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Spring is here but you wouldn’t know it by the looks of our complexions. Months of brash winter wind, dry heat and a few too many Irish coffees have taken their toll. So, naturally, when we heard tales of oxygen facials and their amazing powers of renewal, we were primed to be blown away.
Tranquility Day Spa & Salon
Top-rated Tranquility Day Spa & Salon offers an Oxygenating Sea Foam facial that includes a warm, seaweed-based, rebalancing mask. Rich in trace elements, minerals and vitamins, the “seaweed nourishes and recharges the skin,” says manager Donna West. The spa offers an extensive menu of services for both men and women, including face and body treatments, massage and waxing.
As for atmosphere, this spot will get you primed for bikini season. The Caribbean-inspired design with its tropical murals, palms and tiki hut relaxation area is like spending “a day at the beach,” West says.
Lotus Day Spa, Face & Body
At Lotus Day Spa, Face & Body in Leesburg, owner Mariana York also raves about the effects of an oxygen treatment. “It’s a tremendous treatment for sun damage, burns, and for recovery after plastic surgery,” she says. “I do a combination of micro-dermabrasion—removing three layers of dead skin cells—and an oxygen facial consisting of the purest oxygen and minerals to increase circulation and generate new skin cells.”
This tiny spa with the zen-like atmosphere specializes in clinical skin care and anti-aging treatments for both men and women. Big with golfers, notorious for their weathered hides, is the C Spa, which combines vitamin C, organic mud and algae to stimulate the production of collagen and elastin, which we should all know by now are the underpinnings of plump, glowing, youthful skin.
The Spa at Glade Springs
Oxygen facials are not the only way to put spring in your skin. Here are a few more ways to spend an hour or a weekend getting glorious.
The fabulous fall foliage in the mountains of West Virginia is matched by the glorious flowering of spring. A gorgeous spot to enjoy it all is The Spa at Glade Springs Hotel and Conference Resort, which offers almost every outdoor activity imaginable short of scuba diving. There are two top-ranked golf courses, white water rafting, horseback riding, mountain biking, hiking and jogging trails, rock climbing, fishing, indoor and outdoor tennis courts, a heated pool, a year-round ice skating rink, and a complete fitness center.
But such exertions can do a lot of damage to skin and muscles, which makes mandatory a visit to the resort’s spa for a little coddling before cocktails.
Spa director Todd Haymon says their Resolution Facial with Vitamin C is a sure bet for perking up the face for spring. “A lot of times in the winter your skin starts to build a protective layer against the environment. This is a really good facial for cleansing that off.”
The 80-minute treatment with dermatologist developed products includes a neck and shoulder massage, a mask, and a deep pore cleansing, with an emphasis on removing excessive oils and clarifying and calming skin conditions such as acne and light rosacea.
Now hit the dirt bikes so you can come back again tomorrow.
Netherlands Inn & Spa
If you like a little relaxation with your relaxation, the Netherlands Inn & Spa in Strasburg, PA offers lustful doses. Smack in the midst of the rolling hills of Amish country, the newly refurbished historic inn with its 102 beautifully decorated guest rooms, bistro, grand ballroom, meeting rooms and outdoor swimming pool is surrounded by 19 acres of emerald lawns and lush gardens.
Then there’s the luxuriously intimate Spa Orange. Window-lined for viewing the changing seasons, with an enormous walk-in brick fireplace and cushy, earth-toned furnishings, the ambiance here is the antithesis of high-tech. But this place is serious about the business of beauty, with both an aesthetician and a cosmetologist on staff and such treats as a hydrotherapy tub, a steam sauna, and a Swiss shower with 16 heads to really blast those winter blahs.
Now’s a great time for the spa’s Signature Facial, says Melissa Wiessner, the staff aesthetician. The 60-minute treatment includes a 20-minute massage of the décolleté, neck, shoulders, arms, hands and feet, aromatherapy, and a facial. Weissner customizes Dermalogica products “for each individual’s needs, waking up the collagen and elastin, sloughing off the dead skin, and plumping up the cells to make us look younger and refreshed.”
