White Rock Spa and Massage

La Raffinage Salon & Spa rains luxurious spa services upon locals like diamond dewdrops on grass blades with clogged pores. During a 90-minute Yon-Ka refinement facial ($95), La Raffinage’s expert aestheticians apply high-quality Yon-Ka products to relax and revitalize the skin, eliminating toxins, oxygenating the skin, and strengthening skin's resistance to the elements. The 60-minute Reiki energy treatment ($85) gives clients access to a Reiki specialist who'll use the ancient healing art to tap into the body’s energy waves. The compassionate practitioner will place hands over the body to unblock stymied energy. Stress will melt away like butter under a heated magic wand, with spiritual balance, physical tranquility, and the desire to burst into a Bollywood dance number following thereafter.

Revitalize Now!'s Stop Smoking Laser-Therapy Program uses a “laser acupuncture” technique to help cigarette smokers quit smoking and stay cigarette-free. The program uses a low-level laser and bio-electrical stimulation to release endorphins, triggering the same feelings of calmness and reduced stress brought about by nicotine but without nicotine's damaging effects. Points on the ears, hands, and legs are stimulated. After the initial 90-minute treatment, Revitalize Now! tackles the challenges of staying smoke-free by offering four free follow-up treatments throughout the year, helping to combat withdrawal symptoms. Each follow-up treatment is approximately 30 minutes long. The program also includes a text-message support program, with daily tips on staying smoke-free sent via text, as well as a CD with tools and tutorials on how to reduce mental cravings and stress. Take steps toward escaping the tyrannical grasp of smoking with Revitalize Now!'s laser-therapy program.

Today, Bloom Essentials owners Nicole and Kim might be better known as the team behind the nail designs that earned a top ranking from the Georgia Straight Readers Choice awards. But as kids, the sisters were known simply as Bug and Pickle. With those playful childhood monikers, it's no wonder than the duo grew up to run a spa that prefers fun over high-tech gadgetry, and where the aestheticians—nicknamed "Bloomers"—treat each client as if they were an old childhood friend.

Of course, the friendly demeanour isn’t the only thing attracting visitors. For more than a decade, Bloom’s knowledgeable nail artists have dolled up fingers and toes with intricate handcrafted nail art, giving customers creative reign to dictate designs that could include zebra stripes, handlebar moustaches, or holiday characters. The trendy nail salon also offers full-body waxing and custom facials and churns out its own custom-made pedicure cream, which clients can purchase to keep toes soft between visits. And as if the beauty treatments weren't enough, a boutique area allows patrons to peruse items from the sisters' "Bug & Pickle" line for moms and babies, accessories such as cutesy aprons and sparkling bracelets, and the occasional little black dress made from old nail-polish bottles.

Ocean Breeze Spa revitalizes bodies with a variety of hair, body, and skincare treatments. On the hair side, haircuts and colouring can add blunt or angled layers or a burst of blond, and eyebrow threading and waxing services remove hair from every inch of the body. Stylists also straighten frizzy hair for up to four months with CHI Enviro and keratin smoothing treatments, and they lengthen locks with hair extensions and spaghetti.

On the spa side, relaxation and aromatherapy massages soothe tense muscles with gentle strokes and essential oils. Body-exfoliation treatments, which take place in a heated room that pipes in soft music, clear away rough and uneven skin, and facial treatments such as microdermabrasion fight age spots and acne scars.

Spa Utopia’s services range from those of a salon to those of a med-spa, recognizing the connection between medical and more purely aesthetic issues. Facials can purify skin or minimize signs of aging, and they also calm rosacea outbreaks. A LightSheer Diode system combats unwanted stubble during laser hair-removal sessions, and beams from a Fox Diode system attack toenail fungus. Massage therapists use styles ranging from traditional Swedish to deep tissue, and they’re glad to combine modalities to target unique troubles such as lower back pain or shoulders that won’t stop shimmying.

Clients can concentrate attention on an array of beauty and body needs by booking a couples room or VIP suite for an afternoon of private treatments. Even the public areas of the spa evince a strong taste for luxury—clients walking in are greeted by a marble-topped reception desk and a giant, faux-stone archway engraved with the spa’s name before passing between polished pillars leading to a grand fountain.

Wading barefoot through a muddy swamp has no noteworthy health benefits, but Footopia's mud footbaths are a different story. Infused with natural herbs and crystals, they rejuvenate toes and draw toxins from the body. The holistic health facility’s team specializes in these treatments as well as other foot-centric services. During foot reflexology, they apply pressure to specific points on the feet that may correspond with other parts of the body to improve one’s overall well-being. Footopia'a highly trained massage therapists can also ply the whole body with deep tissue kneads that are more effective than rubbing your back against your barn.