Scrub and Silky Massage TR

[diamonddawg]

I’ve been told I have amazing skin.
My secret is:
Scrub and Silky Massage at Aroma Spa in K-town, LA.
http://www.aromaresort.com/spa.html
I used to go to the Beverly Hot Springs but it got too crowded. At Aroma, it’s me and dozens of Korean ladies. Authentic. Also not as annoying when they are all loudly yakking to each other vs annoying Hollywood wanna-be actresses talking about themselves. I think it’s a language thing not volume as these women have 1 general volume: loud.
The lowdown:
Single sex (sorry bb4l) – and I have never asked to see the men’s side, so I don’t know what differences it might have in #/style of accouterments (other than obv: men). I give an ID at the check in desk (feels a bit like checking in at a mid-grade hotel chain) and get a magnetic-key for my locker. Today I was number 103 – which is good to remember as they call out your number, not name, when it’s time for your service.
Disrobe. Entirely. Wrap up in hilariously flimsy and stiffly laundered cotton robe; grab a towel. Into the main room that has a large central Jacuzzi (normally I am totally skeeved out by Jacuzzis due to germaphobia, but this one is sparkling clean and I usually doze off in it), about 8 stand-up in then showers & maybe 14 sit on a stool and use handheld showery-thing showers, plunge pools, steam/saunas and the big treatment room. Re: the sit-down showers: those are super popular with the ancient Korean ladies who sit on the tiny low plastic stools and yak with each other for ages whilst scrubbing and soaping. I find the stand up showers more to my liking, but then again, I usually don’t go with other ppl but maybe if I did I would want to sit and natter with my butt on a cold plastic seat.
Naw.
Anyhew, after a shower, into the Jacuzzi. Then onto the cold plunge pool then the medium hot pool then back to the Jacuzzi. Then cold plunge again, then onto the mugwort room. I love the mugwort room. It’s steam but with this strange, smelly bag of herbs over the steam escape spot – very comforting smell vaguely reminiscent of summer camp. After a bit in there, another cool shower.
Then to the redwood sauna (its big – easily fit 8 people with room to stretch out). At the Aroma, they have a TV built into the wall with Korean TV on! It’s hilarious. Today it was some strange martial arts with a subplot of romance story. Two ladies in the sauna looked like they were about to pass out but they couldn’t drag themselves away from the tube! After some of the baking on of the sweat, back to the cool shower. Then the real fun!
(Btw, mind you, everyone is buck-naked. On occasion, I have seen a priggish/prudish - always Caucasian - chick in a swimsuit, but other than the employees, everyone is nude. The scrubby ladies are all in black granny panties and sort-of-sports bras and ugly pink flipflops.)
There are 8 plastic-covered (yeah, it’s a bit not spa-like) tables in a long row in the scrubby room. I’m shown to a table by an attendant. Often every table is already full – today it was about 30%. The treatment starts with me face down, head at a slightly not fantastic side-angle but at least they put a towel under your ear- and every part from the toes to the scalp is vigorously loofah-d with these wacky bath mitts that I don’t know where they come from, but they are serious business.
Even the bikini line and between the butt cheeks is scrubbed. It’s all so foreign (not that they are Korean – duh – but that there is no American-style “draping” like at all the fancypants places) – and it goes on for 20 minutes of back then front then side then the other side SCRUBBING. Like, little piles of skin lying around. I know, it sounds icky, but better off then still on, no? Then, body shampoo all over. And hot buckets of water poured over. And more body shampoo. And more buckets. Etc.
Next, it gets awesome as the attendant washes my hair with tingly minty/Tea tree shampoo and rinses and rubs my head. Then she puts conditioner on, wraps the hair up in a plastic bath cap and a nice tight towel, sits me up and puts some goo in my hand. She points me to the shower just outside and says “Wash & come back”. Uh, okay. This time, I came back with some soap on my back and she and the other attendants thought this a near horror of horrors and pushed me back out to the shower. I came back in, smiled, and pointed to my now clean back and they all though I was the most hilarious person on the planet. Asian scrubby chick humor I suppose.
While gone, she put a metallic “space blanket” on the plasticy table/bed. I get on that, face down, and there is lots of mildly warm lotion rubbed all over my back – then over to the front and same. It’s vaguely herbally warm (like normal lotion but with just a tiny tad of Ben-Gay). Then, now that I am face up, she wraps the space blanket up like a burrito, lays warm towels over my torso, and starts massaging the living daylights out of my face and neck. Then it’s some strange mud-like masque on my face and neck for a while and more head rubbing. Then on top of that masque she layers real grated cucumber. Can’t really tell as I am bound like St. Sebastian. Just figuring it out by sensation/smell. More head rubbing. Then foil and towel fandango off, lots more oil and crazy deep massaging all over (yes, breasts, too; no, its not a huge turn on to be lymphatically massaged – its rather medical in a way) and then, facial masque off, flip over (space blanket long gone), more rubbing and pounding.
Now you might think this is the end. Nope.
Flipped back over on my back and yet ANOTHER facial masque applied – this one kind of burny-tingly in a not fun way until she puts the magical facial cloth (again, I have no idea, as I can’t see nor do I really want to) over it and then it’s just nice and warm. While this masque is on there is more head rubbing and then hair washing with serious head rubbing that almost hurts. But my neck ache from all that weird sideways head thing is now, instead, a nice stretched-out and relaxed feeling. Then she peels off the mask, sits me up, a vigorous dry towel rubbing everywhere, and I am done.
I am now one of the cleanest, most relaxed ppl on planet. God Bless K-town and the Aroma Spa!
Time of scrub/massage: 1 hour 45 min
Time before (just to enjoy facilities): 1 hour
Time after to dress, have water, dry hair: 45 minutes
Drive time to and from (depends on traffic): 1 hour RT
Cost: $130
Value: +++!!