Happy MLK Weekend! For this long weekend I of course booked myself some spa services. I still had the rest of my
LaDolce gift card to use by the end of January, so I set up my last two appointments. The services I had left were the deep conditioning treatment and the mini-mani, which I upgraded to the Dolce pedicure. I reviewed this salon and spa on September 18th, 2010, when I used my massage and facial appointments, so you can refer to that
post for more details.
My first service was the deep conditioning treatment. I wouldn't normally consider this a spa treatment, but it did involve a scalp massage, so I will include it. My stylist first asked me some questions about how I wear my hair and what products I use, and then took me over to the sink. She shampooed my hair and massaged my scalp. The massage was good, but over all to soon. She then put in the deep conditioner plus an extra product for my ends. Then I sat under the dryer for 15 minutes while I read a magazine. She rinsed out the conditioner, then asked me how she should style me hair. Just for fun, I had her straighten it. If you know me, you know that I never wear my hair straight, but I decided to make the stylist work for her tip :). The blow out was mediocre, although I do have rediculously thick hair that makes it harder and more time consuming to straighten.
My second treatment was the Dolce pedicure. The "Dolce" part of the pedicure, I was told by the nail technician, was that it involved a scrub, foot mask, and anti-fungal product. The pedicure chairs were in a separate little area through a door, which made the experience more relaxing a peaceful. There was also more soothing music piped in than the music that was playing in the salon area. The pedicure chair was disappointing since it only vibrated rather than had rolling massagers. I was given a heated neck wrap that smelled pleasantly like roasted nuts and left to soak for 10 minutes. The nail tech then worked on my cuticles and heels, and used a scrub on both my feet, which she massaged in. She then massaged in a foot mask, put hot towels on my legs, and let that sit for 5 minutes. After she wiped the mask off, she massaged in lotion. If you weren't counting, that was three massages, and all very good. She then painted my toes. I thought the way the polish was presented was kind of classy. Instead of choosing from polish bottles, they had each color on a display nail. I chose a Spring-y peachy pink.
Overall, my experience was good. I especially liked the pedicure, although I don't know that I would pay the regular price to get it again. As I said, these services were two of four prescribed services that were included on a $50 gift certificate, which was a gift (see my post from 9/18/10 for the review of the other two services). The value of the deep conditioning treatment was $20 and the blowout was $30. The Dolce pedicure was a $60 value, and I had to pay a $48 upgrade for this service. So ultimately I paid $48 plus tip for $110 worth of services. Not a bad deal.
Hair Service
Service Quality Rating: 3 stars out of 5
"Spa Experience" Rating: 2.5 stars out of 5
Price: $$$ - normally charged price (free - what I actually paid)
Pedicure
Service Quality Rating: 4 stars out of 5
"Spa Experience" Rating: 4 stars out of 5
Price: $$ - normally charged price ($ - what I actually paid)
Price Guide
$ = less than $1 per minute (very budget friendly!)
$$ = about $1 per minute (reasonable)
$$$ = more than $1 per minute (an occasional treat)
$$$$ = about $1.50 per minute (only if I get a gift certificate or great coupon)
$$$$$ = more than $1.50 per minute (I'll be surprised if I ever get to go to one of these)
