Travel To Wellness Inc.

SPA HOLIDAYS AND THE ART OF ANTI-AGING

by Anne Dimon


A couple of years ago, the buzz word at spas was “detox.” You could check-in, spend a couple of hours and check-out lighter by so many toxins. Today the word-de-jour is “anti-aging.” Now, you might be thinking if that means checking in looking 50 and checking out looking 45, you’ll take half-a-dozen treatments. The term anti-aging, however, can mean different things to different people.

For some it means maintaining a lifestyle that keeps body, mind and soul fit and healthy regardless of age. For others, anti-aging means reversing the visible signs of aging. There are spas that cater to both definitions. At one end, Willow Stream, the Spas at Fairmont Hotels & Resorts combines sophisticated products with a nurturing touch and lifestyle education helping clients achieve a healthy mix of ageless attitude, energy and confidence. At the other end of the scale, there are spas that offer facial peels, Botox and laser treatments. In the middle are spas that bridge the gap – offering medical treatments in a holistic environment. These days, you’d be hard pressed to find any spa worth it’s sea salt scrub without at least one anti-aging treatment on its menu of services. Some even offer non-surgical face lifts or acupuncture facials.

Here in Arizona, if spending a couple of days at the spectacular Sanctuary on Camelback Mountain isn’t rejuvenating enough, try booking yourself for one of the Sanctuary Spa’s more compelling anti-aging treatments. One is the Ume Plus Roll ($190 U.S. for 90 minutes), a moisturizing treatment said to tighten the skin’s supporting tissue. Another is the Age Concept, a facial “with five potent anti-aging ingredients.” ($235 U.S. for 90 minutes). I’m going for the Onsen Longevity Treatment ($130 U.S. for 60 minutes) promising more youthful looking skin.

In the shadow of the Praying Monk – that rocky, red outcropping perched high above this luxury boutique resort’s vast infinity pool - I learn that in Japan, an “onsen” is a natural hot spring associated with spiritual and physical rejuvenation. Denny Connor, my therapist, begins the treatment with a full body exfoliation to slough off dry skin. A quick shower and then it’s back on the treatment table. One of the more unique features of this Asian-inspired spa is that 12 of 14 treatment rooms have doors that swing open onto the meditative garden. Lying here I can listen to the sound of trickling waters and feel the warmth of a Scottsdale breeze. Sensations are soon concentrated on the feet as Connor applies a self-heating seaweed and wraps each foot in individual foil booties. As the seaweed heats up, it creates a strange bubbling action. I’m told, this will help draw out those nasty, age-inducing toxins our bodies tend to collect from various sources. As the seaweed continues to bubble and boil, Connor applies a cool and tingly firming gel all over the skin from ankles to neck. I’m then wrapped in plastic for about 15 minutes as the skin drinks in the gel and my scalp is treated to a massage. The body is then unwrapped to reveal - new skin? Well, maybe not totally new skin – but certainly softer, more moist, supple and yes – I’d say rejuvenated.

SPAS ARE SIMPLY REJUVENATING!

Of course, feeling rejuvenated after a spa treatment – any spa treatment - is nothing revolutionary. “Every spa has exfoliation, rehydration and moisturizing treatments,” says Gordon Tareta, director of spa operations at Hyatt International, “so we’ve had ‘anti-aging’ for a while.” He adds, “spas also play an integral role in stress reduction which, in itself, is anti-aging.” But what has changed, he points out, is the science and technology behind the anti-aging product, and the marketing of it in keeping with growing demand.

Consequently we’re seeing the evolution of medical spas – those with a full-time, in-house doctor - offering more potent and medically sophisticated anti-aging treatments than those available at the typical resort spa. At Hyatt, Tareta says there is only one true medical spa in the chain’s worldwide family of 44 spas – the holistic-influenced Medical and Skin Spa at the Hyatt Regency Grand Champion in Indian Wells, California. Much closer to home, one day spa with an on-site medical doctor at Santé Spa (508 - 24th Avenue SW, Calgary). The other Santé Spa is at Bear Mountain Resort in Victoria, British Columbia.

Fresh from my Onsen treatment at the Sanctuary and following a yummy dinner of fresh, organic, Asian-inspired delicacies at elements, the resort’s swish restaurant overlooking the lights of Paradise Valley, I’m feeling a certain bravado in my “new skin.” Thoughts of skinny dipping in the way-too-inviting infinity pool located just steps away are swirling through my mind. Of course, it will be under the watchful eye of the Praying Monk. Ahhh. The spontaneous pleasures of youth. For some of us, it’s the pleasures of just feeling young (er) and stress free.