Going to Korean Spas Gives My Skin and My Mind the R&R They Need
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My first Korean spa experience took place after I had just graduating college. I was stressed. My skin was a wreck, and my best friend (who is Korean) suggested that I go to one of these facilities to completely reset my skin and my mind.
I remember walking around exploring its many amenities and thinking how comforted I was. Its dry saunas and tea-infused, temperature-controlled pools were relaxing and left my skin incomparably soft and glowing. The unapologetic nudity (women didn't wear clothes in the locker rooms and select pools) made me feel completely free and unashamed of my body as I romped around without clothes. Its food was also comforting, as it served savory bibimbap (a rice dish served in a hot stone bowl that I recalled my mother and I often sharing when I was young).
SoJo Spa Club is a facility in Edgewater, NJ, inspired by Korean spa experiences. I always leave this spa, and others that I have visited, with a full stomach, full heart, and my most radiant skin. Read all about my experience, ahead.
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The First Skincare Step: Sunscreen
Because SoJo Spa has outdoor areas — some with little shade — I always make sure my skin is protected. During my most recent visit, I slathered myself in Beautycounter Countersun Mineral Sunscreen Mist SPF 30 ($36), which goes on an opaque white so that I know that I've reached every inch of my body that I want covered, the Supergoop Superscreen Daily Moisturizer Broad Spectrum SPF 40 PA+++ ($38), which massages into my face and neck feeling like your lightweight, comfortable-wearing day cream, and the Supergoop Poof 100% Mineral Part and Scalp Powder SPF 45 ($38), which keeps the sun from burning or drying out my scalp.
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Bathing in Volcanic Sand
At this spa, I was able to bathe in volcanic sand — a treatment that the spa said quells muscle soreness and detoxifies skin (via sweating). During this treatment, I was buried under heated sand, which caused me to sweat so much, the clothes I'd borrowed were completely drenched. The timer was set to 15 minutes, but I only lasted 10 — and I chugged water. I was so thirsty and exhausted after the treatment (like I'd gone for a long run), but my skin felt incredible.
It's important to note that during this treatment, I was careful to listen to my body and hop out once I felt like I might have been overheating.
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Sweating in the Dry Sauna
I sweat easily, so the heat from both dry saunas and wet saunas at Korean spas caused me to do so profusely. After 10 minutes in a room that is heated over 100 degrees Fahrenheit, I left with soft skin and glowing, slightly pink cheeks. For one of my sweat sessions in a dry sauna, I threw on a sheet mask to give my skin some further R and R.
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Wading in a Korean Spa's Pools and Baths
At all of the Korean spas that I've visited, there are pools and baths that are temperature controlled (usually hot) and infused with skin-softening ingredients (like rice and green tea). While this one at SoJo Spa isn't heated, it makes for a damn good Instagram photo because of its skyline view.