I must start by disclosing that I am a no
true connoisseur of the finest spas (I would not mind that job though if you are hiring!) I do however appreciate the spa experience, the limited amount I have had the pleasure of
enjoying. Our life in California afforded me the opportunity to be a Spa
member at the lovely Sano Spa in Monterey through the blessing of military discounts! But I am no
expert; I do not play one on TV. I
can tell you though that the women of
the Middle East have created a culture of excellence and this is not lost on me.
Women
throughout this region pride themselves on their beauty and grooming. They are
immaculate at all times. In my opinion Americans can learn a thing or two from
their persistence. I am not trying to change us- I do not think it is necessary to wear mascara to
say Wal-Mart. Ok, I am never found without my mascara, so that is not a good example. What I mean, is that I think Americans are ok with mediocre. We are ok with wearing grubbies to pick up milk, we think "oh, its just a trim", and frequent the Super-Cuts. This is not an option here. Even the cheap here is superb, and never will you see a Middle Eastern woman in yoga pants --even if they were Lululemon.
Here is what
I have experienced so far:
The second day we were in Morocco on our way to Chefchouan we stopped for lunch at Ouzzane. Tim previously mentioned our day of touring there, ending at a family home where we bought (unbeknownest to us at the time) a way over priced berber rug and blanket. The wife of the home wanted to give Anne and I henna. I have always admired the beauty of henna designs. I know that they are used in many ceremonies and can mean different things. However when she started she put a huge glob on Anne's hand. I was shocked and said, no, never mind. But felt it may be rude and I accepted the henna for myself. It was nothing like we thought. They told me I needed to wait with my hand open for 3-4 hours... yeah right. It was like holding pureed spinach. So after we left Tim stopped at a gas station and I washed my hand off on the side of the road. After only 25 minutes the Henna was very dark orange. I did not know anything about this odd design. Yet, when we were in Marrakech a shop owner saw my henna and told us, "This is the true Morrocan henna, not the designs you see the tourists getting. What you have is very good luck." So I guess it worked out. Pretty, no. Lucky, maybe. Blessed, Yes.
When we were in Fez I had the pleasure of experiencing my first Hammam.
While I realize it would be good to tell you what an Hammam is exactly I
figure you can take a quick look at a site first if you want an in depth
discussion on the history and procedure. For this post I would rather take the time
to discuss the cultural differences between American Spas and the Hammam and
other issues regarding the effort of beauty in the Middle East.
In Fez, upon
entering the Hamman you are treated with care but not lavished to the point
of self-consciousness. The fact that you are being washed by another
adult is actually a comfortable, wonderful event. I found it was nice to
have someone wash my hair, especially. I did not feel naked. On the
flip side, in spas
in the US, the effort taken to be discreet is sometimes painstakingly obvious that
I feel super aware which, makes it hard to relax.
After much
time lavishing in a warm steamy room I was sent to relax with a eucalyptus mask
from head to toe. This is then sandpapered off--literally. A pumice stone is used with water to
exfoliate your whole body. The only time I felt like my whole body was not
“asleep” with pins and needles from the outside in was when she scrubbed my
abdomen because she thought it wonderful I am haml (with child, and in Arabic
this is assumed a boy child until otherwise notified). It was wonderful. I felt totally
refreshed after the stinging was gone.
Tim and Anne sang my praises when I returned, and I could tell too it
was like a full body facial. I
just think it probably takes time to get used to the eucalyptus on sensitive
areas. The Moroccans do this once
a week. When we discussed the women’s Hamman with Bill and Molly Parson’s
tour guide he said that his wife will go once a week and be there all day to
sit and a chat with other women.
This part of the procedure I am not so sure about. I mean, I love you
all very much but I can’t imagine getting together once a week with you to sit
naked all day.
It took me a minute to realize what happens when Kuwaitis arrive in a spa. The women come in and go straight to a dressing room to take off their abaya and hejab. They return into the spa sporting couture clothing, nothing less than Armani, Alexander McQueen, Chanel, and the like. I obviously skipped that part and went directly to my chair. I went from feeling dressed nicely to feeling like my Banana Republic was pretty shabby. Needless to say, these places are for women only. There is a scene in the movie Sex and the City where this happens. C, Ch, M, S walk into a secluded area where the women are not covered… the feeling is about the same, but I just don’t have any comparable attire to gawk at. All my Jimmy Choos and Monolos are in storage…HA HA…
Before
leaving the US my dear friend Jessica told me to try the threading in the Middle East, this is why
I have gone to Tan-Fastic, which is tiny little salon mostly known for tanning.
**A side note here, So if only your face, hands and feet are in the sun and the
rest of you never sees the sun then I guess you really have to fix your crazy
tan lines** Anyway, my next door neighbor had told me about this place. She said that the threading was super
cheap and good. I went right after we
arrived in August, it had been a month since my last appt.
So after about 30 mins looking for this tiny place on the 2nd
floor of a residential building Tim, Anne and I went in. Immediately we realized that Tim could
not be there and he had to stand in the hallway. Now, given he had to wait 2
hours for me at ME TIME he was not happy. But at ME TIME he sat at a café in
The Avenues! Here it was just a hallway.
I was worried, I didn’t know how long threading took. Anne came in with me. I sat in the
chair and the woman started.
Threading hurts more than say waxing only by the sheer volume of times.
It feels nearly the same done like a hundred times over and over
really fast. I was in and out of there in less that 10 minutes and only paid 1
Kuwaiti Dinar!!! That’s $3.50.
I went back last night and had my nails and more threading done and
everything was only 9 Dinar. The
best part with threading is that my skin is never touched so there is no issue
about redness or god forbid ripping.
I am sold.
So, I
haven’t had my head hair touched yet… this will be an adventure. I need to make
friends with a blond haired woman who has lived in Kuwait for awhile so I can find out
where to go. On some of the blogs here in Kuwait I have read that you can’t get
out of a salon with out a huge bouffant and a gallon of hairspray. I’ll let you know. Until then, my American roots are showing....
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| Roots. We were in Essouira and didn't have a mirror for me to see the back of my head so I made Tim take a pic.. |
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| But when its down its not so bad, right? |
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