D'Oh...

Since when is going to a spa, be so stressful? As in Homer's wise (or is it?) words: D'oh..

I remember having foot spa for a review in my English class. I drafted and got the Services review and had to insert having an actual foot spa for it in my schedule. I don't want to write about something I haven't experienced, especially for a review. I had my first one, right after my Math Long Exam. A good way to relieve stress, mind you. However, I had an insect bite I was unaware of and when the lady scrubbed my foot with a giant "footfile", it got worse and became like a wound. Anyway, I just hated the way the assistants were staring at me.
Well, this is what I've done to it:


What’s Feet for You?

Walking around everywhere all day makes us (I know it’s not just me) feel so stressed out (yes, going from one class to another is also stressful). So aside from resting or taking a nap, others resort in going to spas and massage salons to relax and relieve stress. (Stress is now becoming a fad!) I decided to try out a couple of these establishments that offer different kinds of services. To make the experience short yet exceptional, I chose to have a foot spa. It’s not vanity (or what my friends think of it), it is a luxury most can afford, if you only have the time and ability to shell out a few bucks to avail this service guiltlessly.

I decided to go to a certain one stop salon which has “beauty, rejuvenate, and maintain” as its tagline. Let’s Face It answered my question of “where would I go to have a foot spa?” Let’s Face It offers a very, very wide range of services from facial treatments (facial cleaning, peeling, bleaching, and hair removal) to body treatments (scalp and hair treatment, body whitening and scrub, milk bath and wrap, waxing, skin peeling, hand care, foot care, and body massage).

I had a schedule and since there were only a few people at that time, I had my foot spa right away. First, they search your feet for callouses or other visible hard particles to know their targets. (They even wondered why I’m having a foot spa even though they can’t find callouses from my feet.) Then they placed my feet in an electric, massaging tub filled with warm water and suds. After a few minutes, or until the bubbles almost flowed out, the personnel soaked my feet in clean water and applied a minty scrub on my legs and feet. While applying/exfoliating, my attendant strikes up a conversation and tries to make me feel comfortable. After all those talking, she rinsed all the scrubs and turns on the lights and magnifier to search my feet for callouses (again). Then she brought out a huge file (or foot file, as I call it) and started filing my feet away. I thought both my feet would be sharp from all those filing actions. (I noticed that when the “filing part” came, the shop personnel became really serious and her smile faded behind the foot file.) She ended the foot session by whipping my feet and legs with scented oils then massaged my feet for a while.

The Foot has spoken! (on a scale of 1-5, one being the lowest and five the highest)
Interiors: 3 toes
Though they have a lot of space for clients, there was no privacy because the chairs lie next to each other. However, the water fountain inside plus the music creates a serene feeling and calmness.
Service/Foot Spa: 4 toes
The foot spa service was fine, but the foot massage was really short and limited to the feet area. Yet, Let’s Face It offers a very wide range of services for the whole body such as massages, facial services and all, making it really a one stop salon.
Price: 4 toes
The price of the foot spa ranges from ordinary (240php), peppermint (475php), to special (550php).
Facilities: 4 toes
Their materials were upgraded and modern in the sense that they look more technologically advanced, and the availability of a dermatologist is a big factor.
Accessibility: 5 toes
Let’s Face It has a lot of branches around the Metro even reaching Olongapo, Lucena, and Pampanga. It can be found at leading malls as well.
Comfort: 3 toes
The chair doesn’t recline and when the attendant starts massaging your feet, you’ll slide from the chair!
Bad Foot: Aside from the lack of privacy (they don’t expect us to feel like family with other clients, right?!), when the other employees don’t have clients to attend to, they really stare at you which is really disturbing and made me feel uncomfortable.

For my second trip, I chose to go to Massage King (a random choice). They have a list of Combos for their services (like those value meals or whatnot in fast food chains), but you can’t really pick the service you want since they have these combinations of foot spa with foot massage (plus other services like pedicure, etc), half and whole body massages. The treatment was pretty much the same with Let’s Face It. They start with the massage tub then the foot and leg wash, the filing of your callouses (even though you don’t have those), then the oils and massage. There were only few (minor) differences. One was that instead of a foot scrub, they used a pumice to exfoliate your feet and the other was that the massage part was a bit longer and includes the leg.

The Foot has spoken!
Interiors: 4 toes
Massage King has separate rooms for different services (privacy at last!). Also, they have a lot of plants around for that organic feeling and play really calm, nature-like music.
Service/Foot Spa: 4 toes
The massage service lasts longer and includes the legs. They also offer a wide range of massage services for the body with all their different combinations.
Price: 4 toes
The prices in Massage King range from as low as 175php (half body massage, dry bp reading and hot towel) to 500php (foot spa with foot massage, hand spa, manicure and pedicure).
Facilities: 3 toes
Their equipments are really nature-inspired, so we can’t blame them if their materials were not really “state-of-the-art”.There are magazines available for clients to read. However, there was no reflexologist around even though they claim to have one in their advertisements.
Accessibility: 3 toes
Massage King, sad to say, has very few branches and all can be found within the Metro. There are only around four locations to spot – which makes it available to really few people.
Comfort: 4 toes
Instead of just a chair, they offer a reclining chair which is really comfortable, and you can ask for more pillows if you still feel uneasy.
Bad Foot: The employees are not really friendly, though they don’t stare at you, they
don’t talk to you either! Also, since the place has less space, book earlier to avoid long waiting lines.

MORAL: Love thy feet as you love thy self. Also, I hope you'd never feel so stressed when you try to go to a spa/massage salon. Hmm, one more, pay first! Since sometimes traffic gets you so stressed out, then you go to the spa to relieve it, finally you pay, and then, you get all stressed down again. Pay first, so at least in the end, you'll just go home stress-free (well, unless traffic hits you again).