| Relaxing on a bed of Lavender & Roses |
by Wibke Langhorst
March 2003
“Girl, you need help,” Lynn, the Canadian massage therapist at the Lavender & Roses day spa said categorically.
She was right. The terrifying crunching sounds that were somehow emanating from my back and shoulders while she was systematically working on a multitude of knotted, twisted and cramped up muscles told of more than thirty years of accumulated tension, too many hours spent at the computer, and too many skipped Pilates sessions.
The realization that my body was not exactly a teenager’s anymore came after I spent a day doing what I actually love best. Eight hours of bumping around in the back of a pickup truck that was slipping, sliding and skipping along on a rock-strewn donkey path high in the mountains on a brilliantly sunny day had taken a toll: my face was an abstract work of art with intensively pink patches on nose and forehead, fine red squinting lines around my eyes and paler spots everywhere the dust had settled; my hair was knotted into an intricate net resisting even the strongest attempts to yank a comb through it; and my back — oh, my back.
Fortunately, help was not far. Kimberly Nicols just recently moved her “Lavender & Roses” day spa and beauty salon out of the Hotel Villa del Sol to a new, peaceful and much more spacious location in Ixtapa, where she was now putting together a “total repair package” for my poor battered body.
“Wibke’s Day” started with a half-hour therapeutic massage given by Lynn Jarvis, an internationally certified massage therapist whose list of past clients includes players of the Canadian Football League. Needless to say that her deep tissue massage goes seriously deep. She unfailingly zeroed in on all of my most hidden tension spots and rubbed, pressed and stretched them away, all the while identifying their separate causes and explaining simple and effective ways to prevent them from re-appearing.
Thirty minutes later I was two inches taller and so loose and relaxed that I felt I was about to simply slither off the table. Lynn left the room with me barely conscious enough to notice it and handed me over to Maydee who started to lather my body with a lavender-infused shampoo. When I was properly washed and rinsed, she coated my entire body with a paste of olive oil, sugar and cinnamon. Feeling and smelling a little like Grandma’s apple pie, my body funnily started to feel like it was heating up, too. “That’s the cinnamon,” explained Maydee, “it makes this a self-heating body treatment that is great for stimulating circulation and soothing sore muscles.” Sugar was used instead of salt to take the sting out of exfoliation. After I had rinsed off my “crust” Maydee massaged a refreshing lavender body lotion into my suddenly soft and glowing skin and left me to relax.
It was Lety’s turn to restore my sun- and windburned face to its former – ahem – youthful beauty. A revitalizing mask induced a refreshing tingle before a cleansing mask was applied for gentle surface peeling. The final application, a calming aquamarine mask containing seaweed, added the appropriate theatrical gesture to my facial metamorphosis – it was peeled off like a second skin to reveal a new and improved me!
Still dazzled by this amazing act of renewal I was gently maneuvered over to have an invigorating pedicure that included a leg massage with very smooth warm river pebbles and a hair trim that took care of those tousled tresses.
When Kimberly asked my taller, relaxed and glowing reflection in the mirror whether I enjoyed my treatments I only suppressed the urge to nod enthusiastically out of respect for her scissors. “I try to stay away as much as possible from pre-packaged, chemical powders and instead replace them with local natural ingredients,” she explained. For her special mixtures, she often consults the elderly peasants who are selling herbs and spices at the market. One of them now supplies her with the seaweed that gives her facial masks such a vibrant color. The cinnamon and sugar in my body treatment were crushed by hand and mixed with the olive oil just before being applied. “People here have many incredible beauty and health secrets for which they use the local plants. I want to learn more about the medicinal qualities of these plants and apply them in my spa treatments.”
Natural elements figure prominently in the interior design of Kimberly’s salon and treatment rooms, too. Twisted driftwood branches hold up billowy cotton curtains, river pebbles are set in terracotta-colored walls, and baskets and handwoven blankets decorate tables and soften the look of the dividing walls. An oversized showerhead in a wide, rounded shower stall turns simple showers into warm tropical rain. Soft instrumental music mixed with nature sounds and discreet wafts of incense create the perfect conditions for pure relaxation. “I wanted to avoid the sterile and clinical look of other spas. People should feel comfortable while they are receiving their treatments.” For clients who want to be even closer to nature, Kimberly has set up a massage tent next to the Hotel Villa del Sol right on La Ropa Beach in Zihuatanejo where Lynn Jarvis does her massage magic by the sound of the waves.
— Is that tension that I feel in my right shoulder while I am typing this? Well, I guess there is only one way to find out and get cured…
Lavender & Roses Day Spa and Salon, New location at the Ixtapa Palace, right off the Lobby. Telephone: (755) 553-1945 (direct), 553-1759 (Ixtapa Palace switchboard)
Email: lavenderyroses@yahoo.com.mx Open Monday to Saturday 10:00am to 6:00pm
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