The trend is towards spa menu simplification. Still, even the tiniest day spa can offer a dizzying number of services. Should you get the aromatherapy or the purifying facial? A salt scrub or a mud wrap?

• The most popular service and the best place to start is therapeutic massage, the manual manipulation of the body's muscles... Massage has been around for thousands of years and has a number of health benefits. It improves blood circulation. It prevents and treats muscle pain and spasm. It reduces tension and anxiety, calms the nervous system and promotes a sense of relaxation and well being.
  
  Massage therapy can be effective with pain management, but many healthy people get massage regularly because it helps them maintain physical, mental and emotional well being.
  
  
• The facial is the second most popular service... this involves skin analysis, deep cleansing, massage, "extractions" (removal of blackheads and other impurities), toning, and moisturizing.
  
  
• Body treatments are essentially facials for the whole body. The most popular body treatment is a salt glow or body scrub, an exfoliating treatment where the therapist rubs off the outermost layer of dead skin cells. This will leave your skin feeling velvety soft.
  
  The body scrub is often combined with a detoxifying or hydrating treatment. Products like mud, algae, or seaweed are detoxifying because they stimulate your blood circulation and lymphatic system... This aids your body's own ability to carry away waste products. Rich cream or oil softens and condition the skin , so it's a hydrating treatment.
  
  Most spas offer manicures and pedicures, and spa/salons offer hair cutting and styling services.
  
  Once you familiarize yourself with the basic services at a spa, you might want to try different types of massage like Thai, cranio-sacral therapy or reflexology. Talk to your esthetician about what other facial services or body treatments would be appropriate for your skin type.
  
  Remember, the most important thing you can do to maximize your enjoyment is arrive at least 15 minutes before your treatment is scheduled to begin. That way you can check in, change into your robe, and start to relax. If the spa has facilities like a sauna, steam bath, or hot tub, arrive even earlier.

Massage is the manual manipulation of tissues to improve health and well-being by relaxing muscles, relieving tension, and improving circulation.

Massage has been around for thousands of years. It is probably one of man's earliest remedies for pain relief.

The word “massage” comes from the Greek root of “masso,” which means "to touch".

There are many different types of massage, but the most common is Swedish, which includes deep tissue, sports massage lymphatic drainage, neuromuscular therapy and myofascial release.

Asian forms of massage include Shiatsu, Thai massage, Jin shin jyutsu, and Ayurvedic treatments. Reflexology was actually developed in the West, but derives from Eastern ideas that the body has a flow of energy, or "chi" that can be unblocked with treatment.

Other energy-based treatments include Reiki, Polarity Therapy and Brennan Healing Science... To read about these types of massage, see our glossary of spa terms.

Massage has significant psychological and physiological benefits:

• It reduces tension and anxiety, calms the nervous system and promotes a sense of relaxation and well being.
• It improves blood circulation, which delivers oxygen and nutrients to the cells.
• It stimulates the lymphatic system, which carries away the body’s waste products.
• It prevents and relieve muscles cramps and spasms.

Massage therapy can also help with pain management in conditions such as arthritis, sciatica, muscle spasms. But many healthy people get massage regularly because it helps them maintain physical, mental and emotional well being.

Many spas now offer couples massage, where you can be massaged in the same room, at the same time, with the person you love.

At its simplest, couples massage takes place in a room that is large enough for two tables and two massage therapists, who work at the same time... But some spas, especially big resort and hotel spas, have special couples suites with fireplaces, pedicure chairs, steam showers and lounging beds where you can relax together after your treatments.

Couples massage is a great way to introduce men to massage... Some men are apprehensive about their first massage. They have anxiety about taking their clothes off and being rubbed by a strange woman. They worry that they might find it arousing, and a embarrassing... To have their first massage in the presence of a wife or girlfriend makes it a “safe” experience. They also discover that therapeutic touch is very relaxing and restorative. Once they experience a couples massage, they are more willing to book one on their own.

The price of couples massage depends on the spa where you get it. It might be as simple as double the price of a massage for one person. But if you are getting the use of special facilities or a couples suite, you might pay extra for that.

• Be as receptive and open to the process as possible and do not eat just before a massage session.
  
  
• Be on time. If you arrive in a frenzied, rushed state, it will take longer to get to a relaxed state... Let your massage therapist know in advance if you need to cancel. Many massage therapists require a 24 hour notice.
  
  
• If you do not want to remove all your clothing, wear clothing that you will be comfortable wearing during the massage... clothes that will allow the massage therapist to easily access and move those areas of your body you expect work on.
  
  
• Give the massage therapist accurate health information.
  
  
• Good communication is very important. Before the session, let your massage therapist know what your needs are. During the massage session, report any discomfort, whether it is from the massage or due to any problems or distractions related to the environment, e.g., room temperature, music volume, lighting, etc. Feel free to give feedback to the massage therapist regarding the massage, e.g., amount of pressure, speed of movement, etc.
  
