Back at the beginning of the year I was thinking about trying to include some regular self-care into my schedule. I love massages – but the last place I went to got rid of their spa and I never found a replacement person that I liked as much. I also enjoy pedicures, but wanted to branch out a bit. Anyways, I ended up following a recommendation to visit a medi-spa in my area.
In March, I signed up for a 6-month membership, which was a flat fee of $95 each month. For that fee, you could pick from a variety of services (which included a facial) and also get 10% off other services and retail items. It was the perfect fit for what I was looking for, so starting in March I would book myself one facial each month.
In addition to the facials, I also was thinking I might do the BBL (Broadband Laser) treatment for the 10% off to zap away some of my sunspots. It’s best to wait until you’re out of the sun though, so I stuck a reminder on my calendar to do a consultation in the fall and in the meantime enjoy the monthly facials.
And OHMY the facials are fabulous. My esthetician is an absolute angel. For an hour, she alternates between cleansing, exfoliation, a custom masque, hot towels, massaging and steam on my face. While the various concoctions are doing their magic, she massages my hands, arms, shoulders, neck, face and feet. It is decadent. And more than once over the past few months, I dozed off because I was so relaxed.
I was just telling my husband a couple weeks ago how much I LOVED adding a monthly facial as self-care into my schedule. Because it’s a membership, it forces me to find time for myself. It’s something only for ME and I enjoy every second of it.
Or I did.
Because when I went to my last appointment, I found out that they were updating their membership and now there are no facial options included in the plan. Instead, if I want to get a facial at the spa it will cost $140 as a non-member. I was okay with spending $95 a month (plus tip) on my facials, but having that increase to $140 for the exact same thing is painful.
It’s silly to say, but I am super bummed about it.
I had settled into a nice little rhythm of treating myself each month and I had built up a great rapport with my esthetician. But the increase in price is just way too much for me to justify continuing to go there monthly. I’m still planning to do the BBL consultation in a couple months though, even though I won’t receive the 10% off.
As for facials, I have a list of other spas in the area that I need to check out – so I’m hoping to find one with comparable pricing and services to what I was previously loving. And if it doesn’t work out, I may return to my beloved angel at the medi-spa but space my sessions out to every 6-8 weeks to keep the overall pricing down.
Anyways, I guess this is just a vent session.
Have you had something similar happen where you were settled into a rhythm and then you were suddenly knocked off-kilter with an unexpected sudden change?
Well, maybe this isn’t exactly the same thing, but it did knock me waaaay off kilter. I had been going to the same hairdresser for at least two years, and things were going fine. She wasn’t there a lot, but I always found a way to get in when she was there. So, I had been getting the same cut for awhile, chin length, longer in the front, shorter in the back. Then the pandemic came, and I didn’t go to have my hair done for the next two years. I cut my own bangs, etc. Finally, I went in. It was so nice to see my hairdresser again. I had it longer, and explained how I wanted to keep it long. So, she cut the same style, sort of long layers, framed the face, really nice, three times. I was so happy with it! The next time I went in, she cut it above my chin length, asking, “how short do you want it?” I said, “no I wanted to keep it long.” I was nice about it, but I had shorter hair than I wanted, in a flip. Nothing I could do with it. She felt bad, but I had just explained how I wanted it. It dawned on me, that she always got to listening to the other stylists, and could forget what I wanted. I go to check out, and the receptionist said the price had gone up, and was very defensive about it. I didn’t mention that I hadn’t gotten what I wanted, I just wanted to leave. She was rude. So, for the past year, or so, I have grown it out, and it is finally where I wanted it. I am not going back to her, and have found someone who listens well. But, it took me quite a while to get it where I want it. No one in my family thinks this is a big thing, maybe it’s not, but it was a problem for me. Thanks for listening!
Oh Nancy, I totally understand!
Thanks!