Ask Susie: How Many Spa Visits Per Day? (Too much of a good thing?)

Question:

I’ve been a spa fan for years.  One thing I haven’t seen addressed on any site is how many spa treatments one should have per day when going on a spa vacation.  Is there such a thing as too many where there might be ill-effects?”

T.B.

 

Answer:

Dear T.B.

One of the most likely reasons the topic of too many spa treatments at a time hasn’t been addressed is because very few people ever get the chance to find out how many is too many!  (I’m sure people would be happy to volunteer and test this out!)  All kidding aside, you do bring up a good point: How should you  pace your treatments for maximum benefit when staying at a spa for several days?

Although it depends a bit on what your specific goals are, I think a good rule of thumb is to schedule one relaxing spa treatment per day – perhaps a massage, a body treatment, or a facial.  You can then add grooming appointments such as manicure, pedicure, hair care/styling, waxing, and makeup application as additional services to some of the days.  Of course you always want to be careful about the order — for example, you don’t want to have a pedicure before a massage or body treatment, and you don’t want to book two heat treatments in a row, etc.

And yes, I do think it is possible to do too many treatments in one day.  It has happened to me (and many others), which is one reason I think that the “day of beauty” has become somewhat less popular over the past years.  It isn’t necessarily that you risk ill-effects, but our bodies are made to move and to be nourished and such so spending hours in passive experiences such as massage, body treatments, facials, and even many of the grooming services may result in decreasing energy, getting dehydrated, and possibly becoming somewhat antsy.

There are a couple of spas that have experimented with the idea of “unlimited spa treatments.”  One is the beautiful Mayflower Inn in Washington, Connecticut.  I spoke recently with Helen Brown, the property’s exceptional spa director, and asked her how this very novel program was going.  She indicated that people loved the idea of “unlimited spa treatments,” and that on average they selected two treatments per day.  Apparently, this is a good balance between the other things that people do at spas, including fitness, healthy meals, education classes, and sometimes just relaxing by the pool or taking a nap.

Susie