“I’m a dirty, dirty girl.”
I thought this to myself as I watched flecks of my own skin roll of my arms and legs.
I’m at Wi Spa, getting the ultimate Korean Spa treatment. Have you heard of it? Are you ready to hear about it?
‘Cause it can sound like a porno film. Or a cooking show… (weird, but you’ll get it later).
At this spa experience, pretty much all your shenanigans are done in the buff. You go to the jacuzzi pools in the buff, you get a scrub in the buff, you get massaged in the buff.
I headed there on a rainy weekday, wide-eyed for what I will encounter for the afternoon.
The front-desk service that greets me as I check in for my appointment is pretty good considering I don’t speak Korean at all. I got enough people to understand what I’m trying to say. I’m handed a towel and this convenient little locker key in the form of a watch, and told to go to the Women’s Floor where I can store my things, change, and wait for my scrub and massage appointment.
On the Women’s Floor, once you pass a certain point, you have to get nekkid. I tread in there, feeling utterly vulnerable and was faced with a bunch of women– young, old, white, Asian, fat, skinny, short, tall– who had no trepidation that they’re soaking in the jacuzzi pools and showering themselves in front of a bunch of strangers.
“When in Rome, do as Romans do,” I kept repeating over and over to myself. I take a deep breath and step on in. Except for the fact that my eyes probably stayed the shape of saucers, I think I played it off pretty cool, dipping into the warm jacuzzi.
When the time came, this cute Korean lady came out and directed me to the massage area. She somehow knew I was her 3:30 appointment. I arrive at this bed that looked like an ironing board and laid my nekkid body over it.
The scrubbing came. It was…very, very therapeutic! It reminded me of when I was younger and my mom would scrub me down in a bath. The Korean lady also happened to speak Chinese so I definitely felt like I was taken back to my childhood. I quickly relaxed despite being in such a compromising position.
I got cleaned like I had never been cleaned before and that’s where all the dead skin came rolling off my body.
After the scrub down, I received some gentle massaging followed by some lathering of some lotion. I liken this to how a chicken must feel before it gets cooked. The chicken is stripped bare, boiled in hot water, cleaned, rubbed in sauce, then… well you know what happens after. Yet, despite all that thinking, I managed to be so relaxed I ended up falling asleep during the latter half of my massage!
After a quick meal at the spa’s cafe located in the common floor (where both men and women can hang out donning mandatory uniform of Wi Spa tee and shorts), my friend and I hopped back into the jacuzzi for one last soak.
As we were there, we even encountered Demi Lovato at the jacuzzi! See! Celebs! They’re just like us! They go to Korean spas as well!
The Wi Spa has definitely converted me to wanting to get a scrub every few weeks or months now. I never felt so clean. Next time I go, I’ll be sure to check out the different sauna rooms available. Opened 24 hours, I hear that it’s a hot spot for people to pass their hangover away. Talk about convenience!
Wi Spa
2700 Wilshire Boulevard,
Los Angeles, CA
Buff and Massage: $70-130
Check here for more details on prices and spa amenities.
