Sweat for beauty

I knew the winter was coming when I started to hate my skin.

It was so dull and dry. My pores were clogged to the point that I went nuts. Worst of all, I started having  these bumps along my chin which had not appeared in a year. Of course, having a work schedule that messed up my sleep and diet did not help.

I tried them all - scrubs, lactic acid, hydrating masks from four different brands. Nothing would work. It seemed like all of my beloved products had lost their magic. Every day after washing my face I would stare at the whiteheads that were clogging my pores in between my eye brows (seriously, how did that happen?) and the bumps along my chin debating if I should do something or leave them in peace. Usually I end up squeezing them, which you know… turns a problem into a disaster.

I was THIS close to booking a facial. Note that I never go for a facial unless it was free or at super discount. (This IS the blog of two cheapos) Thankfully Jen-Jen stopped me from irrational behaviour by bringing up the awesome Korean sauna we went last year for our friends’ birthday. Lying on hot mineral salt in the winter time is a paradise for us living in Vancouver. Plus it is supposed to help detoxify the body and the skin. Two chubby girls started to look forward to our little trip to Coquitlam.

After much scheduling, we finally made it there last Sunday. It was paradise! For $15 each (+ tax, thanks Canada!), we stayed there for over 3 hours. They provide scrubs for you to change into and a locker to keep your clothes and belongings in. By the way, you should be prepared to be seen naked inside the change room. There are no changing nor showering stalls though women and men have separate changing rooms.

There are three saunas – salt (warm), charcoal (cool), and yellow earth (hot). You stay in the salt and yellow earth saunas for 5-10 minutes and for however long you want in the charcoal sauna. We did two rounds of all of them then hung out in the lounge in between - chatting, flipping through magazines, and watching some random Korean shows that we could not understand.

By our last go in the salt room, we could really feel that our bodies were warmed to the bones, as we started to sweat like crazy. I seriously felt like my pores could breathe again, and my body was so relaxed that it was wrapped in a cloud. To take advantage of our open pores, we applied sea mud masks on our faces. It was so perfect that they even had a hot tub we could soak our feet in while waiting to wash off the mask. After that, we showered (enjoyed some awesome PTR shampoo and

conditioner that Jen-Jen brought*), and put on the Fresh rose mask for hydration. And then…

Tah-dah! Our skin was so soft and smooth! It looked clean, supple, and had a nice glow which that had not been seen in ages!

For those of you who have some extra cash on hand, yes a personal facial and massage definitely gives you that feeling of being pampered like a queen.** But this is even better – the feeling of melting into the hot salt, the glowing skin, and having a great time catching up with friends. At $15 bucks, what more can you ask for?

*Jen-Jen: I got the PTR shampoo and conditioner for free from my trip to NYC!!

**If you do have extra cash, please share some with us.

JJ Family Spa

#3000 Christmas Way

Coquitlam, BC

Images: JJ Family Spa