 |
|
A quartet of massaging hands rub out all the stress
in the four-hand massage at Ritz-Carlton New
Orleans' spa.
|
|
Courtesy of Photo courtesy Ritz-Carlton New Orleans
|
Whether your regular work week consists of toiling
for hours on a computer, attending stressful meetings, lifting heavy items or
hoisting children and running a household, you undoubtedly could benefit from
stress-relieving treatments that abound at area salons and spas.
All in One
Those seeking relief, relaxation and enjoyment can go around
the world in one stop at Belladonna (2900 Magazine St., 891-4393), which recently
expanded its spa menu to include exotic global influences and has opened a new
Tranquility Garden to enhance those services. The new garden provides a lush
indoor/outdoor space with three open-air treatment rooms, a massage suite and
whirlpools. There's even an Eden-like river rock waterfall to enhance the soothing
atmosphere.
"One of my dreams has been to create an easily
accessible space where people can feel far removed from urban stress," says
Belladonna owner Kim Dudek. "After spending time in the Tranquility Garden,
one can be transported to anywhere they want to be."
Some of those places are reached through refined
spa treatments, including Indonesia wellness rituals designed to create a cross-cultural
experience using ingredients indigenous to various Indonesian islands and the
expertise of Belladonna massage therapists.
The Jamu signature massage uses Hindu, Chinese
and European techniques of acupressure, rolling motions, long strokes and percussion.
Darphin's Earth, Moon and Sun Korean Massage is an hourlong experience designed
to bring the 12 main meridians of the body into harmony and focus, helping the
body's natural energy, or chi, flow more effectively.
Cleopatra's Pedicure includes a milk soak
for the feet, which then are scrubbed with a milk-scrub mixture to soften, exfoliate
and add proteins. There's also a milk bath for the entire body.
From Java comes a lava ritual that uses a
volcanic clay body mask to detoxify and cleanse the skin, followed by an application
of Bali fruit massage oil.
The Japanese influence comes through in a
sake soak, traditionally used by geishas to cleanse and clear the skin. It uses
sake, ginger, radish, pomegranate and valerian as well as a rice face wash.
The body then is massaged with rice oil to invigorate the chi.
A Babassu sugar rub sauna hails from the Amazon
jungles of Brazil, and from America (although still exotic) is the Maui Wowee
Body Ritual, which includes a mask of peach, pineapple, apple, pomegranate,
and guava and a cocoon of banana leaves, followed by a coconut-papaya salt scrub
and a moisturizing treatment.
Also employing disciplines from around the
globe, The Center for Longevity and Wellness (3601 Houma Blvd., Suite 300, Metairie,
885-7360) offers a range of medical and spa therapies to improve the physical,
emotional and spiritual lives of its customers. Under the direction of internal
medicine physicians Drs. Leonard Kancher and G.M. Weiner, who are on the medical
staff of East Jefferson General Hospital, this clinic offers both medical and
wellness care.
The "longevity massage," which can last a
half hour, hour or 90 minutes, starts with essential oils that relax the nervous
system, as well as manipulations to de-stress muscles and "re-balance" the mind
and body. Some of the unusual treatments include a "mother-to-be massage," which
is designed to relieve common symptoms of pregnancy such as insomnia, cramps,
headache, anxiety, back pain and more. The "sinus and cold-relief massage" is
a head and scalp massage that alleviates the headaches and sinus pressure brought
on by allergies and colds, plus incorporates essential oils to drain blocked
passages.
In addition to other massages, such as one
that uses ancient healing stones, there is a full range of facials, including
the "gentlemen's longevity facial" that includes deep cleansing treatment, an
enzyme peel, extraction, stress-relieving massage and hydrating mask, followed
by treatment advice to help alleviate shaving irritation.
France
At Salon du Beau Monde (612 Julia St., 568-0050), just having
your hair done can be a mood-altering experience with the therapeutic three-step
program designed to make your hair healthier while bolstering your overall feeling
of well-being. The Parisian-based Kerastase has designed a line of products
and therapeutic treatments that provide sensory stimulation as well as nutritive
restoration for hair.
