Patty Reviews: Detoxing at “Willow Spa”

When you think ‘detox’, what do you think of? Not eating for several days? Swallowing down a cleanse or juicing and missing the sensation of eating? Kind of makes you uncomfortable, doesn’t it? What if you could go through detoxing and feel pampered and luxurious?

Ladies, welcome to Willow Spa, a day spa nestled in Santa Monica, waiting to spoil you through various and many ways. Willow Spa recently won the Best of LA Massage in 2013 from CitySearch. (This is a big deal in the massage world!) They are best known for their Thai massage, (divine), but I wanted to try something new and different from just a massage, so I signed up for their Enzyme Bath and their Detox Facial.

As you arrive at Willow Spa, you’re warmly greeted and asked to fill out your paperwork in the comfort of their lobby, or even the patio outside. Once you’ve done that, they provide you with what you might call very comfortable pajamas. You’re instructed to wait in what I would describe as a sitting room. But it’s no ordinary sitting room, it’s a cabana filled with comfortable couches, chairs, and pillows. Your attending therapist comes to greet you with an Akatsuki enzyme drink (tasty, gingery and followed by a shot of honey). It’s very nice really but the fun doesn’t stop there, no – then you get a foot bath/massage – in rose petals, no less!

My therapist Sawang showed me to the Enzyme Bath room. This is no ordinary bath folks, no this is what you might consider a dry bath, however, it’s so much more. It’s made of wood shavings, rice bran, and fruit and vegetable enzymes that hail from Japan. Together, these ingredients will heat naturally to 120 to 130 degrees. What happens next? To quote from their site, “The natural activity of the enzymes breaks down the other ingredients to create a deep, penetrating, heat. While immersed in the Willow Enzyme Bath, your body’s muscles begin to relax, your circulation is increased and your skin is cleansed.” It felt like I was in a sauna! Sawang helped me into the bath and proceeded to gently cover me in the dirt. By the way, you’re wearing your bathing suit the whole time, so just remember to bring one when you sign up for the treatment. The dirt is also used to conform into a supportive cushion – it just might be the most comfortable thing I have ever sat in/against/on. Ahhh.

A session lasts anywhere from 5 to 20 minutes depending on how you feel as your body is detoxifying – the heat boosts your metabolism – your heart rate increases and you’re sweating. Note – if you hate the heat and you get claustrophobic, this might not be the treatment for you.

So just what is detoxing? It’s your body’s way of getting rid of the unnecessary stuff in your body. In layman’s terms, as “it” leaves your body, you sometimes can feel a little weird, maybe woozy, or even feel like you’re experiencing the symptoms again of whatever you’re trying to get rid of. i.e, sometimes, one can experience feeling drunk again if they were just trying to detox after a weekend of drinking.

Sawang checked on me every 5 minutes, she gave me a cool lavender compress, provided a cold glass of water to drink, and encouraged me to continue taking deep breaths. She also made sure I was comfortable and asked each time if I wanted to come out early. There’s no shame in that – you can begin to feel woozy, and if that’s so, it’s time to get out. I decided to get out at 15 minutes, and I’m glad I did. When you get out of the bath, you’re brushed off, (it tickles!), and it’s time to shower off the remaining dirt. It’s true, I did feel woozy, and I was glad for the coolness of the shower. The treatment doesn’t stop there, you’re then escorted into a small room for a bit of a Thai massage – you’re given foot and leg stretches for about 10 minutes. Your body has been made to feel like goo – the stretches feel lovely, and yet I was able to regain my senses and enjoy the whole shebang. Y’all – we’ll have to talk about Thai massage on my next review, because it is AMAZING work, and note to self: brush up on Thai massage technique.

Before I went in to my detox facial, I was given time to sit under the cabana, enjoy some cool water and read a bit from the magazines they have lying about. Conveniently for me, there is a local magazine called Find Bliss, and I found an article called, “Waking Up To What’s Important.” It was very serendipitous for me. I’m already completely blissed out, and Zaida, my esthetician comes to get me. Willow Spa works with Eminence, a completely organic, handmade skin care line. I don’t know what products you use at home, but if you really want to invest in your skin, please invest in Eminence. I’ve worked in spas that have used Eminence for all their facial treatments, and it has been the best that I have yet to see. At the very least you should know that Eminence is 100% organic and vegan. You can pretty much use it for every skin type.

Let’s get back to the facial, shall we? As any esthetician would, Zaida asks me about my skin type, my skin regime at home, and sets herself to work. For those of you who don’t know, when you get a facial, there is a basic cleansing, extractions, (where they clear those pesky blackheads),  sometimes a masque or peel is used, and if you’re really lucky, you get a bit of a shoulder massage while the masque is working. (Yes, I was that lucky!) Zaida has a quality sense of touch, because not only is she applying the products, she’s massaging my face, and it adds to the whole experience of feeling pampered and soothed. On top of that, she informs me of what products she’s using and how they effect my skin. The detoxifying facial is geared towards a deep cleansing facial, that stimulates your skin and circulation. When you’re on the receiving end of an Eminence facial, you’re immersed in delicious scents for each product. My nose can tell you that at the very least there was blueberry, pumpkin, and paprika, and not necessarily in that order.  At no time whatsoever did I feel uncomfortable burning, which I have felt with other products before.  You might think that a detoxifying facial might make you feel discomfort, and you would be wrong. When it was time for me to get up off the table, my skin felt dewy soft, and it shined as it never as before. Because the facial was stimulating and deep cleansing, my face was a little pink afterwards – this is typical for me, but within the hour, I was back to myself.

I thought when my fun at Willow Spa was over, that I would feel lethargic and wouldn’t want to have to do anything. I thought about curling up with Netflix, and instead I went to my stage combat class energized and ready to play. Woot! I highly recommend going to Willow Spa for an enriched and heightened session of pampering and relaxation. If you’re a first time client, tell them you’ve heard about them through Ms. In The Biz, and they’ll give you 15% off! THEY ARE SO WORTH IT! Remember, you deserve to feel good, so get out there and treat yourself to feeling relaxed.

Willow Spa: http://www.willowspa.com
Eminence: http://www.eminenceorganics.com/en-US
Best of CitySearch Massage: http://www.citysearch.com/best/losangeles/spa-beauty/massage