August 1, 2007

Spa R&R offers classes in alternative and mainstream health

Spa teams up with professionals in women’s health

By Christina Brown
Times Intern

Violet Johnson, owner of Spa R&R, is trying to differentiate her spa from all others. Spa R&R not only provides a variety of typical services, like massages and facials, but it also brings in medical professionals from the community to speak on health issues.

Spa R&R in downtown Willow Glen aims to provide clients with education about mainstream and alternative medicine through workshops with a series of women’s health professionals.

By “creating a health forum and alternative medicine along with the spa,” she hopes to provide customers with a healthy solution to the stress of daily life. The spa is affiliated with a variety of doctors specializing in women’s health.
Dr. NEED FIRST NAME Sutherland, an obstetric gynecologist, came to speak to 30 women at the spa about pre-menopausal and menopausal issues.

Plastic surgeon Dr. Cindy Russell, has been an acquaintance of Johnson’s for 20 years, and is affiliated with the spa. “She’s like an artist,” Johnson said. The spa holds classes twice a year with these and other doctors that Johnson knows personally.

The spa will also offer foot massage classes on the first and last Monday of the month, beginning Sept.3 from 11 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. There are also baby massage classes to help relieve babies’ stress if they are teething or colicky and also to help foster bonding between parents and children.

Another new service the spa will offer soon is a monthly bra-fitting workshop. After being inspired by an episode of Oprah that featured representatives from Essential Body Wear helping women find the proper bra size, Johnson hired representatives from the same company to help her customers. After overwhelming support for the workshop, she became a representative for the company and will be providing free monthly seminars.

She also aims to provide education in the spa itself with classes on health of the skin, and she hopes to tap into the teen market to teach them about proper techniques to prevent scarring from acne.

Spa R&R has been located in downtown Willow Glen for the past seven of its 18 years in business. It provides an array of services including facials, massages, body wraps, pre- and post-natal therapy, pre- and post-operational care to help skin heal after surgery, and more. “We do everything but hair and nails,” Johnson said.

Twice a year the spa also does a charity event at San Jose Family Shelter, where employees give facials, massages and donate clothing from clients to shelter inhabitants. On Sept. 23, all past clients are invited to a day of free food, drinks and door prizes for Appreciation Day.

A graduate of Cambridge University with a PhD and a former midwife, Johnson brings a knowledgeable attitude toward a business she feels is stereotyped as simply “pampering.”

In the Bay Area, “it is the in thing” to be stressed, she said. “But stress can kill.” She feels that going to the spa not only improves the overall health of the skin and body, but it provides people with the option of taking time out for yourself.

“I always say schedule yourself in,” she said. “It’s like the dentist appointment. Take personal time out. Maybe just one hour a month, but then what you give to family and work will be superb,” she said.

Spa R&R is located at 1345 Lincoln Ave. The spa is open Tuesday/Wednesday from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m., Thursday/Friday from 10 a.m. to 9 p.m., Satuday from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. and the last Sunday of the month from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Evening appointments are available. To make a reservation, call (408) 297-4899.