It begins with trained professionals who assess the individual
needs of your hair and give you an invigorating scalp massage. They then recommend
a simple three-step ritual for you to perform at home between salon visits,
choosing from the two dozen products Kerastase makes for hair from normal-to-dry
types to curly-and dry and combinations in between.
Francophiles will admire the treatments developed at the Ritz-Carlton
New Orleans spa (921 Canal St., 524-1331), which are based on therapies popular
with the ruling classes in France of old. The Four Hands Royal Massage, for
instance, was a favorite of Marie Antoinette during the extravagant reign of
the Court of Louis XIV at Versailles. It is performed by two trained massage
therapists who perform a symphony of movements in synchronization on the entire
body for about an hour, and the senses are stimulated with hot and essential
oils. To induce total relaxation, the experience ends with an application of
heated, moist towels.
The favorite treatment of Imperatrice Eugenie, Napoleon III's
wife, inspired the La Massage sous Cascade, a body effusion in which warm water
drops lightly on the body, which is then covered with a clay-based cream of
marine and algae extracts mixed with essential oils and trace minerals. After
that mask is applied, a masseuse massages the ingredients into the skin, then
it's all washed off with hot water from multiple showerheads.
The Ritz-Carlton's version of Napoleon Bonaparte's Royal Massage
begins with a soak in a hydrotherapy bath that includes sliced rounds of citrus,
followed by a tonic Swedish massage infused by eau-de-cologne, favored by the
ruler. The Ritz-Carlton's spa treatments recently gained the spa a rating as
one of the top 10 luxury spas in the country by Celebrated Living. There
are lots of other treatments to choose from at the Ritz, and the spa experience
is accentuated with luxurious surroundings, relaxation lounges, a sauna and
steam room, whirlpool and even a Spa Cafe. There also is a warm stone massage,
a couple's massage, reflexology, deep tissue and Swedish massages, aromatherapy
and a long list of other treatments.
India
Calling on the 5,000-year-old Indian discipline of Ayurveda,
described as a "science of life" that teaches the balancing of mind, body and
spirit in order to achieve overall peace, harmony and lasting beauty, Earthsavers
(3301 Veterans Memorial Blvd., Lakeside Shopping Center, Metairie, 835-0225;
5501 Magazine St., 899-8555; 434 Chartres St., 581-4999; 3414 U.S. Hwy. 190,
Mandeville, 985-674-1133; 528 N. Columbia St., Covington, 985-875-0300), in
the fall will introduce a new line of spa treatments using Sundari products
and therapies. Sanskrit for "beautiful woman," Sundari products are made from
herbs that originated in the Himalayas.
Earthsavers owner Karen Adjmi says she was so impressed with
a Sundari aromatherapy-balancing facial she tried, that she revamped her whole
menu to include the product lines and Ayurvedic treatments.
"It works on every level," she says. "It works
on your senses; you have a whole sensory experience. It smells wonderful while
you're having it. (Afterward), your skin feels completely balanced." Because
extensive training is needed, the new menu won't go into effect until October.
For an all-encompassing experience, Earthsavers
will offer the Head-to-Toe Nirvana Body Treatment, which begins with a dry-brush
exfoliation and a second exfoliation with a blend of natural lemon, calendula,
chamomile and peppermint oils massaged into the skin to hydrate and nourish
it. That's removed with warm towels infused with geranium, rose and orange oils
for restoration of the skin and a healing and cleansing mask of neem, carrot
root and aloe leaf juice oils chosen for your specific skin type. Therapists
will then wrap your body and give you an Ayurvedic scalp and hair mask treatment.
"It's truly restorative," Adjmi says.
Other Sundari treatments -- the line will
be exclusive to Earthsavers -- will include an intensive herbal body polish
to stimulate circulation and exfoliate the skin followed by a massage with essential
oils and warm-towel oil treatment and a neem-enhanced body mask that nourishes
the skin while encouraging the body's own natural healing process. Other treatments
feature an Ayurvedic hair mask and massage and a Sundari facial that uses essential
oils, botanical extracts and herbal preparations to cleanse, hydrate and renew
the skin.
