It's all about You! You! You! The month of May is that lovely spring-to-life month in which we celebrate Mother's (Mother's Day - May 14th) and like the frolicking Guinevere, it's the perfect time to celebrate the goddess in all women. As we look at the first fresh green venturing out or the dramatic fuchsia sprouts on the “Red Bud” trees so beautifully pervasive in St. George let us be reminded that life is a wondrous experience to be lived, not survived through. Let us give ourselves permission to read more and clean less; use crystal glasses everyday; wear our new outfit to the supermarket (if we feel like it); use our special perfume whenever we want (not just on special occasions); sit on the porch without worrying about anything; spend less time at work and more time with family and friends.
Let us celebrate the passage of winter with our own modern day equivalent of the rites-of-spring. Grab your mother, your daughter, your sister, your aunt, your step-daughter, your best girlfriend and indulge in the ritual of shedding winter weight, winter blues, and winter skin and get thee off to a spa.
Here's how to pick the best spa for your celebratory bonding ritual.
Let's start with what you want to achieve:
- Is it beautiful skin? Then make sure the spa you choose offers at least three types of skin care products so that they can advise you which one would be best for your skin type.
- Is it relief from an aching body or tight muscles? Then make sure the spa you choose offers various types of massages that can be applied to your particular problem.
- Is it detoxification or easing water retention and bloating? Then make sure the spa you choose offers lymphatic treatments and body/herbal wraps.
- Is it just relaxation? Make sure the spa you choose has something to relax every part of your body: hand treatments, foot treatment, back treatments, massage and facials.
- Is it weight loss or exercise? Make sure the spa you choose has a nutritionist and private trainer on staff, or is aligned with a health club.
The Staff: Ask about the staff's training programs. There are new treatments and products coming on the market daily. Spa owners and managers need to have a continuous education program in place for their personnel.
The spa itself: Look for cleanliness. In today's age, with so many diseases, this is the most obvious factor of all. Insist that sterilized accessories are used on your skin. Fresh linen and towels must be the norm.
Your Expectations
What should you expect from a spa?
- Spa personnel should be courteous and friendly.
- The spa staff should inquire about any allergies or health conditions of which they should be aware. If they do not inquire, you should volunteer this information.
- You should be offered a brief explanation of the treatment that is being or will be administered.
- Answers should be provided to any questions you may have about your treatment, the products used, maintaining results, and so on.
- You should receive you full treatment time, unless you are late.
- Prompt resolution to any problem that arises with your treatment should be offered.
- A technician of the same sex should be available if you are uncomfortable with one of the opposite sex providing treatment.
- You have the right to be draped/covered at all times, with only the area of your body that is being worked exposed to the therapist (and the world).
Your Responsibilities
As a client, you also have responsibilities to the spa. You need to make sure you live up to your end of the bargain.
- Before you book a spa stay, be sure you know as much as possible about the program and treatment(s). Ask and learn as much as you can.
- If you decide to go away for a spa retreat, make sure the spa is right for you. If you'd like to lose a few pounds and expect to go on a diet, you should choose a spa that offers this. Don't expect a diet menu at a spa that is a beauty/pampering facility.
- Be careful when choosing your spa. If you don't care for yoga and meditation, then don't choose a get-away that is known for getting you up at 5:00 a.m. to meditate on the beach when the sun rises! If hiking is what you are looking for, you should choose a spa whose fitness program is not aerobic classes and the treadmill, but a morning hike in the mountains, the desert, or on a country road.
- If you want pampering at a day spa, then be sure the treatments you book are just that. If you want to achieve firming, body contouring, inch loss, then you need to book the appropriate treatment at a day spa that offers these. That doesn't mean you can't be pampered, too!
Spa Etiquette
1. Be on time for you appointment. Arriving 15 minutes early will allow you to get in the right frame of mind and will allow you time to fill out any necessary paperwork.
2. Leave your jewelry, pocketbook, unnecessary monies.
3. Be courteous toward the staff. We are all human, and we all have good days and bad days. The spa staff is trained to be nurturing and caring and patient. Complaints about a therapist or anything you do not like should be made to management only, and should be objective and done in a professional manner.
4. Be honest in filling out the evaluation sheet. This will help the spa staff watch out for any contraindications a certain treatment or product may have for your condition or on your skin.
5. Ask questions of the therapist. Ask that she or he explains to you what is being done, what kind of products are being used, and their effect on your skin.
6. Tipping is usually not included in the price of your treatment at a day spa. You are expected to leave a tip at least 10 percent of the treatment price. Many spas have envelopes at the front desk in which you can leave your gratuities - a separate one for each therapist.
7. In order to reach goals you set out to achieve, be sure to follow your therapists' instructions completely. When purchasing a homecare regime, ask that it be written out for you. Although you may think that you will remember it all, not too many people do when they get home! Just as your family physician and your pharmacist give you detailed instructions about the medicine you take, you should accept the same careful approach to the instructions given by the spa. Remember, spa therapists are professionals who have studied hard (and are always continuing to learn more). They are the experts in their field. After all, that is why you are buying your treatment products from them, and not from the cosmetic counter of your department store.
8. Buy the treatment series. It will save you money and will assure that you follow through with your intention. It will help your achieve the results you set out to get.
Let us, as newly buffed and polished goddesses of spring, commit to never delay, postpone or keep from doing anything that could bring laughter and joy into our lives. And on each and every May morning (try it for at least a month) say to ourselves this could be my special day. Each day, each hour, each minute is special!
Happy Mother's Day. Happy May Day!