From the home of luxurious pampering (now literally from head to toe!) comes their newest offering: the Scalp and Head Spa Retreat Treatment. Strokes Nail Spa and Wellness Studio just recently opened their latest branch at OPUS Mall in Quezon City, and with it came this exclusive wellness service. Their luxurious 20-step scalp treatment harmonizes the precision and holistic practices of Japanese and Korean head spa techniques to effectively refresh, deeply cleanse, and rejuvenate your scalp while also relaxing and clearing your mind.
The experience is said to be designed for pure indulgence and pampering—something Strokes may know a thing or two about as proven by their other beloved unique signature wellness treatments like Face Yoga, 20-Step Botanical and Golden Opulence Spa Treatment, Brow Sculpting, Eye Relief Spa Treatment, and Anti-Ageing Cocoa Boost Hand and Foot Spa Treatment to name a few.
READ: Experience The Most Luxurious Eye Treatment at This Wellness Spa
This treatment, in particular, claims to go beyond the usual scalp spa treatment experience, so we had to try and see for ourselves if it is worth the visit and price tag, especially because summer is also fast approaching. Even though scalp care should be a year-round commitment, this season can send your scalp right over the edge. With more humidity, sun exposure, sweat, pollution, and more chances of contact with salt water at the beach or chlorinated pool water can all contribute to scalp damage.
What is a Head Spa?
Now, you may be wondering: How is this different from getting my hair washed at the salon? For starters, in this particular case, you’ll be getting the treatment done in Strokes’ VIP room, so you’ll have the room all to yourself as opposed to the usual salon setup.
Besides that, a head spa is basically a holistic treatment that focuses specifically on scalp care. It aims to revitalize the scalp, promote healthy hair growth, and target any scalp problems. The treatment has had many iterations over the years, but its roots are from Japan and the country’s traditional grooming rituals and techniques.
Who is it for?
Anyone can enjoy a head spa treatment! You can get it if you want a deep cleanse and scalp massage or if you’re having any problems with your scalp, as this treatment can help address a range of scalp concerns from dryness, flaking, itchiness, oiliness, or thinning hair.
What are the benefits?
This head spa treatment promises to deeply nourish both your scalp and senses. The multi-step treatment promotes overall stress relief, detoxifies and helps bring balance back to your scalp, enhances blood circulation, and stimulates hair growth.
How much is it, and how long is the treatment?
The 20-Step Scalp and Head Spa Retreat Treatment is priced at Php 5,000 and the duration is approximately 90 minutes. The frequency of your visit will depend on your hair’s condition. But generally, they recommend coming in once to two times a month to maintain your hair’s health.
What you can expect during the treatment
Strokes’ Scalp and Head Spa Retreat Treatment is done in three phases:
Phase 1: Assessment and Scalp Detox
Before you start the treatment, their staff will ask you what your scalp concerns are and what you hope to get out of the session. Once that’s done, you’ll be ushered to your private suite, where you’ll change into a bathrobe and slippers to prep for the treatment. Next, you’ll get your scalp scanned at the vanity area so you can see the current state of your scalp, and they can assess its condition more closely. For my assessment, my scalp had excess oil buildup and showed signs of scalp damage from consistent hair bleaching.
After the hair checkup, the treatment then begins with a gentle scalp detox, followed by a relaxing Japanese acupressure massage to improve circulation and promote hair growth.
Phase 2: Deep scalp detoxification and hydration
This next phase is where you move to the head spa chair, where you’ll experience the waterfall therapy. It includes scalp scrubbing and exfoliating, steaming, a scalp mask, hair serums, and even a head-to-neck massage. These steps are for deep scalp detoxification, hydration, improvement of blood circulation, and relaxation. You might doze off right around this part, but that’s totally fine! The Strokes scalp treatment expert who will be with you will execute the whole process with meticulous care.
Phase 3: Results and Styling
When you finish all the steps of the second phase, you’ll move to the vanity area once again and get your hair dried just enough so you can get another quick look at your scalp using the scanner and see the difference the session made on your hair.
To cap off the experience, you also get to indulge in your tea of choice. You can choose from Milk Oolong (Blue Tea/Oolong Tea), Silver Moon (Green Tea), 1837 Black (Black Tea - Caramel), or Grand Wedding (Black Tea - Sunflower) and drink it while your hair is being styled.
Final Thoughts
There’s no denying that this is a wonderful treat for yourself or a thoughtful gift to a loved one. The whole experience felt luxurious, relaxing, and expertly done. Their showing you how your scalp looks immediately after shows confidence in not only the treatment’s aesthetic appeal but also its efficacy. As promised, the scalp and head massage provided a much-needed afternoon of stress relief, and my scalp did feel and look (as evidenced by the scanner) more revitalized. Also, after they were done styling, my hair was shinier and softer—a notable feat, especially for bleached blonde hair.
To be completely honest, Php 5,000 is a big payout for a single treatment. But if you think about how much you spend on your haircut or hair color, it comes up to par. You also get the treatment done in their VIP room, so you have that extra layer of privacy and tranquility of having a day just for yourself. They use top shelf brands, and all the steps are well thought out to tap into all your senses for maximum relaxation. And to top it all off, you’ll walk out of there with your hair styled. So if you do the math, it’s really a scalp and hair treatment, an aromatherapy massage, and a styling session—three things rolled into one.
I’ve interviewed a lot of hair experts over the years, and one thing they will always tell you is that proper hair care boils down to scalp care. You can get all the hair treatments and products put on your hair, but luscious, healthy locks only happen when you keep your scalp healthy. So, if you’re looking for a treatment that will improve your scalp and hair while also giving you a day of luxurious relaxation, this treatment from Strokes is well worth your money.
You can book your own session of Strokes Nail Spa and Wellness Studio’s Scalp and Head Spa Retreat Treatment through their Instagram account, or you can also visit them on the 5th floor of OPUS Mall. You can check out their other signature wellness treatments at their various studios located at Vertis North, Shangri-La Plaza, Molito, and One Ayala.