Having crossed the threshold into my 30’s, the significance of my face has come to the fore. Despite my no-makeup policy, washing my hair with baking soda and vinegar, using a salt rock for deodorant, and keeping my upkeep simplistic and natural, I have been noticing little lines that don’t wash away, small changes near my eyes, subtle shifts where my smile happens in the cheeks. Balancing between accepting What Is and improving my epidermal state of affairs, I wanted to experience the ritual of the facial. Not all facials are created equal, so I am told; lucky for me my first facial happened at one of the top rated (and first) day spas Houston has ever had, Sanctuary Spa d’sante.
In the era of the Affordable Health Care Act, discovering how to maintain wellness from a preventative perspective is what every savvy American has had to become adept at: eating good food, inserting exercise of some sort around crammed work schedules, and basic self-care products and routines are what consist of real health insurance these days.
In other cultures, group classes (dance, tai chi, yoga, et al), massages, getting scrubbed with minerals, dipping in cold and hot water, receiving beauty enhancements (like tattoos, plaits, piercings or mehndi) are a way of life. The elitism around beauty & body maintenance in the States are evolving to a baseline necessity. Activities such as these are no longer “just for rich people” but are ventures and services that keep one physically, psychologically and socially thriving.
