NYLON - January 2008 - (Page 108) TREAT YOURSELF IONITHERMIE WHILE THE OCCASIONAL SWEDISH MASSAGE OR DEEP CLEANSING FACIAL DOES A BODY GOOD, SOMETIMES YOU MAY BE IN THE MOOD FOR SOMETHING A BIT MORE ADVENTUROUS. HERE, A FEW OF OUR FAVORITE UNUSUAL TREATMENTS. ILLUSTRATION BY ANDREW RAE A torture device, an antiquated treatment for the mentally ill, a form of capital punishment—electric shock doesn’t exactly have a good reputation. So when I was invited to experience ionithermie, essentially a form of electric shock treatment that targets cellulite and is popular in celebrity circles, I was apprehensive. Until, that is, I got a glance of my bare backside, and immediately had a change of heart—more than 80% of women, even the thinnest, have cellulite, and 100% of them want to be rid of it. Ionithermie, which was developed and has been used in Europe since the ’70s, uses electrical stimulation to increase circulation and build up muscle tone. How scary could it be? I rationalize that if the Europeans can handle it, so can I. With that in mind I head uptown to the posh Exhale Spa, to meet my, er, electrocutor. After I strip down to a very unsexy paper thong, she measures and records the girth of my fleshiest parts. Next she administers a vigorous head-to-toe body brushing and applies an anti-cellulite serum that contains caffeine, a natural diuretic. Then I am slathered in a firming cream, and finally my “trouble areas” are painted with a thick coat of clay. Now comes time for the electric shock. I am hooked up to a machine with cords that look eerily similar to those I’ve seen in torture sequences of action movies, and then suddenly the switch is flipped and there is a current coursing through my body. I can feel the underworked muscles of those aforementioned trouble areas contracting. Jarring at first, the intermittent electrical spasms start to feel quite good, and I even ask for the frequency to be increased. After 30 minutes of flex and release, it’s time to be re-measured. Apparently it has been a productive half hour, as all of my numbers have dropped by at least an inch. I am instructed to drink lots of water and try to avoid stuffing my face with cheeseburgers. I go home and grab the jeans that usually involve horizontal squeezing to get into. Now they slip on without any sweaty rituals. I am, well, shocked. FIORELLA VALDESOLO CALL DRAGONFLY FOR A LIST OF LOCATIONS AROUND THE COUNTRY, 866.403.4179. THE COLORED LIGHT THERAPY FACIAL It’s true that light affects your mood. Ask anyone if they would prefer sitting in an office with fluorescent track lighting overhead or in a room filled only with streams of natural sunlight, and few would answer the former. But can light also have an effect on your skin? According to Joanna Czech, esthetician extraordinaire and owner of Sava Spa, it most certainly can. Curious, I hop the A train and head north to Sava’s picturesque location on a tree-lined block of Washington Heights to experience their new light therapy facial, the first of its kind in New York. I am ushered into a tranquil treatment room, which, save for the Star Trek-like machine with tentacles bearing different colored lights, seems entirely ordinary. The facial itself, performed with amazing Ren skincare products, is fairly traditional, but the light beams of various hues projected against your skin throughout it are not—it feels like you’re getting a facial in a roller disco, minus the Top 40 music. And every time the light changes, your skin benefits—green helps to balance glandular functions, red stimulates the metabolism and promotes blood circulation, and turquoise supports regeneration of the epidermis. Each shade penetrates the skin differently, with red making the deepest impression. And while the lights may be beneficial, more importantly, they are soothing—there is something inherently comforting about being swathed in warming crimson or calming blue rays. So soothing you almost forget about the painful extraction process. Almost. I leave with a radiant complexion and a new appreciation for all things illuminated. FV AT SAVA SPA, 211 PINEHURST AVE., NYC, 212.543.0008, SAVASPA.COM. THE ORIENTAL SCRUB I have always been the type who prefers a kneading, somewhat torturous massage rather than a wimpy back rub. So when I hear that I’m being sent to Aura Spa for a traditional oriental scrub (or as Aura likes to call it, the South Seas with Balinese Islands Scrub), I picture soothing meditative tunes, some expensive granular lotions, and a massage that will lull me to sleep… basically the opposite of what my body really needs. The tri-level spa, despite being located in the middle of Herald Square, is mysteriously insulated from the honks and flashing lights of 34th street. After relaxing in the custom “grottos” (including an ice grotto unique to Manhattan), I’m escorted to the “wet room” for my scrub. Right off the bat, I think I must be in the wrong place, because I open the door to find two middle-aged Korean ladies in the center of the fluorescent-lit room dressed only in their skivvies. Turns out, these are my estheticians. One woman leads me by the arm, dumbfounded, to my cot and commands me to undress. Her tone suggests I shouldn’t argue. Thus ensues my exfoliation treatment. No fancy scrubs, no special creams––she simply dumps basins of hot water over my body, then pummels me with an abrasive mitt. This lasts an hour, and only a few nameless parts are spared. Intermittently, she tells me to open my eyes and look at all the dead skin accumulating while she smiles victoriously: a sign of an effective scrub. Once I’m thoroughly shed, she pours a white liquid that I later discover is whole milk, all over me and then slathers me with olive oil. A rigorous scalp massage later, and I’m done. I sit up shocked, invigorated, and smelling a bit like a latte, and find my skin looking and feeling beyond smooth—everywhere. I need to go back about once a month, they tell me, but real ladies in Korea do it once a week. So why shouldn’t I? After all I’m a sucker for some tough love. NATALIE TOREN AT AURA SPA, 49 W 33RD ST, NYC, 212.695.9559, SPAAURA.COM. http://SAVASPA.COM http://SPAAURA.COM
For optimal viewing of this digital publication, please enable JavaScript and then refresh the page. If you would like to try to load the digital publication without using Flash Player detection, please click here.