My First Facial

So a few weeks ago O received a facial gift certificate from a work thing. Lovely boy that he is, he offered it to me!
I signed up the day it was expiring and presented myself at the salon. The girl asked me if I had ever had a facial before and I confessed that I had not. Feeling a little defensive and conspicuous, I tried to blend into the whole spa seen, acting like I knew what was going on (which I did not and I was rather anxious to be sure). She told me to put on a robe and some weird rubber flip flops and meet her outside. I was thinking-she must be confused, I signed up for a facial, what part of that requires me to remove my clothing? But, I did it anyways, pretending this was perfectly normal, as if I always run around in rubber flip flops, you know, when in the spa, do as the Romans, or something like that. She seats me in a chair in the hall and I'm thinking, do you do the facial right here? No, of course not, she explains the facial while giving me some foot scrub (that was freaky but I did my best to keep my facial contortions to a minimum and tried to relax and enjoy myself...).
During my little soak, she asked about my facial routine at home. I thought "hmm, I try to rinse off my mascara every three days" but did not think I should say that out loud. Instead I decided to focus on what I do (as opposed to what I neglect) and said "I really work on moisturizing" She seemed totally satisfied and probably inferred that I also do other things from that comment :)
Next she takes me to my room and tells me to remove my robe and get into the bed and under the covers, pointing out that the bed is even complete with a heated pad. She leaves and I think-what am I getting done here again? I remove my robe (but I left my levis on) and leapt under the sheets, just deliriously relieved that she pointed out which end to put my head on (if she had not, I would have thought my head should be on the raised end, and she would have known she was giving a facial to a hillbilly). She came in and I strived to exude an air of complete comfortableness (she could have told me that I was now supposed to run around the mall topless for 10 minutes and I probably would have gone with the flow, as I was so anxious to fit into the scene) (oh and yes, there is a secret Aveda Salon in the mall, quite a surprise)
I had expected a surgical metal table or something similarly sterile, not the dimly lit cozy room with Native Americans playing the pipe in the background that I found myself in. The mood was quite calming. After taking me on a sensory journey, my facial began. First she pulled out this delish steamer thing, I really would love to have one of those to wear around my neck at home, I'd feel like I was living in Florida (or the swimming pool) every minute! Next came an exfoliant and cleanser. There was a tense moment where she was cleansing my skin and she started towards my eyes, she even put soap onto the lids! I thought, this lady is crazy, she is trying to blind me!! (After all, I never put soap on my eyes! Not even when I have used false lashes-then I just gently brush the lashes with a tissue and some Cetaphil!) I developed a bit of a headache trying to keep myself a-on the bed and b-from screaming out of nervousness and c-from squinching my eyes noticeably. Eventually she washed it off (I don't even do water on the eyes much) and to my eternal relief, the soap did not seem to leak in through the lids! After that tension filled moment, she placed hot towels all over my face and ran around to squish my arms a bit, swung my legs back and forth (O would have loved that, he always tells me he needs to get that thing where you hang upside down to stretch out your spine) then came back and painted a mask on (with a paint brush, I opened my eyes enough to peak at that point). I sat with my mask, mentally begging for some cucumbers on my eyes to complete the moment (they never came), and began to feel entirely relaxed. When it was all over, she sort of jostled my shoulders (I think she thought I had gone to sleep, I looked that serene) and told me to take my time getting up, she would wait outside. I wondered about that, because if I really could take my time, I thought I might actually take a nap, but, the moment the door shut, I jumped up like a deer and shot back into my robe, out the door, back into my clothes, and then back to my ending consultation with a water and some home made trail mix.


FYI: If you happen to every be in the position of giving someone a facial, explain everything to them-so they don't have to feel like a lunatic hick :) And don't assume they will know anything, not even which end of the bed to lie down on. Finally, please don't forget the cucumbers.