Sometimes, even when life is good, it can get better - and it doesn’t take a fancy resort in a big city to make it happen.

With a population of not quite 18,000, Hammond is now home to not one, but two, beautiful, fully equipped, professionally operated spas. Both have state-of-the-art facilities, an extensive certified staff, plus hair and nail salons, makeup stations, and complete product lines. They are, however, very different in their approach to providing spa services to pamper, relax, and enhance life.

Jeanné Maureen’s European Spa and Salon near Hammond Square Mall has been open for nearly a year. Its air of continental opulence starts in the parking area, with a fountain in a rock-filled pool, framed by 20-foot white columns with Corinthian capitals that support the classic porte-cochere. Clients enter through large glass doors in a glass wall. There are lustrous marble floors in the enormous main area, and ornate Italian chandeliers that hang from a 27-foot vaulted ceiling. Any waiting before entering the spa area is spent in deep red velvet overstuffed furniture and upholstered chairs that face a stone waterwall beneath a 20-foot rendering of a modest Primavera by a local artist. The stunning facility is the result of design collaboration between a local architect and a New York spa consultant.

Entry into the newly completed Salon Paris Parker spa in Hammond’s thriving downtown area combines oriental serenity, efficient use of space, and natural materials and colors with sleek, simple contemporary fixtures. The calm is emphasized with Chinese evergreen and accents of soft peach. Guests to the spa are greeted at the door and escorted to the appropriate area. A sauna, steam room and services expressly for men are located downstairs, with separate facilities for women. Natural light spills from a five-foot round window in a landing that leads up hardwood steps to a women-only area, off-limits to men.

From the start in both spas, soft music with natural sounds, soft lighting and running water begin a process of cocooning that leads to removing stress, with total attention to the mind and body.

The spa experience

The goal of the spa experience is not to relax for a short time, but to incorporate a total concept of mind and body experience into living, to translate the benefits into an enriched experience of life.

Debra Neill of Salon Paris Parker summarizes, “Our spa experience is not indulgence, it’s life enhancing.” This is their third spa, with another to open soon in Mandeville.

Jeanné Maureen’s operations manager Janice Amar declares, “Spa guests come to relax and feel rejuvenated.” Care of the body, dietary information, and reducing tension can lead to an overall improvement in daily life, and guests are encouraged to practice many of the rituals of care at home on a daily basis.

Both spas have connections to the elegant, cosmopolitan Ritz-Carlton. In order for Jeanné Maureen to be able to carry the Babor line of products from Ritz-Carlton, corporate representatives flew to Hammond to approve the operation. “We’re proud of the fact that our credentials met their high expectations,” Amar says. In addition to Babor, they represent a host of internationally recognized spa product lines, such as Aquage and Kerastase.

Cecelia Harcik, Spa Paris Parker facility manager, spent 12 years in the Ritz-Carlton corporate structure and brings with her “a nurturing way of doing business with flexibility.” Paris Parker uses only Aveda products, for which the spa’s parent company, Neill Corporation, is the world’s largest distributor.

The facial

So that my facial and massage research would be accurate, Salon Paris Parker provided me with the services of the corporation’s esthetician who trains personnel in 10 states, and their spa trainer as well. Some writing assignments are far, far better than the rest!

Relieving stress is undoubtedly the most cherished of spa services, and it is accomplished in various ways and to varying degrees. A facial is one way to begin. Having a facial is no longer simply cleansing cräme, toner and moisturizer. The choices can be overwhelming. It’s not a choice an amateur can make, so the spa’s trained technicians can analyze your particular need and suggest the right treatment. (That’s a relief right there!)

A facial can take from 30 minutes to an hour and a half, depending on selection. Among the many options available are: pressure point therapy, lymphatic drainage, Swedish massage, deep-tissue massage, balancing movements, de-tox manipulations, deep cleansing, exfoliation, masque and massage. Other facial options include microdermabrasion, collagen fortification, targeted hydration, photo rejuvenation, and products rich in vitamins “to fight free-radicals ... to plump lines and wrinkles and increase skin lipids.” Fine lines can be reduced, skin plumped, sun damage minimized, inflammation reduced, and melanin production suppressed.

A facial may be only the beginning; the total body experience also presents a dazzling array of choices, with a multitude of ways to accomplish them.

Aromatherapy

At both Paris Parker and Jeanné Maureen’s, aromatherapy can be an integral part of the process. You are first properly situated on a warmed and softly cushioned massage table, enveloped by soft music and low lighting. The scented oil you have chosen is warmed and enhanced in the therapist’s hands, which hover a few inches from your face to encourage inhalation of the scents and relaxation by rhythmic breathing. Then the magic begins. Softly and deliberately a series of cremes, lotions and solutions are stroked on and then gently removed. While a warm towel on the face helps the skin tone and absorption of moisturizers, your scalp, neck and shoulders are gently massaged.

The massage

Say that you have unintentionally abused yourself with overindulgence, and might need to remove some toxins. A steam room would be the place to go. First, spend fifteen minutes in either the dry heat of a sauna or steam heat, then have a cold shower. Do that twice more. Follow it with a massage and Vichy shower, a water massage while lying on a table.
Appropriately attired in soft robe and slippers, the first step is to lie comfortably on a hydrotherm table, a cushion filled with warm water and enhanced with fragrant oil. After a delicious facial, a full body massage follows, with generous application of warm scented oils. Fingers, hands, arms, and legs are gently massaged until any trace of tension is banished.

By this point, you should have reached an almost non-cognitive condition and will wonder if there are still any bones in your body. You are allowed to remain in this calmly joyous state for a while - the amount of time cannot be estimated and always seems too short.

At Jeanné Maureen’s, following a soothing facial, the relaxation treatment is definitely contemporary. As is the practice in spas, each room is equipped for a different procedure (treatment). A Soft Pac bed is recommended for a total body treatment. Lying on a supportive, spongy surface, a Satin Butter crême is swathed on, and a fiber sheet gently folded to fit, followed by a heavy covering. Water is turned on, the covering filled with warm water and, in some magical way, the support is removed and the result is dry suspension in water. No stress on joints, or spine or muscles. This is said to be great for arthritic pains and aches, or back pain in general.

Other variations include warm stones, prenatal massage, and underwater massage.

And there are yet other ways to relax and improve: a whirlpool bath, hand massage, body masque, hydrotherapy with rose petals, champagne facial, foot soak, warm neck pillow with aromatherapy, pedicure, manicure, hair styling and makeup application are part of the selection.

A gift to yourself—and others

A visit can be thirty minutes, or it can last all day; basic services, or total and complete immersion in the process to better face the world. A visit can also be shared - gift certificates can be customized for an individual visit, a couple, or a group.
If one of the missing experiences in your life is visiting a spa, a golden opportunity is waiting in Hammond. The facilities are exceptional and convenient, and the experience will definitely enhance your quality of life. Besides, it feels really, really good!

Copyright 2003, M&L Publishing, all rights reserved.