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New York Post
Feb 8, 2005
Our correspondent lies down and takes it at the Four Seasons spa in San Diego.
Just relax
At a California resort, noninvasive Botox is all the rage. JULIE EARLE-LEVINE lines up.
TRAVELERS who want to return from holidays with more than a tan - perhaps with fewer lines on their forehead, less cellulite or a slimmer waist - no longer need to visit medical-oriented spas for a getaway fix.
U.S. resorts are offering guests new, noninvasive spa treatments that may well prompt colleagues to speculate about how youthful you look after a weekend away.
"For some people, it's no longer enough to just get a basic massage or facial when they are at a resort spa, and hotels are meeting this demand," says Mary Blackmon DeRoker, CEO of Spa-addicts.com.
The most sensational draw? Say hello to "Botorelax," a pricey facial treatment with creams that relaxes your muscles and zaps away wrinkles for up to four weeks. (The more expensive and invasive Botox treatments, which, unlike Botorelax, contain botulin toxin, cost $500 to $1,000 per session, and last a few months.)
The treatment is currently offered only at the Four Seasons Resort Aviara, outside of San Diego. I hopped on a plane.
The treatment began as any spa day would: I changed into a white robe and slippers, and lay down on a massage table in sumptuous, candle-lit surrounds.
I was joined by Lisa Robertson, the hotel's lead aesthetician and trainer. Lisa began by applying cleanser in a circling motion. She then exfoliated, toned, steamed and extracted - your standard European facial. The special part came when she massaged and pinched lines on my forehead and around my mouth, applied the active-gel Botorelax, and then covered my face with "patches" of thick, flesh-colored cloth.
The patches - which were on my forehead, under my eyes and around my mouth - stayed on for 20 minutes. Initially, I felt a mild stinging sensation, but that lasted only a few minutes. The patches were then peeled off, and moisturizer and a special "line sensor" cream were applied. I was instructed to leave the cream on for the rest of the day (it dries to a clear color), and not to wash my face until morning.
After the treatment - which took an hour and a half in total - I was able to walk out the door and proceed with my day. The next morning, I was surprised to notice it had made a difference.
My skin felt taut and the lines were less visible. Then again, the bright sunshine showed me new lines I'd not seen in the grim, gray light of Manhattan.
Lisa told me the real result would take 30 days of me using the Botorelax active gel each night. (The gel supply is included in the price of the treatment - $305 for 80 minutes, visit fourseasons.com.)
As for me, post-Botorelax, the lines on my face seem to be disappearing. Or maybe it was just the beautiful San Diego sunshine.
Email us at suggestions@spa-addicts.com.
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