As a medspa owner visiting from out of town, I was excited to treat my daughter and myself to some relaxation and skincare during our vacation. I booked us both the Advanced Organic Facial Treatments along with the Scalp and Hair Treatments. I'm writing this not as a competitor, but as someone with extensive knowledge and deep respect for spa services and unfortunately, our experience was incredibly disappointing.
From the start, the setting was uncomfortable. Services took place in the basement where treatment tables were separated only by curtains or blankets, with no soundproofing. We could clearly hear blow dryers and conversations happening nearby.
The room was extremely hot and they have a very heavy comforter that they put over you. I had my arms out because it was so hot and she covered them. I eventually uncovered more because I couldn't handle the heat.
During the facial, the face steamer was placed so close to my face that it felt suffocating. I politely asked three separate times for it to be turned off, and while she would turn it off briefly, she kept turning it back on. Though there was a slight language barrier, it was clear that she understood my request but chose to ignore it.
The facial technique itself was overly aggressive. Products were applied and immediately wiped away with sponges that had a chemical (bleach-like) odor. The service was supposed to include gua sha, which I'm very familiar with. However, what I received was not gua sha at all. She used a stick-like tool to rub harshly across my face, including dangerously close to my eyes and sensitive under-eye area. I had to ask her to stop because I was worried that she would cause undereye bruising due to her pressure and technique.
At one point, while working above my lip, the tool slipped into my mouth and scraped across my gums and hit my tooth. No acknowledgment or apology was made, and I was left stunned.
Shockingly, no moisturizer or sunscreen was applied at the end of the treatment. My face was simply washed off and left bare.
My skin reacted almost immediately after the facial, breaking out in small bumps, especially across my forehead, and nearly two weeks later, it's still struggling to recover.
As for the head spa portion, it was something I had genuinely been looking forward to. I absolutely love scalp massages. I have naturally curly hair, and anyone with curls knows you don't dry brush it. She started yanking a brush through my dry curls with no product, no detangling effort, just full-on pulling. I could hear and feel the strands snapping, and I had to ask her to stop a couple of times. I explained that she was pulling out my hair and that it hurt.
She moved on to shampooing, and I was hopeful that part might feel better. Unfortunately, she used her fingernails to scratch my scalp so roughly that my head was sore for a couple of days afterward. It didn't feel therapeutic, it felt abrasive. I've never had to repeatedly ask someone to stop during a treatment, but I found myself doing just that over and over again. It was exhausting and stressful, not relaxing.
The conditioner portion was more of the same, aggressive rubbing and yanking until I had to ask her to stop again. Then came the steam cap, which seemed fine, but was followed by a very unexpected and bizarre body massage. She had me move into strange positions, slapping my calves, placing my foot on her stomach and pushing up until my knee was aligned in a frog leg position to my shoulder. So odd.
To top it all off, I had placed my white shirt on the treatment table before the session started. When I went to put it back on afterward, it was visibly dirty and stained from whatever residue had been on the table surface. The room had been dimly lit, so I hadn't noticed at the time, but it was clearly not clean.
My daughter's experience mirrored mine. She said the woman working on her was breathing heavily throughout the session, so much so that I could hear her from across the room. The room was incredibly hot and stuffy, which likely didn't help. She also had to ask her provider to be more gentle. We both left feeling disappointed, uncomfortable, and honestly, a little gross.
My hair felt coated in a filmy residue that took a couple washes to fully remove. My curls wouldn't form like they always do and my hair was limp.
I spent a significant amount of money for what was supposed to be a special experience during our trip, and I regret it deeply. This felt nothing like a luxurious or beneficial treatment we were expecting.
I literally never leave negative reviews, but this experience was not only unpleasant, it was physically uncomfortable and left my skin and hair in worse condition than when I arrived. I sincerely hope this feedback helps improve their services for future clients. read more