~Spa Day~

Tomorrow is my birthday. 31. Nothing really special about this age. My 30^th was celebrated visiting friends in Arizona - laying by the pool, hiking in the mountains and going out for dinner and dancing in 80-degree weather, a great way to jump into my thirties. Today I am treating myself to a facial and massage at The Day Spa in De Pere (http://dayspaescape.com/), using a gift card I received for Christmas and some extra saved dollars. I’ve been there before and loved it so I’m excited to go back! I thought this would be a great bday treat to myself and a good first entry for “31 Days of Random Acts of Happiness” as it made me happy! :)

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Starbucks in hand, clad in comfy yoga pants and a zip up fleece I arrive at the lofty day spa around 10 a.m. for my two hours of pampering! A beautiful stone foyer with a soothing, trickling waterfall greets me. As I walk over a little bridge to the stone front desk with tall wood beams, a cheerful lady surrounded by tall white ceilings and natural light welcomes me. After checking in, she escorts me to the ladies area where a soft, clean robe and slippers await me inside a locker. After changing, I proceed to their dimly lit sitting room known as the sanctuary.

First up is a facial which takes about an hour. After turning the overhead lights off and the relaxing/calming green and blue lights on, she leaves the room so I can de-robe and climb under the covers of the heated recliner. My esthetician puts cucumbers on my eyes and proceeds to put facewash on me, then astringent, some other products and then puts a warm towel on my face. She uses this to remove all the products in soothing strokes. Extractions also come with this sort of facial. I've had facials before at the Renaissance Medispa in Oshkosh and know from experience that this is the painful part. Using a little tool, she pokes various spots on my face to remove clogged pores. More product is then put on and my face is wrapped in an ice cold towel to tighten the skin. She uses this to wipe the product off my skin then uses a high frequency wand on my face. This zaps my pores to increase healing and clearing up of the skin. Again, I know from experience that this process clears up blemishes in 1-2 days!

  

With about 20 minutes between services, I take this time to relax in the sanctuary, savoring the cold, lemon/cucumber water and munching on pretzels.

 

The aromatherapy massage is meant to relax, but also be therapeutic. The latter kind of massages are usually anything but relaxing. After my massage therapist puts a drop of lavender oil on my headrest, she starts with relaxing strokes, but then starts pressing the knots out of my shoulders and neck. I keep telling myself, "no pain, no gain!" Today, I have a headache. Well, most days I have a headache, but I was hoping this massage would loosen the knots and relieve tension.

 

When the services are over, it’s time for the steam shower! Each glass shower stall has several shower heads to hit every area of the body, as well as a steamer. After letting the shower steam up for a few minutes, I relax on the wooden stool in the slate-tiled shower with my lemon water and let the steam do its job. This job entails: naturally improving blood circulation, therefore boosting metabolism, loosening tight muscles and releasing endorphins, helping to relax the mind and relieve mental tension. Steam also makes the body perspire which releases trapped dirt and bacteria, and alleviates respiratory infections by letting the warm, wet heat open the airways.

 

After slathering on sweet-smelling lotion and getting dressed, spoiling myself comes to an end. I take my time, reluctant to leave the stress-free haven, but happy that I indulged. With a refreshed sense of happiness and relaxation,  I exit ready to enjoy my work-free birthday weekend! :-)

 

Ps. I highly recommend a custom facial or type of massage to pamper yourself! There’s several types of massages to choose from like deep tissue which is therapeutic, releasing tension and easing back/neck pain, or a Swedish aromatherapy massage which focuses more on relaxation.