Meaningful Beauty

The word "SPA" has always been associated with mud baths and meditation classes, exquisitely prepared spa cuisine, and fragrant eucalyptus groves. But spas, lately, seem to be popping up everywhere: office buildings, strip malls, village storefronts. Salons with one tiny massage table tout their spa services. Even nail places call themselves spa pedicures. There are several different types of spas. The first kind is a destination spa. At a day spa you just drop in for treatments like massage, facials and body treatments. Often, day spas are an extension of a hair salon, which is fine as long as the spa is a separate wing that offers a quiet, serene, environment. But no one is regulating use of the word spa. That is why some salons promote spa services when all they have is one massage table, or use names like "spa pedicure. At a minimum, a day spa should offer professionally administered massages, facials and body treatments in a quiet, serene atmosphere. There is also a huge range of experiences at resort spas. Again, no one is regulating the use of the name, so it could be anything from one massage room next to the fitness center to a multi-million facility.