Sundari has almost two dozen skin care products
and prescribes them in combinations derived from assessing an individual's skin
type according to Ayurvedic principles. Under the premise, everyone is classified
according to a theory that holds that individuals are a combination of three
elements, or doshas (air, fire and earth), found in nature and that balance
will be found by balancing these elements so none of the three is dominant.
"Doshas relate to the entire body," says Ayla
Hussain, CEO of Sundari. "The skin, the body's largest organ, is the first place
to show signs of any internal imbalances. When the body is balanced, the skin's
appearance will be clear, radiant and exude a healthy glow. When there is an
internal imbalance -- stress, disease, unruliness -- the skin shows blemishes,
ruddiness and uneven tone.
"What Earthsavers and Sundari will deliver
are positive energies, atmosphere, services and skin care that will treat the
body as a whole."
Turkey
Bliss Day Spa (200 Metairie Road, 828-1997) offers a special
Turkish Rose hand and foot treatment that begins with a massaging salt scrub
that exfoliates those hardworking extremities as well as preparing them to better
absorb the antioxidant treatment that comes next. The "fresh start" antioxidant
oxygen treatment softens the skin and makes it look younger and less labored.
Therapists finish with a Turkish rose spray on the hands and feet that rejuvenates
them as well as your soul.
The Turkish Bath at H2O Salon and Spa (441 Metairie Road, Metairie,
835-4377) is a controlled water-pulse bath with essential oils for nourishment
and hydration, followed by body buffing to stimulate blood flow and relaxation.
The bath is followed by a "calm-down" massage. The Turkish Bath is part of the
salon's Great Escape package, which also includes a complete facial, lunch,
manicure and pedicure, shampoo and hair styling as well as makeup application
and lesson.
The Turkish Treatment at H2O is designed especially for men
and includes the Turkish massage, a deep cleansing facial, sports manicure and
pedicure and a haircut and style.
Combinations
Everyone needs a break sometimes, a place
where you can go and be pampered, with your specific needs met with a smile
and a comforting hand. The Retreat (575 S. Carrollton Ave., 866-SPA4) is such
a place, with body wraps, dermabrasion, massage, manicures, pedicures, its own
line of p.u.r.e cosmetics, permanent makeup, sunless tanning and even educational
seminars to help improve your life. Massage therapist Jennifer Crandall takes
a worldly view of curing ills of the body, calling on Eastern influences and
anything else at hand that can be useful in bringing about a customer's total
comfort.
"I generally do a lot of deep tissue work
... acupressure, shiatsu as well as Western methodologies," she says. "Everyone
is different; I generally kind of mix [the different philosophies] up for the
clients so I can get every single aspect and need that they have. If I just
did one thing, it wouldn't work for everyone."
Borrowing ideas of relaxation from cigar and
martini bars, The Retreat owners Cindy Welch and Caroline Roberson also have
instituted a men's only program from 2 p.m. to 8 p.m. the second Wednesday of
every month.
"It gets bigger every month," Welch says.
"The men really like it; they can have all their things done without any women
being around." Favored services include manicures, facials, pedicures and massage.
Paris Parker Salons and Spas (4900 Prytania
St., 891-8874; 1400 Annunciation St., The Saulet, 528-1962; 3301 Veterans Memorial
Blvd., Lakeside Shopping Center, Metairie, 846-5256; 333 Canal St., Canal Place,
568-1124; 4900 Hwy. 22, Mandeville, 985-945-4404; 888-990-2468) offer Aveda
products and therapies to rejuvenate the skin and hair as well as help each
customer achieve an overall balance and better sense of well-being. Professionals
follow Aveda's holistic spa philosophy that incorporates the five natural elements
of infinity, air, fire, water and earth that are found within each person. Customers
are asked to fill out a questionnaire that allows Paris Parker therapists to
create personalized treatments and self-care regimens for each individual. All
body treatments begin with the customer choosing an aroma for use in his or
her therapy.
