Fresh Face Forward –
Rubbed the Right Way!

By Gretchen Gross

A little slice of heaven awaits you on Church Street in Burlington, one floor above Speeder and Earl’s. Cynthea’s Spa is tucked into a bright corner of our world. Something about the play of light off the magenta and coffee colored walls, the local art purposefully hung, and the easy way Cynthea Wight Hausman greets me tells me this is in fact, a new day. Sure, it also happens that I am at the spa the morning of the inauguration, but somehow it all seems timely. The country is shedding old, dead, useless weight and I’m getting old, dead skin exfoliated. If a day at the spa can be a patriotic act, so be it. I am about to be exfoliated, massaged, wrapped like a human taco, and then, while all relaxed, I will be getting a facial. All of this for little old me! I’m in heaven.

Cynthea, the spa’s owner and namesake, is one of those women whose easy internal glow is apparent. This is not a spa of secret potions, this is a place of care, health, ease, calm, and sharing information to enable me to keep taking care of myself. She told me what salt, creams, oils and scents she was using and why she chose them. She also showed me how easy it would be to make some of the scrubbing salt on my own!

Cynthea is a normal woman, not one of those aestheticians who look like the chicks in that old Robert Palmer video, pale and red-lipped. I didn’t worry that she’d scream and pass out when she massaged my thighs and saw, gasp, the cellulite. She’s one of us. She has created a space for us normal people to be pampered, to be warmed, and to let go of the old skin to let the new emerge.

On second thought, maybe she’s not one of us – before she became a licensed aesthetician, Cynthea shot down icy runs on a luge and piloted the women’s bobsled in international competitions. She made the Olympic team as an alternate. She trained and competed at the elite level. The officials overseeing her sport, she explains, have had a long-lasting fear of uteri flying down icy runs at high speeds. We laugh about this, how silly it is, but how it still limits women’s involvement in bobsledding. For years she studied the physics of flying down an icy run on a body rocket. She thrived in the thin air of worldclass competition. She’s gone as fast on a tiny little sled as I have in my Subaru. With an eye on the need to increase her ‘real world skills’, when the opportunity came for her to train in massage in Boulder at one of the most respected schools, she jumped on it. With these skills, she could train and compete for the bobsled and exfoliate simultaneously. She describes both luging and massage as meditative. They just happen at different speeds.

She approached massage, learning all she could about spa services, building a business and getting her aesthetician’s license with the same drive and commitment as she did her sport. These days, instead of studying the physics of bobsledding, she studies the ingredients of each cream or lotion that she and a local phytochemist mix and mingle together to make fine feeling, great smelling, body balancing product that she massages into my dry old pores (see related article, “The Business Scents of Lunaroma”). And boy does my skin appreciate it.

Today, Cynthea used her athlete’s strong hands to give me a massage that makes me drool just recalling it. Her knowledge of muscles, deep relaxation and cell renewal are communicated in every aspect of the treatments. After the salt scrub and the massage, I’m a cooked noodle. Next, she carefully tucked me into several layers of blankets and, feeling much like a human tortilla, I smiled myself right into the next phase: the facial. Using something that felt like whipped cream cheese, smooshed around by hot smooth rocks, Cynthea gave me an incredible facial. I realized a new sense of quiet. Internally, I had stepped away from the excitement of the day, and had moved toward the low soft hum of contentment. Absolute bliss. Ahhhhhhhh.

Later in the afternoon she used another of her well-known skills in yet another politically reflective event. She offered, at half price, Brazilian waxes, as a part of the ‘No More Bush’ event. Which leads me to Cynthea’s other talent. Apparently, and I do not know this first hand, but the rumor has legs, Cynthea can wax Brazilian like nobody else, with a fan base that just keeps growing. And today, women across the country were doing their own bit to ‘get rid of Bush’.

So now, 10 hours later, I still feel pampered, moisturized, and fresh skinned. I feel good about this fresh start for our country and for my skin.

For more information on the full range of spa services that Cynthea and her staff provide look her up at www.cyntheaspa.com. Or better yet, send your lover, your partner, your best friend, your mother, or yourself a gentle hint. You will not regret a moment.

Gretchen Gross lives in So. Burlington and has a fresh new outlook!

Sampling of Other Spa Treatment Options from North to South

Green & Serene

In addition to its lovely new renovated state-of-the-art space we visited last year, Stephen & Burns continues their commitment to “green” practices – through the use of Aveda’s new line of body and skin care products. Green Science™ Skincare – aims to “harness the potent anti-inflammatory activity naturally found in plants to stop the destructive oxidative reactions occurring at the various strata of the skin that cause the symptoms of skin aging, while helping to stimulate cellular recovery and repair”… We can go for that!

Stephen & Burns Salon Spa and Boutique

Church Street Marketplace

Burlington

(802)865-4766

www.stephenandburns.com

From Head to Toe

Sometimes it’s your feet that need the treat, and you may have a hankering for retail therapy as well… so step into Tootsie’s on College Street in Burlington where you can browse their fun shoe and accessory selection, and then sit back for a full pedicure treatment.

Tootsies Shoes & Pedicure

192 College Street

Burlington

(802)658-6006

www.tootsiesofvt.com

What’s Up, Doc?

Going to the doctor for a spa experience may seem surprising, but Nancy Carlson Fisher, MD has combined women’s healthcare and aesthetic treatments all in one unique “med spa” setting called LUMINA. Check out her new location, where you can receive a wide range of treatments for your pleasure, not just your health – from skin rejuvenation, peels, and facials, to laser and light-based cosmetic services. Schedule a free skin consultation by calling or while stopping by to see her new location.

Nancy Carlson Fisher, MD

1775 Williston Road, Suite 220

South Burlington

(802)861-0200

www.nancyfishermd.com

Stowe Bound

Try one of Stoweflake Spa’s Signature Treatments: “Organic Roses All Over.” You will luxuriate in organic roses! The room is warm with aromatic rose scent allowing one to drift into a deeply relaxed state. You’ll then be enveloped by hot towel compresses and a body peel, followed by a hydrating application of an organic rose petal mask and a neck massage. Next, your entire body is wrapped in full hot towels in a rose cocoon. A half hour passes in this state, followed by a rinse. More moisturizing rub and full long lingering deep body massage. Followed by a final moisture and heat rose cream finish. Days later your skin is soft creamy and fragrant with a hint of rose to the nose!

Stoweflake Mountain Resort & Spa

1746 Mountain Road

Stowe

(800)253-2232

www.stoweflake.com

To Kingdom Come

More than just an indulgent experience, Stepping Stone Spa and Wellness Center is committed to helping individuals achieve a positive lifestyle that encompasses all aspects of health and wellbeing for the body, mind and spirit. Stepping Stone’s staff encourages healthful living with a holistic, preventative approach.

Stepping Stone Spa & Wellness Center

1545 Darling Hill Road

Lyndonville

(866)626-3104

www.steppingstonespa.com

In the Decadent Direction

Head south to Mt. Snow in April and combine a spa get-away with the Mt. Snow Winter Brewer’s Festival! They'll feature some of the top breweries from across New England and the Northeast including the likes of Magic Hat, Otter Creek, Long Trail, Harpoon, and Rock Art. April 4, 2009.

Mount Snow Health Club & Spa at the Grand Summit

Mount Snow Road

West Dover

(802)464-6606

www.mountsnow.com