses the term ‘Masseuse’ or ‘Masseur’ is generally either not very sophisticated when it comes to the spa experience or is someone of an older age…’

Those were fighting words!!! Boy did she cause a firestorm!

Round 2 – DING! DING!
A couple of the respondents wrote the following:

1. I find your comments…not only rude, distasteful & ill-structured as a sentence…I will call my massage therapist – a ‘masseuse’ – if she or anyone else has a problem with that term, then I suggest they refuse the $250.00 I’m paying for their services…So get off your soap box and give me a massage!

2. … Your answer insulted people who still use the terms – not out of any lack of respect, but just because the general populace just wants a massage, not a pompous term.

Round 3 – Referee – A voice of reason – DING! DING!
People who use the words “masseuse” or “masseur” were taught that that was the proper word for someone who does massage. In fact, it had an air of exclusivity, panache and sophistication when they learned it, since they are French words. As a psychologist/psychoanalyst who is still, occasionally, referred to as a “shrink” I say, get over it.

The bottom line is: what you are called will change with the times; it is what you do and the relationship you develop with your clients that really matters. If it irritates you to explain to your clients that you would prefer to be called by something other than what they are calling you, I think you should look inside yourself…

A regular massage therapist client,

Susan Hans, Ph.D. (You can call me whatever you like: just show up, pay your bill and let me do my work!)

Round 4 – The Apology – DING! DING!
A note…..I originally wrote this blog about a week ago but decided to edit it today, November 22nd, after receiving a slew of emails from people who were offended by something I wrote in the original post. While I don’t want to offend anyone else, I also want be transparent about what I said. Therefore you will see the heated comments below which came in referencing several of the terms I used to describe those who say masseuse or masseur rather than massage therapist. Ouch…I got the message and realize I should have come from a point of education rather than criticism. My apologies.

Summary
And the winner is (or should I say, the winner should be…) – Massage Therapist!
Really! What’s wrong with calling an individual that is licensed to give a massage – a Massage Therapist, if they so choose.  Any objections out there?

As far as I am concerned, Massage Therapist it is!

Tune in for the next match. Those who have a passion for spas – whether they are loyal to one spa or enjoy spa hopping –what should they be called?
1. spa-goer
2. spa-hopper
3. spa enthusiast
4. spa advocate
5. spa connoisseur
6. spa expert
7. spa critic
8. spa dilettante
9. spa snob
10. spa diva

First Impressions

‘You only get one chance to make a first impression’

 

 Now, I’ve also heard – ‘Don’t be deceived by first impressions’

 

When it comes to spa’s —being the ‘spa-hopper’, ‘spa-enthusiast’, ‘spa-advocate’, ‘spa-diva’,  ‘spa-critic’, ‘spa-snob’ (naw…I can’t say that I am a spa-snob) that I am – Should I allow my first impression of a spa, determine whether I should make an appointment or not?

 

A spa should offer a relaxing environment, that should (in my opinion) indulge at least 4 of the 5 senses.  So when I first enter a spa, the design and the ambience should set the tone for a calm, relaxing, tranquil place – away from all the stress and chaos of the outside world.

 

The reception area gives you your first impression of a spa.  The first glimpse into what your spa experience will be.

 

I can recall entering a particular spa and hearing the phones ringing.  I also recall a mixture of various conversations coming from the nail bar and pedicure stations, situated behind the reception area.  The design of the spa was modern with chains hanging from the ceiling, and the color scheme seemed better suited for an upscale lounge or club.

 

** A First Impression, gone terribly wrong!! **

 

Now the flip side, is when I entered another spa.  The reception area was separated from the rest of the spa, by huge double doors.  Needless to say, my curiosity was aroused.

 

The design and the ambience of the reception area were a key indicator that I was in for a true spa experience.  The color scheme was calming, the design was pleasing, and the feeling was that I was leaving all my stress at the front door – even if it was for only an hour and half.

 

If a spa is supposed to provide a quiet, relaxing, serene atmosphere, shouldn’t it start when you first enter the spa?