Akasura Scrub - The Korean Spa and Jjimjilbang Experience
Sit back and relax and let me tell you a story about a dream come true. I’m always disappointed by spas with little to no facilities. A massage is great on its own but a spa isn’t a spa to me unless there are extensive facilities with hot tubs, steam rooms, and saunas. I mean, if I’m going to splurge and spend the money, why not make a day of it breathing in hot steamy air and puckering away in a hot tub? Burke Williams is exactly this kind of forget about the world, day spa experience but good lord is it expensive. What am I a Rockefeller?
Then there are those depressing gyms that we’re all obligated to join. I was briefly a member of one of the more fancy gym options in the LA area. A crowded locker and shower area, and a sad little steam room that seemed less than sanitary, all for the opportunity to mindlessly run on a treadmill. Yuck.
Let me explain to you why the Koreans get it right. In Korea, whole families spend weekends together at spas which are open 24 hours a day. There are women and men only wet areas which typically have cold, warm, and hot pools, steam rooms, simple saunas and scrub areas where you can sit on a little stool and scrub yourself. They also contain wet service areas where one can get a traditional Akasura scrub and massage by extremely proficient staff. Clothes are not allowed in these areas so modesty be damned but no one is really looking or concerned about anyone else’s body but their own.
Then there are also co-ed areas where one wears a uniform of a loose t-shirt and shorts. One can arrange for traditional dry services like acupressure or Swedish massages in private rooms. There are often beauty salons with full services available for haircuts, manicures, and pedicures. The jjimjilbang itself is typically a great room where people can sit on mats and socialize, play games, watch television, or find a dark corner and sleep on heated marble floors. The jjimjilbang also typically has several very large sauna options available which may vary from charcoal, clay, jade, Himalayan salt, and ice. There are usually games rooms for kids, exercise rooms with all of your traditional machines, and a full restaurant.
My favorite Korean Spa in the Los Angeles area is Wi Spa. It has all of the above and has truly gorgeous, immaculate, expansive facilities. The ladies only area is just as nice as my favorite Burke Williams, with fully loaded vanities and fancy lockers to boot.
Entrance fees (just for use of the facilities) range from $15 to $25. Wi Spa charged me $45 for a traditional Akasura scrub and use of the facilities. For $90, you can get access to facilities, a full Akasura Scrub plus full hour long massage with your hair washed and gorgeous lotions applied.
A traditional Akasura scrub is a very thorough (don’t be shy!) 35 minute scrub down by a professional. Layers of dead skin will be removed from your body. We all know how important regular exfoliation is for your face. Exfoliation promotes cellular renewal and is very beneficial for your circulation and lymphatic system! They say it’s great for cellulite as well. You will be amazed at how soft your skin feels and how energized you feel.
Charcoal and clay saunas are thought to be incredibly detoxifying. Jade saunas are considered to be beneficial for your brain. Salt saunas are very beneficial if you are prone to asthma, allergies, or bronchitis. The salt naturally cleans the air and I personally find that my lungs really open up in that environment. The ice sauna cools you down in between hot saunas and tightens your pores.
I was personally really jazzed to take a break from the saunas and sit down for a hearty bowl of udon. Also, just the fact that naps are so very encouraged made me want to cry. How often are we encouraged to nap in this culture?
Did I mention there is a gym with all of your typical equipment available? There are membership packages available which can reduce the daily entrance fee to as low as $10. I might consider using a treadmill if I knew I could bliss out in a deluxe salt sauna during the same visit. Best of all, there is absolutely no hard sales pitch pushing you to join or any such nonsense.
I LOVE Korean spas!
UPDATE:
Since writing this post, I returned to WI Spa and booked a scrub/massage combination. I would not recommend the massage. It was definitely not relaxing or worth the money. The scrub is where it's at kids. Just pay the $55 for the entrance fee and scrub and leave it at that.
ORIGINALLY WRITTEN AND POSTED BY AIMEEB ON OCTOBER 8, 2010
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