{"id":11722,"date":"2010-05-18T00:10:37","date_gmt":"2010-05-18T04:10:37","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/offmetro.com\/ny\/?p=11722"},"modified":"2022-01-27T14:45:50","modified_gmt":"2022-01-27T18:45:50","slug":"food-facial-philadelphia-juju-salon","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/offmetro.com\/ny\/11722\/food-facial-philadelphia-juju-salon\/","title":{"rendered":"A Raw Deal: Where to Get a Food Facial in Philadelphia"},"content":{"rendered":"

When I heard about the raw food facial JuJu Spa & Organics<\/strong> in Philly, I had a flashback to those infomercials showing everything you can put through your juicer (whole carrots! a cactus!). I\u2019ve never been much of a raw foodie, apart from ordering sashimi and green salads. But pureeing your meals and not cooking anything above 115 degrees supposedly delivers lots of benefits, including better digestion, stronger immunity, and\u2014here\u2019s where my eyes light up\u2014radiant skin.<\/p>\n

The thinking is leaving foods in their natural state helps preserve the nutrients, making the vitamins and minerals more readily absorbed by the body. Sticking to that kind of regime requires more effort than I\u2019m willing to put in, let\u2019s be honest. But I wondered if rubbing raw foods on my face would give me the same payoff as sipping zucchini smoothies and flaxseed soups?<\/p>\n

I headed to JuJu to find out. The spa is located off South Street where the words \u201cpure\u201d and \u201cnatural\u201d don\u2019t come to mind like cheese steaks and dive bars do. I expected to find an industrial-size juicer in my treatment room or a big heap of veggies suitable for a rabbit to make a bed in. That\u2019s not the case, which might be a comfort to some. Instead, the facial is designed using raw beauty products by Dr. Alkaitis, a researcher who studied chemistry at UCLA and turned his expertise with plants into a holistic skincare line. All of his masks, scrubs, and creams are handmade in small batches without any pesticides or genetically modified substances, and the ingredients are prepared at room temperature to maximize their bioactivity. Everything is so fresh, in fact, that you can actually eat the products. Yes, that\u2019s right. You could put a spoon in the Organic Cellular Repair Mask and eat it for breakfast if you wanted to.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\n

Local Intel:<\/strong> Best Green Spas in Philly<\/strong> <\/strong><\/p>\n

Eviama Life Spa<\/strong> | eviama.com<\/a>
\nGreen thumbs-up: <\/strong>Uses all organic ingredients in their holistic treatments that include facials, massages, and even compassionate waxing (one of the formulas is honey-based). Bonus points for designing an interior with renewable, salvaged, recycled and sustainable materials, non-toxic finishes and adhesives, and low-VOC emitting paints.<\/p>\n

Tierra Mia Organic Nail Spa<\/strong> | tierramiaorganicnailspa.com
\nGreen thumbs up:<\/strong> Only applies water-based, non-toxic nail polishes and crafts treatments with natural ingredients (think citrus fruits and coconut) that give back to the community. A percentage of proceeds from mani\/pedis goes toward initiatives like Wiser Earth and Colombianitos, a children\u2019s non-profit.<\/p>\n

Body Restoration<\/strong> | bodyrest.com<\/a>
\nGreen thumbs up:<\/strong> Its signature vinotherapy face and body treatments use freshly crushed grapes grown in the nearby Chaddsford Winery to polish and brighten skin.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n

My facial started with, like most do, natural hot steam and extractions to detox my skin. Next, my face was bathed in an organic herbal toner, which is formulated with a unique base of aloe vera, wild chamomile and witch hazel to sooth any inflammation (I had plenty after those extractions\u2014holistic or not, that part hurts). Then came a wonderfully emollient enzyme scrub made with phytonutrients and antioxidants to exfoliate my dull complexion. Its plant enzymes become biologically activated when mixed with water to slough away microbial bacteria and other debris. Afterward, my facialist massaged on a nutrient-rich mask that contained a blend of organic fruits and berries to repair dehydrated, environmentally worn-out skin (I can thank the high winds and pollen levels for that).<\/p>\n

Surprisingly, the products didn’t smell incredibly garden-y, or much like anything, really. That could be because natural remedies don\u2019t give off a crazy-intense aroma the way artificially scented ones do. In any case, the absence of fake fillers made for an extremely refreshing and lovely sensory experience.<\/p>\n

To finish, my facialist wiped off my mask and patted on a velvety day cream with calendula and other botanicals to bring oxygen to the surface and stimulate circulation. When I left, my skin looked revived and at least five years younger, even if the effects were somewhat temporary. But I guess it\u2019s like following a raw food diet for 24 hours\u2014you\u2019ll see more results if you keep up with the effort. Still, I felt pure and happy knowing that nothing toxic had touched my skin. And that gave me a glow that definitely lasted for weeks, no carrot juicing required.<\/p>\n

How to get there: <\/strong>Consult offManhattan’s public transportation guide to Philadelphia<\/a>. (JuJu Salon and Organics, 713 S. 4th Street, Philadelphia, 215.238.6080, jujusalon.com<\/a>)<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

When I heard about the raw food facial JuJu Spa & Organics in Philly, I had a flashback to those infomercials showing everything you can put through your juicer (whole carrots! a cactus!). I\u2019ve never been much of a raw foodie, apart from ordering sashimi and green salads. But pureeing your meals and not cooking […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":56,"featured_media":32587,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[747,315,855,907,332,856,748],"tags":[143,460,125,435,151,204],"class_list":{"0":"post-11722","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-bus-2","8":"category-day-trips","9":"category-health-2","10":"category-pennsylvania-2","11":"category-philadelphia-2","12":"category-spa-health-2","13":"category-train-2","14":"tag-bus","15":"tag-facial","16":"tag-food","17":"tag-relaxing-getaway","18":"tag-spa","19":"tag-train"},"acf":[],"mv":{"thumbnail_id":32587,"thumbnail_uri":"https:\/\/offmetro.com\/ny\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/05\/4609044286_86dfd60d89-300x179.jpg"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/offmetro.com\/ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11722","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/offmetro.com\/ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/offmetro.com\/ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/offmetro.com\/ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/56"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/offmetro.com\/ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=11722"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/offmetro.com\/ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11722\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/offmetro.com\/ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/32587"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/offmetro.com\/ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=11722"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/offmetro.com\/ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=11722"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/offmetro.com\/ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=11722"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}