Unique and refreshing spa treatments
Pamper yourself with these Unique and refreshing spa treatments.
CBD Massage // Spa at Yellow Creek
What it is: Take a regular massage higher with a CBD version at the Spa at Yellow Creek. Experience the buzz behind CBD, a non-psychoactive cannabidiol extracted from the hemp plant, with this relaxing massage that swaps CBD in for typical oil ($135, 60 minutes, $190, 90 minutes).
How it works: A therapist rubs and kneads your muscles and joints while applying a CBD oil that can calm your muscles and help the therapist better manipulate them. “We have CBD receptors all over the surface of our skin. The primary function is balance,” says Jordan Person, CEO of Primal Healing, the maker of the CBD oil Yellow Creek uses. “When you apply CBD oil to the skin, you have a full-body reaction.” After your massage, you are welcome to linger in a blissful state in the Tranquility Lounge with small bites and beverages, or warm up in the eucalyptus steam room.
Why do it: Person says CBD oil helps alleviate pain, expedite healing, reduce inflammation and increase circulation. “When I started using CBD, I was astounded at literally watching people get better while they were on my table,” she adds. Nicholl Kehner, a licensed massage therapist at Yellow Creek, has a client with fibromyalgia who reports an improvement with CBD. “Massage itself has really helped her relieve pain, and she’s been telling me it’s prolonging the benefits,” she says. While regular massage leaves her client pain-free for three to four days, the CBD oil extends that relief to a full week.
How it feels: Like something you’ve never experienced before — in a good way. “[Clients] sometimes are speechless,” Kehner says. “Other clients tell me they had a euphoric feeling afterward. I’ve had two massages with CBD myself. It was like a natural high.” 3636 Yellow Creek Road, Akron, 330-665-2555, yellowcreekspa.com
Vichy Body Wrap // Spa Walden
What it is: Body wraps hit peak luxury in the Vichy shower suite at Spa Walden. There, an overhead shower with five adjustable shower heads rains on you, massaging and hydrating your skin for pure bliss.
How it works: To start off the treatment ($275-$300, 90 minutes), a therapist rubs a soothing mango scrub all over your body, stopping and starting the Vichy shower over each section. The therapist showers you off and applies a body mud mask, then wraps you in a plastic covering and thermal blanket while you lay under the cascading Vichy rainfall and receive a luxe shampoo and conditioning scalp massage. “You’re wrapped like a little cocoon. The water is coming down to keep you nice and warm,” says Lead Therapist Jeff Whitlow. The therapist unwraps, dries and slathers you in a thick moisturizer. You can finish the deluxe treatment with tea and chocolates, as Walden lets spa-goers enjoy its facilities a half-hour before and after appointments.
Why do it: The water is 115 degrees but reaches a comfortable temperature when it hits you and turns the suite into a steam room giving you dewy skin. “Your pores open and your skin is more accepting of hydration,” says Whitlow. Plus, the coarse scrub smooths cellulite and evens out blotchiness to reveal a youthful complexion.
How it feels: Like a sumptuous 90-minute shower without the work of rinsing yourself off as you would during typical body wraps. “Being showered off — people think is the best thing ever,” Whitlow says. “They wonder why they ever did traditional scrubs or wraps.” 1119 Aurora Hudson Road, Aurora, 330-562-5508, yourwalden.com
Golden Spoons // Mario’s International Spa & Hotel
What it is: Experience your own kind of gold rush at Mario’s International Spa & Hotel with a facial featuring 14-carat gold-coated spoons from Switzerland that electronically heat up and vibrate.
How it works: Enjoy the golden spoons with specialty facials, like the 80-minute anti-aging one ($175). For that treatment, an aesthetician deep cleans your face with an exfoliating brush and uses steam to open your pores. Any clogged pores clear with extractions, then a vitamin-rich moisturizing serum is applied. “Once pores are cleaned, that’s the best time to put back nourishment. The serum has vitamins E and A in it to regenerate new skin cells,” says Aesthetic Director Patricia Bilek. Your aesthetician turns on the golden spoons and rubs them on your shoulders, upper back, neck and face for a subtle, warm vibration to stimulate circulation. “The vibrations and heat melt that serum deeper into the skin,” says Bilek, who was taught how to use the spoons by experts in Switzerland. By request, your aesthetician uses cold spoons to take down puffiness around your eyes. The final flourish is a collagen gel mask the esthetician applies and peels off before massaging the residual gel into your face. You’re sent home with the refrigerated gel mask in its tray for one more use.
Why do it: “When you have sinus problems, you have tension there and blockage. The vibration helps break that up,” Bilek says. The collagen mask itself also helps reduce the look of fine lines. “You’ll see the skin look moist and plumped up,” she says.
How it feels: Like a relaxing massage that results in a refreshed, supple face and other surprising benefits, too. Bilek has had clients say the treatment banished a lingering headache. “It takes away the tension,” she says. “They feel fantastic.” 9 E. Garfield Road, Suite 105, Aurora,
330-562-9171, marios-spa.com
+4 more to Try
Bellabaci Massage
Combining the therapist’s massaging motions with the gliding of Bellabaci suction cups, this treatment stimulates circulation, draws out inflammation and detoxifies the system. It’s gentle yet invigorating, so don’t worry about marks — only glowing skin is left behind. $100, 1 hour, Falling Waters Spa, Summa Health & Wellness Center, 5625 Hudson Drive, Hudson, 330-655-8008, summawellness.org/falling-waters-spa
LED Light Therapy
This high-tech facial treatment employs light-emitting diodes at varying wavelengths to stimulate cell regeneration. It can also reduce the appearance of wrinkles and the presence of acne-producing bacteria. The device looks like a Halloween mask, but the payoff is a smoother, younger complexion when you take it off. $65, 1 hour, Adela Medical Spa 5562 Fulton Drive, Canton, 234-347-0170, adelamedicalspa.com
- Hungarian Mud Masque
Mineral-rich mud from riverbeds in Hungary has been used therapeutically for hundreds of years. Reap the benefits with this treatment in which a therapist lightly exfoliates and slathers you in a Hungarian mud body mask that targets acne-prone skin and sore muscles. While you’re wrapped up like a burrito to release toxins a therapist massages your head and neck. The pampering finishes with a soothing body lotion. $115, 1 hour, Sam Wanna Salon & Day Spa, 580 Medina Road, Medina, 330-239-4555, samwanna.com
- Cactus Cloth Body Polish
Cactus cloth is exactly what it sounds like: cloth woven from fibers of a cactus plant. A therapist polishes your skin with the rough cloth to exfoliate dead cells, stimulate your lymph nodes and get your blood pumping. You’ll emerge refreshed and soft as a newborn. Plus, you get to keep the cloth. $95, 30 minutes, A White Pond Paradise, 566 White Pond Drive, Suite D, Akron, 330-865-7800, awhitepondparadise.com