Facial treatment in Mandarin Oriental San Francisco spa

Spending 10 days in San Francisco that quickly made it to my second favorite city in the world, meant a lot to me. As you can imagine, it also meant I had to find some time to relax my mind and body in a spa after trying to survive climbing all the hills in the city. So I did.

I spent an afternoon in Mandarin Oriental San Francisco spa letting the spa therapists make me a human again.

Chad, the spa receptionist, greeted me with a huge smile on his face, let me change my boots (yes, it was cold that morning and it finally felt so great to get rid of the boots!) and gave me a warm cloth to wash my face and hands followed by tasty hibiscus tea I missed so much from Mexico. The only difference was this tea was hot and the one typical in Mexico is cold hibiscus water.

finally changed into sandals at Mandarin Oriental San Francisco spa

warm hibiscus tea

We started filling out a form and my treatment plan about my skin, medicine I take (none), alcohol (none for a few years), and other habits so my facial therapist Kerri knew more about me.

filling out the spa form

I prepared mentally for the next hours of relaxation in the quiet room drinking my tea, water with lemon and eating fruit. I discovered those beautiful Mandarin Oriental water bottles with San Francisco skyline there inside the bottle. Unbelievable!

relaxing room before and after the spa treatment

Mandarin Oriental water bottle with San Francisco skyline

Aromatherapy Associates Essential Facial treatment I was about to have was pure 50 minutes of relaxation.

I got rid of my T-shirt and made my way to the massage bed. The room was all lit in warm, dim yellow-orange lights. The music around was very oriental and I couldn’t think of any other kind of music that would fir the  Mandarin Oriental spa more than the one that was on. It made my mind fly somewhere far, probably to one of the many Indonesian islands.

my facial treatment room

Kerri did an amazing job putting a lot of Aromatherapy on my face. After cleansing my face with the Renewing Rose Cleanser, Rose Exfoliating Cleanser and Rose Skin Tonic she continued with Moisturising Lip Balm. It was the first time ever that someone put a lip balm on my lips but me. Never seen such a thing in any spa so far but it was definitely am unexpected, pleasant moment.

cleaning my face with warm cloth

little massage

Rose Hydrating Face Mask smelt really great! Kerri let me relax a few minutes while the mask was making my face beautiful again. Rose Radiance Skin Serum and Triple Rose Renewing Moisturiser were also used.

Most of the treatments I got were Essential Skincare to restore and rejuvenate my facial skin. But Kerri also applied Intensive Skin Treatment Oil and Overnight Repair Mask (Anti age skincare to repair and revitalise) as my skin was really exhausted that day from the wind and cold at South Rim Grand Canyon I visited just 2 days ago.

Kerri started putting the face mask on

letting the face mask do its wonders

cleaning the face mask

As I knew how the facial treatments go already since the facials I had on board the MSC Preziosa, I had not wash my hair before that afternoon on purpose so Kerri could apply Enrich Hair Oil too. I can’t help it but love when someone is playing with my hair! And if it makes it healthier at the same time, even better.

I am pretty picky with what I put on my skin and hair. I know most people don’t realize how many chemicals there are in many cosmetics but I do and not only because I am trying to stay fit when traveling. But also because my beloved uncle died of cancer not long ago and I just want to avoid all the things I can to prevent cancer too.

This is one of the reasons why I picked Mandarin Oriental for my spa treatments because the Aromatherapy Associates skincare does not use parabens, petrolatum, synthetic colours or fragrance and it  is not tested on animals.

Aromatherapy Associates products

We didn’t talk much with Kerri during the treatment. I have days when I talk a lot, and then also those when I am silent. Especially during the facial treatments I try not to speak much as it makes it easier for the therapist to put all the creams on my skin if I don’t move my face. So I could just lie back, and fall asleep. And for the second half of the massage, I did sleep, indeed. For me, that is a good sign!

My facial treatment at Mandarin Oriental San Francisco spa was part of my press trip exploring San Francisco for Adventure and Spa project. For more information about other spa treatments, please visit Mandarin Oriental San Francisco spa website. For more things to do in San Francisco, visit San Francisco travel.

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