Day Spa Heaven in London Town

by Joan Scobey
Posted in: Day Spas Europe Spa Reviews by Location on September 5, 2008 at 4:07 pm |

As a hotel guest, it’s easy and convenient to book a spa treatment at your hotel, choose among the available offerings, and sometimes just slide into slippers and a robe a few minutes before your appointment. But what if you’re in spa-less accommodations? In most cities, you’re probably in luck.

During a recent stay in London, for instance, I discovered a large spa world apart from hotels, dozens of stand-alone day spas scattered across the city. I picked three to check out, and set off to join the locals in their favorite neighborhood spots.

At first glance Bloww looks like a street-front hair salon on a quiet dead-end street a few steps off busy Regent Street, between Mayfair and Soho, but walk past the black leather couches and black string window hangings to the blue neon "Bloww" in script hanging behind the front desk and the red neon "Spa" sign, and you get a hint of why it calls itself a "21st century salon experience (that) combines a laid-back classic London attitude with professional skills and a five-star bespoke service."

The two-year-old hair and well-being salon has come to the rescue of stressed-out bankers, wired entertainment types, and Regent Street shoppers who spend their daytime hours in the area, and often want a quick fix.

The street level is all hair, an award-winning operation that creates "innovative yet wearable couture hair." But I’m here for the body part, so I follow Bao Diep, a therapist, down the staircase in the middle of the room to the vaguely Asian spa world below.

Bao, a Thai and Tui Na massage practitioner, is Vietnamese and was raised in Sweden. "I trained and qualified in the UK," she said, "and I also traveled to China and Thailand to take further studies in Tui Na and Thai massage." Knowing how rigorous Thai massage is, and Tui Na’s similar deep stimulation of acupoints, I opted for Bloww’s Terra Sigillata Mud Therapy.

"I’ll prepare six different healing muds that you apply to different areas of your body–legs, arms, chest, abdomen, face, elbows," explained Bao, "then you sit in the rasul while they do their work."

The rasul is a steam chamber with two facing plastic chairs in which you bide your time while the muds gently exfoliate your skin, eliminating toxins and stimulating circulation. This treatment is more fun with two people, when you and your partner can spread mud on yourselves in a kind of playful therapeutic mud fight, but I was alone so Bao did the honors. I sat in the rasul about a half hour, the warmth of the steam deeply relaxing, but not as taxing as a steam room. Then, through tiny holes in the ceiling, a gentle simulated rain fell, washing the mud away. It was a lovely restorative treatment.

The rasul is one of seven treatment rooms at Bloww, several of them designed for specific therapies.

 

Wet Stone Therapy Room

This wet stone massage table allows muscles to fully relax and circulation to improve through the warmth the stone generates. Express Target, 30 minutes, £40. A half hour massage that concentrates on either back, neck and shoulders to relieve tension, or feet to stimulate reflex points, or head to relieve headaches, migraines and stress. Custom, 60 minutes, £70. Concentrating on areas of your choice, warm oils help relieve muscular tension and reduce stress. Relaxation, 60 minutes, £70. Warm pantai sensitive oils in a tender, holistic massage that gently relaxes and sooths aches. Deep Tissue Tui-Na, 60 minutes, £90. Based on traditional Chinese medicine, it vigorously stimulates acupoints to relieve muscular pain, tension, and chronic stress. Pantai Luar Hot Dumpling, 90 minutes, £95. A full-body deep heat treatment combining fresh tropical fruits, exotic spices, and specially blended heated oil in a fruit bundle that is deeply massaged into the body to exfoliate and relax.

Flotation Therapy Room

With a thin membrane separating body and water, this treatment bed allows for complete floatation, relaxing muscular systems and joints, and providing the effects of a nights rest in one hour. Seasonal Fruit, 60 minutes, £70. Rich in fruit acids, an exotic fresh mask works deep into the skin’s layers to loosen dead cells and encourage regeneration of new ones to firm the skin and reduce appearance of cellulite. Hydrating Bloww Butter Creme Melt, 60 minutes, £80. A gentle body exfoliation and body cleansing for all skin types. Purifying Organic Peat, 60 minutes, £80. A thick layer of hot peat applied to the skin encourages skin regeneration and soothes aches and pains. Detoxifying Hay Bath, 60 minutes, £80. Purifying and detoxifying, a pioneering treatment uses Alpine Hay to stimulate the metabolic system so you feel fresh and energized.

Motion Therapy Room

A bathing system with a thin membrane separating body and water gently rocks and cradles you, contouring the body to allow water pressure to relieve tired muscles and boost the metabolism.

