spa-ah-ah

In lieu of a birthday trip to PhilaPA, I took a birthday trip to Burke Williams Spa-ah-ah. Turns out, much more relaxing at BWS. Who knew.

Arriving at BWS an hour before my appointment time, I planned to take advantage of the facilities ~ sauna, steam rooms, misting rooms, jacuzzi pool, quiet room. However, because my first service was a bikini wax, the customer service chick (who announced my services out loud in front of 3 men - 2 of whom were not BWS staff!) advised it would be best to wait. Uh...okay.

In the Women's Spa area, I located my locker, slipped into my comfy robe and headed to the showers. The water pressure was divine! And the shower heads? Two words - clean boobs. With 45 minutes until my appointment, I hide out in the quiet room. Heaven. Seriously. The room is dimly lit with a padded bench running the length of the room on one side and small booth-type seats along the other side. There's no music, no talking. Just quiet. Alone, I stretch out along the bench, curled under a blanket. I was on that edge of dozing when...whoosh...the door opens and in walk 3 giggling, talking girls. Ugh. Oblivious to the two huge 'No Talking' signs posted, they continued to giggle and chit-chat, alternating between stage-whispers and regular run o'the mill talking. Thankfully, the Appointment Keeper came in, reminded them of the quiet room's purpose and they left. By this time, it was my turn.

Luiza is my go-to girl at Burke Williams Sherman Oaks ~ facials, waxing, massage. She's not a chatty Cathy, gets in there, does her thing, then poof you're done and gone. Now, bikini waxes are not pleasurable experiences. I usually pop a couple Tylenol or Aleve prior to...of course, this time, I forgot. However, Luiza has this system - she pulls the strip and immediately runs her hand over the spot to lessen the pain. Sometimes, it works; sometimes, it does not. I love her for the fact that she's considerate enough to do it. I also love Luiza because she's a self-proclaimed perfectionist. Strange, I know. She'll say - let's do this, it'll look so much cleaner; and if we do that, we'll certainly have to do this, it'll look so much cleaner! And, she's right.

After the pain, came the pleasure - a facial. Oooh, I love me a good facial! Oddly enough, my favorite part of the facial process is the extraction portion, which is painful. Well, it's uncom...no, it's painful. She steamed my face, exfoliated and cleansed it, then got down to the extraction. My poor nose! Luiza said my t-zone was crying out for extractions. She finished with a moisturizer, chapstick and a huge cup of water. Ahh...

I went back to the quiet room, slept for 40 minutes; then sat in the jacuzzi pool for 20 minutes ~ the perfect way to end the spa day.

Tomorrow? Deluxe Spa mani and pedi. Hooray for days off!