  
• Don’t be afraid to discuss any apprehensions or concerns. It is important that you be as comfortable as possible during your massage... Your massage therapist is a professional dedicated to do his or her best to help you feel at ease.
  
  
• Some massage therapists like to play music during the massage session and may have music specially composed for relaxation and other effects... Others may find music distracting. Let you massage therapist know if you have any preferences regarding music if it is available.
  
  
• Some people like to talk during a massage session, while others remain silent. If your massage therapist encourages you to talk, it is usually done to help you relieve tension. Sometimes talking can be a way of unburdening oneself or opening up... Sometimes being silent can be a way of letting go of thoughts or concentrating... On the other hand, talking can be a way of "being in the head" and out of touch with one’s body or feelings; and being silent can be a way of holding back or not opening up.
  
  
• Breathing helps to facilitate relaxation. People often stop or limit their breathe when they feel anxious or a sensitive area is massaged. If you realize you are stopping your breathing, let yourself breathe.
  
  
• Tightening up, i.e., contracting or hardening your muscles during the massage is counterproductive. If you are able to, relax those muscles. Let your massage therapist know this is happening. They may need to adjust the massage technique being used. They may also be able to help you relax the affected area.
  
  
• If you find your thoughts are racing during the massage, one way to be more body-centered and to quiet the mind is to follow the hands of the massage therapist and focus on how the touch feels.
  
  
• If anything is happening during the massage that you dislike or seems improper, you have the right to ask the massage therapist to stop... If necessary, you also have the right to end the session.
  
  
• If you are dizzy or light headed after the massage, do not get off the table too fast. Drink extra water after a massage.
  
  
• Allow for some open, quiet time after your massage session if possible. Sometimes one needs a little time to integrate or absorb the results of the massage session or needs some "re-entry" time.
  
  
• Massage has its greatest benefits over time. The therapeutic effects of massage are cumulative, so the more often a person gets a massage, the better he or she will feel and the more quickly one’s body will respond. From one session to the next, relaxation deepens as the chronic patterns of stress in the body are affected and released... These changes are readily felt in day-to-day life as well, which adds another dimension of reinforcement... If you are getting massage to address chronic muscular tension or recovery from a soft tissue injury, more than one session is usually needed, so be prepared to schedule several sessions.

A facial is a skin treatment that deeply cleanses and maintains the skin by exfoliating excess dead skin cells. It's sometimes called a "European facial." The goal is to maintain smooth, well-hydrated skin. It's the second most popular spa service after massage.

A facial involves a few basic steps: cleansing, skin analysis, exfoliation, massage, extraction of blackheads and other impurities, and application of products targeted to your skin type (dry, oily, mixed, sensitive, mature.)

A facial should be given by a licensed esthetician with special training in skin care. They will review the products and routine you use at home to make sure that what you are using is good quality and best for your skin. Whist recommendations should be shared in written form, don't feel pressured to buy.

Generally, a follow-up program will be suggested. The ideal is to get a facial once a month or every six weeks, because that's how long it takes the skin to regenerate... If that is too much, try to have a facial four times a year. Your skin and the products you use, change with the seasons.

Variations include the "mini-facial" (cleansing without extractions) and specialty facials... Add vitamin C, and you have an "age defense" facial... It's an "oxygen facial" when a mist of pure oxygen is part of the treatment, and a "collagen facial" when special collagen sheets are placed on the skin.

Body treatments are essentially a "facial" for your whole body. It is just as important to cleanse, exfoliate, and hydrate the skin on your body as it is the skin of your face.

The most popular body treatment is a "body scrub" -- sometimes called a sea-salt scrub or salt glow. This is an exfoliating treatment that takes place on a massage table covered with a sheet and a large, thin piece of plastic. As you lay on your stomach, the massage therapist rubs a mixture of sea salt, oil, and aromatics like lemon into your skin. This removes the outermost layer of dead skin cells and leaves your skin feeling velvety soft.

Once your whole body is scrubbed, which takes maybe ten or fifteen minutes, the therapist drapes plastic over you and goes away for about 20 minutes while you rest. When she returns you shower it all off without soap, leaving a nice coating of oil... It's an invigorating treatment, and it's a good idea to get your scrub before your massage if you're having both.

Variations can come from the essential oils or scrub materials: you might get an orange blossom/peppermint salt glow or a cucumber salt glow, or grape seed scrub.

A "body mask," which sometimes takes place after a scrub, involves the application of product over the entire body. If you're slathered with mud, algae, or seaweed and wrapped in a thermal blanket, it's a "detoxifying" treatment that stimulates your metabolic system, speeding its ability to carry away waste products. If the product is very heavy cream that penetrates into your body, it's a "hydrating" treatment.

A "body wrap" is a wrapping treatment used to treat cellulite. It sometimes has a diuretic effect that aids in temporary weight reduction.