Rasul Therapy Room

A warm tranquil chamber filled with herb-infused steam to cleanse and purify, in conjunction with other therapies for a relaxing therapy alone or with a friend. Poppy Seed and Sugar Exfoliation, 60 minutes, £100 for two, £65 alone. Freshly blended fruit and a customized blend of mud create an exotic mask to exfoliate your skin. The Terra Sigillata Mud Therapy, 60 minutes, £100 for two, £65 alone. Six freshly prepared healing muds applied to designated areas of the skin, purifying and detoxifying them.

Facials

Using holistic therapies and advanced facial techniques, Bloww’s treatments often cater to individual needs: Bloww Express, 30 minutes, £40. Cleansing, exfoliation, massage, and moisturizing for a lunch time treatment. Custom, 60 minutes, £65. An individualized treatment based on skin analysis includes cleansing, exfoliation, and a mask, plus a facial massage and moisturizing. Microdermabrasion, 60 minutes, £70. A multi-functional rejuvenation treatment for anti-aging, scar tissue, acne, and blemishes. Advanced Prescription, 60 minutes, from £75. A combination of specially blended holistic remedies and scientific methods for all skin types that includes steaming, light therapy, dermabrasion, and galvanic current. Ice, 60 minutes, £70. Cleansing, purifying, and hydrating, it uses a specially blended mask and cooling ice to counter the irritating effects on men of regular shaving.

In the "Bloww Clinic," a range of non-surgical anti-aging and facial contouring treatments includes lip fillers, skin peels, dermo fillers, even teeth whitening.

Bloww, 4 Regent Pace, 011-44-(0)20 7292 0300; www.bloww.com.

Spa London

On a Saturday morning in spring, I showed up at Spa London, which is based in York Hall, a community facility in a gentrifying area of East London. A banner across the front of the red brick building read "Spa London, Lifting London’s Spirits." It didn’t begin to hint at the spa’s most unusual history.

Described as the United Kingdom’s first public sector day spa, it is a joint venture of the local government and an employee-owned community society. Its mission was to introduce a whole new audience to the therapeutic and recreational benefits
of spa culture with top quality services at a lower cost, without the exclusivity. The spa launched a £1.4 million restoration of the 1926 Turkish baths, combining the historic marble hammam with 21st century treatments.

The centerpiece of Spa London is the Thermal Spa Experience, a series of heat treatments that are suggested in the following order.

1. The Hammam–A heated seating area to initiate the heat sequence, or to relax between them.
2. Three connecting hot, dry air rooms from the old Turkish Baths, where the temperature increases from a moderate 50C to an intense 110 C heat, are designed to relax the muscles and relieve rheumatic pain. As you become acclimatized to each heat level, you move from the Tepidarium, a mild 50-60 C, to the Caldarium, a hotter 70-80 C, and finally to the Laconium, the hottest room at 80-110 C. Periodically you cool yourself off at the ice fountain right outside, or jump into the cold plunge pool.
3. Aroma Steam Rooms. There are two large ceramic-tiled steam rooms, generating ‘wet’ heat temperatures of 65-70 C, designed to soften the skin, cleanse the pores, calm the nervous system, and relieve tension. The Green Room has a eucalyptus aroma, the Blue Room has lavender.
4. Sauna A ‘dry’ heat treatment in a wood-lined room with a temperature reaching 90 C, designed to bring about perspiration to cleanse the body of impurities. Every 15 minutes, rehydrate and cool off and boost circulation in the plunge pool or rub your body with crushed ice flakes from the ice fountain
5. The Monsoon Shower is an aroma-infused cascade from various water jets that create different water experiences, ranging from a warm tropical downpour to a cool Scotch mist.
6. Rest in the Relaxation Lounge, where a variety of rehydrating teas are available.

I arrived at the same time as a mother and daughter, who told me they meet here regularly for the Spa Experience. We were each given a mesh basket with a nice terry robe, towel, and slippers. The women went off to change into bathing suits for the Spa, a requirement to note ahead of time. The facilities are straightforward, stressing utility not decor.

My signature treatment turned out to be "Gym and Tonic." After leaving my shoes at the front desk (shoe removal is very important here) and changing into the robe and slippers, I was taken to one of the four treatment rooms. My therapist told me it was designed for the post workout body, especially the back, and utilizes the properties of algae. She uses Micronized Marine Algae, Descomask, and Plasmalg Gel, all Thalgo products, which the spa favors. Afterwards jotted exactly what she did:-brushed the dry skin to stimulate blood circulation and lymph flow-scrubbed back with Thalgo Descomask to exfoliate the dead skin.-massaged with almond oils-lathered the back thickly with micronized marine algae mixed with warm water, then covered it with plastic wrap to intensify the absorption of the MMA and heat.-meanwhile, massaged back of legs and feet-removed the algae, and dried the back applied intensive nutrition cream to the back

There are 50 treatments on offer, which, for a community facility, seemed extremely comprehensive and often imaginative, though their prices seemed rather high. Here are some of them.

