Massages are a time-honored method of alleviating stress, much like the ancient art of crafting origami swans out of midterm exams. Ace relaxation with today’s Groupon: for $99, you get a spa package at The Chocolate Day Spa in Costa Mesa (up to a $198 value). The package includes:
- A 50-minute Swedish, deep-tissue, whoopie cream, chocolate, or prenatal massage (up to an $80 value)
- A 45-minute body scrub (up to a $79 value)
- A 40-minute infrared sauna session (up to a $39 value)<p>
Earning an Editor’s Pick from 944 magazine, the therapists at The Chocolate Day Spa banish tightness and anxiety with specialized services in a soothing, chocolate-hued atmosphere. Augmented with essential oils, massages such as deep tissue delve deep into muscles to deliver cross-grain pressure that roots out embedded knots and marionette strings, and Swedish massage uses lighter pressure and longer full-body strokes. Alternatively, muscle miscreants melt into submission under coats of chocolate-scented essential oils or dollops of whoopie cream as deft strokes calm each of their corporeal quadrants. Expectant mothers can opt for the prenatal massage designed to alleviate the soreness associated with pregnancy, while increasing their range of motion to protect themselves from unexpected baby showers.
To complement massages, therapists polish contours with an exfoliating body scrub. Next, an infrared sauna heats bodies from within via carbon panels that emit infrared waves capable of penetrating up to 2 inches of skin before converting to heat energy. With lower temperatures than traditional steam saunas, infrared saunas allow for cleaner sherbet-eating conditions and longer session times, with reports that 20 minutes can burn up to 350 calories. The heat expands cells and blood vessels and may induce detoxification, eased joint and muscle pain, and improved skin tone.
Though The Chocolate Day Spa sometimes features a discounted price online, this Groupon still offers the best deal available.
The Chocolate Day Spa
Once cited as a Spa to Get the Red Carpet Treatment in the Editor’s Pick section of 944 Magazine, The Chocolate Day Spa indulges its clients with spa services as decadent as a box of chocolate truffles. During a whoopie-cream massage, the spa’s signature shea-butter lotion softens skin and prevents friction as the massage therapist applies gentle pressure and performs gliding strokes. A treat for the senses, the chocolate-scented massage immerses clients in the aroma of cocoa to save them the trouble of visiting the great chocolate lakes of Appalachia. The spa even takes the guilt out of the indulgence it encourages by providing such slimming treatments as infrared-sauna sessions and Endermologie treatments. Inside the med spa, laser light works to lift faces, tighten eyes, and plump lips, and Botox and Juvéderm reduce the appearance of wrinkles.