It’s good to be a woman

Celebrate being a woman and take the day off, leave deadlines behind, switch off your mobile and enjoy a break. The MetroPlus team has checked out a few salons in town and found out there are several ways to pamper yourself. Gift yourself a few hours of pampering. From pedicures and body massages to hair spa and reflexology, there are a myriad treatments available to make you feel even more special

March 06, 2015 05:59 pm | Updated 05:59 pm IST - Coimbatore

Spa Room at PAge 3 Salon, Photo: S.Siva Saravanan

Spa Room at PAge 3 Salon, Photo: S.Siva Saravanan

The Spa, Vivanta by Taj – Surya, Race Course

0422-6681000 extn 3502

I put my belongings in the locker at the changing room and head to The Spa for a 60-minute body massage, a five-minute head massage, an hour-long facial, and finally a blow dry. It’s The Spa bliss package, a women’s Day special.

I breathe in the perfume of the aromatic oil and it is instantly uplifting. It is filled with the goodness of camphor, ginger and rosemary. “We are going to use this oil on your skin for the deep tissue massage,” says my masseur Mini Maya. I lie face down. As Maya applies pressure with hands and palms on the muscles on the back of each leg, I doze off. It’s a Swedish massage and it involves strokes such as effleurage, kneading, tapping, bending and stretching. She gives extra pressure on the back and shoulder muscles on request and my tired muscles respond gratefully. After massaging the legs and arms, Maya gives me a soothing head massage that leaves me in a trance.

The experience gets better when Anish takes over for a 20-minute foot reflexology. This again on request. He works on the pressure points on my foot and my whole body enjoys a sense of well being.

Before I head to the Sauna, I sip refreshing herbal tea made from 18 herbs, besides a selection of fruits. After the Sauna, I sweat it out in the steam room(you can also apply eucalyptus oil or lemon grass oil before entering the steam room) that opens up the pores and flushes out toxins from the body. After a quick shower, it’s time for the facial. “All the products are from our main kitchen,” says Maya as she applies cleansing milk (raw milk and gel) on my face. She scrubs my face clean with honey, curd and a walnut scrub. A few minutes of steaming opens up the pores. She removes black and white heads, and massages with a papaya pack. She applies crushed cucumber and sandal paste to close the pores and applies rose water for the final touch. My skin is soft and what I see on the mirror is a new me.

The Spa Bliss package is available as a gift voucher for wives, mothers, sisters and daughters. There is a couple room too where the mother and daughter team can enjoy some tender loving care. There are various mix and match treatment options available. Ideally, have at least two and a half hour in hand to really enjoy the experience.

Other packages include ‘instant tense away’ which includes a 30-minute head massage and a 15-minute foot massage, and also a signature massage.

The Spa is open from 8 a.m. to 9 p.m.

Limelite, Race Course

0422-4204006

I am sleepy. I can smell aromatic oils. Electronic trance music plays in the backdrop and gradually, thoughts of deadlines and work pressure melt away. Dev, the hair stylist, massages my scalp with his magic fingers. He exerts just the right pressure on my forehead while he applies a Moroccan oil on my scalp. It is soothing and I doze off.

Limelite salon offers a variety of spa packages. The Moroccan package is organic, says Dev. “It is derived from the argan tree and has six variants for soft and dry hair.” Since my scalp is dry, Dev has recommended an intensive dry scalp treatment.

Once the oil is applied on the scalp, Dev applies a mix of Moroccan paste and oil on strands of my hair like a pack. This is to soften the hair and give it lustre, he explains. A hair steamer over my head allows the hot vapours to swirl around, seeping into every pore of my scalp. It is such a refreshing feeling.

Even my face looks fresh after the steaming. “For blood circulation, hair steaming is the best,” Dev points out.

After steaming, the hair is washed and blow dried. My hair, which was frizzy and sticky an hour ago, now shines and glows.

Dev styles my hair with a rolling comb. “Do you want a hair-cut,” he asks me. I ask him if bangs will suit me. And I list out the names of celebrities I want to look like. But Dev instantly bursts my bubble. “I don’t think so. You have a small forehead,” he says firmly. Instead, he recommends a side fringe that will fall along my face and make it look oval.

So, side fringe it is and I have my new summer look. Now, all I need is a camera to click that cool selfie.

Limelite is open from 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. As part of Women's Day, Limelite offers a flat 30 per cent discount on all services for women. The offer is valid for Saturday, Sunday and Monday.

Respa, The Residency, Avanashi Road

0422-2241414

My mind and body are suffused with the sweet fragrance of tulsi and slightly bitter notes of neem. My skin feels like it’s been scrubbed clean and there’s a warm glow within. That’s the effect of the detox body massage at Respa, the newly-opened spa at The Residency. For an hour, a specially trained therapist has kneaded tired muscles and pummeled obstinate aches and pains into submission, using the neem-tulsi-aloe vera paste. All through this, most clients sleep like babies. It helps that the mixture almost smells like the snana podi used to bathe infants!

Respa is tastefully done-up, with soothing muted lighting. The therapists are friendly, firm in their touch, and maintain silence.

The chair lift at the entrance is a great way to make the spa accessible to all. The booklet they hand over before escorting you to the treatment rooms clarifies most doubts you may have about treatment protocol. The spa has a huge line-up of massage options. There’s a special massage for couples, a deep tissue massage, a thai yoga massage, herbal body scrub, cucumber wrap, yoghurt turmeric wrap and a papaya body wrap. They also offer a 30-minute anti-stress head, neck and shoulder massage and foot and lower leg massage for those in a hurry.

Next up is a rejuvenating pedicure and an aromatic turmeric, lavender and ylang-ylang facial. The focus is always on the massage, which is a good thing, because it relaxes you like none other. The feet are squeaky clean and feel pampered and any tell-tale marks on the face seem to have disappeared. “Look at your face; it’s so clear. The final face pack tightens the skin,” says Geeta Nair, my therapist, as she wakes me up from a lavender-scented dream.

Page 3, Race Course

0422-4223331

Just the prospect of spending two and a half hours, supine, with flickering candles, a hint of music and no doorbells spells luxury in my language. And when a hot towel swaddles my poor aching feet, the decadence just goes up another level. I am enjoying Skeyndor’s Gem Thermal Spa. And, I have been briefed about its benefits. It is meant to ease physical tension and restore the mind and body balance. The lotions, scrubs and creams used are pretty exotic. Thermal salt is gently rubbed over the body and it is as if all my niggling aches and vague pains are being scrubbed away. It is a rich mineral salt that is said to be restorative, and I can believe that.The masseuse knows exactly the spots and I can feel myself unclenching. And next, just wait for it, is a body wrap made up of sapphire particles! I am told this improves tissue tone besides leaving the skin soft and supple feel. I am already feeling pretty luxurious with all that Sapphire dust on me and this is then followed by an intensive anti-fatigue massage with a gel made of Malachite. This restores, rejuvenates and renews energy and lends further radiance to the skin. A hot invigorating sauna post the massage, and a hot shower thereafter, and I am reborn.

According to Shanmuga Kumar of Page 3, Skeyndor has come up with a range of three holistic spas of which I have just enjoyed one. The other two are the Botanical Spice and Tempo Spa that draws entirely from the goodness of botanical extracts. The third is the Oriental Senses Spa that uses unguents made with essential oils and ingredients familiar to us such as saffron, sesame, jojoba and so on. Call the salon to find out which one is for you.

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