 |
|
Belladonna owner Kim Dudek lounges on a chaise
while a customer gets a massage in the day spa's
new Tranquility Garden.
|
|
Photo by Cheryl Gerber
|
With the Hydrotherm Massage, which can last
an hour or 90 minutes, you are cradled on warm, water-filled cushions that alleviate
strain on your muscles while a therapist massages deeply stressed areas. There's
also a version of the hydrotherm massage for pregnant women.
The salons also offer warm stone massages;
a Neti Massage, which combines massage techniques that relieve facial pressure
with aromatic steam inhalation; and Tranquilessence, an Ayurvedic treatment
that provides relaxation by having warmed botanical products stream between
your brows and off the back of your head. There also is the Aromatic Sun Massage,
a Caribbean-inspired treatment that focuses on the scalp, knees and feet. From
India and the Ayurveda philosophy comes the Himalayan Rejuvenation Treatment,
which combines exfoliation and massage as well as the Tranquilessence therapy
to relax the body and calm the mind.
Asia
Jin Shin Jyutsu, offered at Pampered Soul
and Body Day Spa (4826 Magazine St., 895-5333), uses the Japanese philosophy
of harmonizing life energies employing 26 "safety locks" along energy pathways
that feed life into bodies. Pampered Soul's Nicole Boyd says the technique encourages
"self-study and self-help." The treatment usually is performed without the therapist
actually touching the body, she says, and the customer remains fully clothed.
The therapy involves "channeling energy from one area of the body to others
that need aiding," Boyd says. It is a healing art that addresses the underlying
energy flow of the body and is particularly helpful to cancer survivors and
leukemia patients.
Pampered Soul and Body also offers Reiki,
of which owner Lorraine Demberg is a master who has practiced for six years.
Reiki is based on the chakra (energy points in the body) system of divine energy
in which the practitioner is a vessel to be used for the channeling of energy.
It is a spiritual approach, in which the energy can sometimes be channeled outside
the body. "Reiki is the laying on of hands, but not always with laying on of
hands," Demberg says. "You can send energy to victims of a mudslide in Africa.
A lot of Reiki books refer to it (like) the laying on of hands similar to Jesus,
from the days of the Bible."
America
Stemming from the Hopi American Indian word meaning "sacred
circle," the Kiva Massage at Glenn Michael Salon & Day Spa (1623 Metairie Road,
Metairie, 828-6848) is a scalp treatment that uses massage techniques to stretch,
pinch and stimulate blood flow to the scalp and hair. It also is designed to
relax customers and help them retain their hair. It's used in conjunction with
Anasazi treatments that feature a range of hair balms for different conditions.
Combining homegrown and European therapies, Dr. Pelias' Medi-Spa
at the Skin and Hair Clinic of New Orleans (324 Chartres St., 566-1706) combines
surgical and non-surgical cosmetic services to help customers look and feel
their best.
Plastic surgeon Marilyn Pelias handles the surgical side of
the operation, which includes Botox treatments, breast augmentations, liposuction,
microdermabrasion -- which can be used to stimulate collagen production in the
skin, remove age spots and acne scars -- and other cosmetic procedures. She
also oversees a full-service spa that offers manicures, pedicures, facials,
and massages. The clinic's esthetician trained in Europe and performs European
facials, massages and hot stone therapies among other treatments. The clinic
also offers lines of prescription skin-care products such as Obagi.
Sweden
Body Art (3414 Hessmer Ave., Metairie, 455-0710),
a combination exercise gym and spa for women only, offers a classic Swedish
massage as well as massage therapies for treatment of specific needs such as
lymphatic drainage massage, deep tissue and sports massages for muscle problems
and injuries; and neuromuscular therapy for people who suffer chronic pain because
of conditions such as arthritis. The business also offers classic body wraps,
facials, manicures and other spa services.
