seaweed wrap

Today my friend Gitta and I treated ourselves. We went to the SPA! Both of us have never done this before. I've had the usual pedicures, massages, etc. but I wouldn't count any of those experiences as spa-like. This was different. We went to the Riverstone Spa at the Inn at the Forks. It was not as posh inside as we were expecting it to be. It was a little bit corporate-feeling in the lounge, kind of like you were hanging out in the lobby of a fancy office in nothing but a bathrobe...but nice enough. (Originally we wanted to go to Ten Spa but decided on the Riverstone instead, because Ten Spa doesn't offer body wraps.)

I wasn't sure what to expect. We chose the seaweed detoxifying wrap, which is a mud wrap with seaweed in it. (I guess I thought I would be draped in seaweed...?) First there was full body exfoliation, followed by a (stinging!) gel which was supposed to intensify the detoxifying action of the mud. The mud was warm, and tingly. As soon as the estheticians finished applying the mud we got wrapped up like mummies in plastic and then covered with big heavy blankets. It felt a bit like you feel when you have a fever, cold and hot at the same time, and tingly. That may sound like a bad thing, but it was the opposite of bad. It was wonderful. They laid a small pillow over our eyes and massaged our heads while we waited for the mud to do its thing. Then we were allowed a warm shower to rinse off. We climbed back into the beds, except this time they had magically heated mattresses with clean sheets and fluffy warm blankets. After a while the two nice ladies came back in and gave us the full shea-butter-treatment. Then we were done. I could do this every single day. I think I could turn into a spa junkie, and this is not something I would have ever said, even up to a few hours ago.

Whether or not that mud was detoxifying I'm not sure, but my skin feels very soft and they told us it would stay that way for a few weeks. Not sure about that but the whole thing was worth it all the same. I think maybe they found it strange that Gitta and I asked for a room together - we thought we would have time to chat while wrapped in mud - but as it turns out we were both far too relaxed to think about anything, nevermind talk about it. I think I will have to convince Darcey that we have to go on a spa weekend :)