Ever since my birthday in January, I have been holding on to my gift certificate to Nouvelle Day Spa as if it were a treasured piece of gold. But this past week, I felt I needed it. Since I had never been to a spa before I wanted to make sure that it would be accessible. The last thing I needed was to go to a spa to relax and find out that I couldn’t because I would be arguing over its inability to accommodate me.
So here is your first tip for a spa treatment. Visit the place at least one day in advance to make sure that it will be a smooth ride. You will know right off the back when the front desk person greets you. I was welcomed by a friendly lady who didn’t feel flustered that I was there to investigate the spa’s accommodations for the disabled.
I explained that I wanted to get a facial but I didn’t know which one I wanted because I didn’t know which one I needed. She called Betty Campana, a skin specialist with 22 years of experience, who came out from the back to answer my skin questions and gave me a tour of the room where the facial would take place.
It was a narrow room with a high bed like one found at a doctor’s office but this one had a soft mattress on it. My first concern was the height of the bed. It didn’t move up and down like a dentist’s chair or a hospital bed. Betty said she help me and even get another person to help her if I couldn’t do it myself.
So my next suggestion to you: if you can’t hop on a doctor’s examining table then you might want to bring someone you trust to help you get on it or take the risk of having the spa people assist you.
Betty said that if a person has a wheelchair that reclines then she could the same treatment in the wheelchair. That’s good to know because I think that many wheelchair users with a reclining back might find that to be more comfortable than transferring to a high bed. But ultimately it’s up to each person’s individual preference.
Once I looked everything over, made my appointment and left the spa, I called one of my sister’s who is my little beauty consultant. I was very excited about the facial and the people there. Immediately, she was telling me the type of facial I should have done. There I am outside of the spa with an appointment made and she wanted me to change the treatment.
I went back in, requested to speak to Betty and asked her if I should have the facial my sister recommended. Betty said that if she were a sales person she would have recommended it but she feels ethically bound not to do it since she doesn’t know how my skin might react to it.
That gave her a gold star in my book!
I left feeling very relaxed and it wasn’t even the day of the facial treatment.
The next day, I came to the spa a half hour early in case it might take some time to set up.
I came with a clean face and my hair up in a ponytail. I also came with a baseball cap and sunglasses because I knew from reading articles that I would need to protect myself from the sun after the treatment.
Once in the room and on the bed, Betty began the treatment and answered my questions while going through the process. But after awhile, I simply wanted to be silent and enjoy the diva treatment.
I had a cleaning and hydrating facial. Betty was marvelous at her job. She left me alone to relax while the facial treatments took place.
Word to the wise: If you are scared of the dark or keeping your eyes closed for long periods of time, you might want to let them know ahead of time.
By the end of the treatment, I left with a clean and glowing face. It wasn’t just the facial but the overall feeling I felt from within that made my eyes glisten and my smile shine!
For $120, I left feeling like a million bucks!
Hey! I never said feeling like a diva was going to be cheap!
Happy skin to all!
If you are thinking of getting a facial or you have done it already, email me to let me know how it went.
nathasha@audacitymagazine.com