Olympua Spa

What I blew my paycheck on this week.
by Jennifer Johnson
Sep 25, 2008

All naked, all female, all the time. No, not at the nudie bar … at the naked spa —

Olympus Spa in Lakewood to be exact.

A day pass to this traditional Korean style spa runs $30 per woman and grants access to steam and sauna rooms, five hydrotherapy pools, lounging areas, mugwort bath (an antiseptic that’s also good for digestion and healing) and earth energy rooms. The earth energy rooms vary in heat from 120-160 degrees, are dimly lit and enhanced by aromatherapy and soothing silence. Try all three: lavender and jade room, salt room and sand room. Magnificent.

A lounging area with heated marble floor, pillows and blankets was a sweet touch.

Additional services offered: Korean body scrubs, facials, body moisture treatments, massages, body wrap (kelp, clay, honey, oatmeal), and hand and foot treatments. Treatments can be added to a day pass to create a package of bliss. The Asian women employees go braless and barefoot in black tank-tops and shorts and use their muscles in vigorous 40-minute scrub downs to achieve a desired pink in the skin ($60), or softly apply ground cucumber, hot honey and towels and aloe vera cream to cheeks for a soothing and energizing 40-minute facial ($55).

The shelves lining the lobby walls are about as close to boutique as laid back Olympus gets. Organic blemish and skin renewal treatments in eye dropper bottles, double body creams in tasty scents by Farmhouse Fresh, bamboo salt whitening toothpaste, mugwort bags, long fabric body scrubbies in vibrant colors, and pumice stones are good take-homes for more self-care without eye-rolling high prices.

The very best part of the naked spa experience is that after the initial semi-uncomfortable 20 to 30 minutes pass, the average woman can relax and just chill. No men, no children, no cell phone. No stress, no worry, no care. The utter absence of clothing, handbags, jewelry, make-up and hairstyles that would otherwise assign immediate unspoken social and economic status allows for a very special sameness to occur. The naked woman sitting in the mineral pool to your right may have an important career and be a power player in her world or she may be a church piano player and homemaker. Wearing nothing but one’s birthday suit is an amazing equalizer. And without men around, no one holds in their stomach and remembers to square their shoulders and push their ta-tas out.

Olympus is truly a sanctuary for women.  

 

[Olympus Spa, 8615 South Tacoma Way, Lakewood, 253.588.3355, www.olympusspa.net]

 

 

 

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