Massage Treatments Sea and Senses Body, (Marine Hot Stones) 75 minutes, £65. Sea and Senses Face and Body, (Marine Hot Stones) 150 minutes, £99. Traditional Swedish Massage, 50 minutes, £55. Aromatic Massage, 55 minutes, £57 Aromatherapy Massage, 25 /40 minutes, £36/£47. Indian Head Massage, 30 minutes, £35. Reflexology, 50 minutes, £55.

Body Treatments Gym and Tonic, 55 minutes, £47. Micronized Marine Algae Body Wrap, 55 minutes, £52. Escape in the City Salt Scrub, 25 minutes, £34.

Facial Treatments Re-balancing Mask and Micronized Marine Algae, 55 minutes, £42. Hydra-Moisture Source Facial, 55 minutes, £47.Ocean Facial for Men, 55 minutes, £52.
Absolute Hydration Purity Ritual, 30 minutes, £34.Fundamental Wrinkle Control Facial, 55 minutes, £57.Cold Marine Facial, 55 minutes, £52.
Micro-dermabrasion Dermo Peel Facial, 55 minutes, £65.

Finishing Touches Express Manicure, 30 minutes, £26. Restorative Manicure, 40 minutes, £40. Restorative Pedicure, 75 minutes, £42. Express Back Massage, 15 minutes, £21.Express Face & Scalp Massage, 15 minutes, £21.Express Escape in the City Salt Scrub, 15 minutes, £21.

Several all-day spa programs are listed on the website.

Spa London, York Hall Leisure Centre, Old Ford Road, Bethnal Green, 011-44-(0)20 8709 5845; www.spa-london.org. A four-hour visit to the Spa, without treatments, is £21; free with a treatment. Monday and Thursday are for men only, Wednesday evening and all day Sunday are for both, other times are for women only; hours are generally 10-9:30, weekends to 7:30, details on the website. Booking for the Thermal Spa Experience is essential on Wednesday evenings, Saturdays, and Sundays.

Rejuvenation MediSpa

The third in this very different trio is Rejuvenation MediSpa, which has a distinctly medical bent. Started by Harley Street cosmetic dermasurgeon, Dr Mario Luca Russo, it lays claim as the first Ayurvedic medical spa specializing in reversing the aging process, and restoring youthful skin and wellbeing, by blending traditional complementary therapies with such anti-aging medical treatments as nonsurgical ultrasonic lypolisis, fractional resurfacing Fraxel laser treatment, and the facial contouring radio frequency procedure of Thermage. Dr. Russo has other clinics in central London, but I visited the recently opened one in Canary Wharf, London’s burgeoning new business center in East London.

The signature treatment is an appealing "Dr Russo’s Age-Defying Facial," which is specifically designed to correct photodamage, improve skin tightening, and boost collagen production. It includes cleansing, microdermabrasion, an anti-aging treatment and a skin specific facial mask, finishing with a relaxing and therapeutic Indian head massage. I couldn’t wait.

Therapist Stacey Powley did the honors. First a double cleansing, then a Medical Organic Microdermabration, using refined walnut shells to exfoliate the outer layers of the skin and reveal younger fresher skin underneath. A Glycolic Acid Peel, left on the skin for two minutes, was removed with a cold gauze. Then a Vitamin B5 hydrating facial mask to replenish the moisture on dehydrated and stressed skin. The final laps are a fruit acid toner, an antioxidant serum to protect skin from air conditioning and other environmental hazards, and, of course, a sun defense s.p.f. 20 and the reminder to apply it daily.

Rosy and glowing, I went into the outside world wondering if I could legitimately alter my passport birth date.

Here’s a brief run-down of some of their holistic spa treatments:

Prescription Facials, Dr Russo’s Age-Defying Facial, 75 minutes, £ 145 ESPA Rejuvenation Facials, 45 and 75 minutes, £45 and 65 ESPA Rejuvenation Massages, 45 and 75 minutes, £45 and 65 ESPA Rejuvenation Rituals, from 1 hr 25 minutes to 2 hr 25 minutes, from £85 to 145 Rejuvenation Signature Treatments, 1 hr 55 minutes, £165.

Anti-Aging Medical Treatments: Botox, from £250 Fraxel laser treatments, from £750 Ultracontour, from £450 Chemical peels, from £95 Thermage, from £2200 Microdermabration, from £65.

Rejuvenation MediSpa, 34 North Colonnade, Canary Wharf, London, E14 5HX, 0870 243 2230. www.therejuvenationmedispa.co.uk, Monday-Friday, 8-8pm; Saturday, 10-8pm; Sunday, 10-6 pm.

Tags: featured